Chapter 6: Marked

"I'll rip your tongue out, son of a bitch."

Katie growled as Bryan's lips left her neck causing her to shudder, but he only reacted by pressing his body even harder against her, which only fueled her need.

Filling her with lust.

Her own body was betraying her.

"Who the hell are you?" he growled, his voice piercing her skin, giving her goosebumps.

He was so close to her that she could feel his hot breath on his face.

She stared right into his silvery eyes, which seemed to be swirling; which wasn't normal, even for werewolves; eyes weren't meant to do that.

He wasn't your average werewolf, she realized that he had managed to spot her from a long distance. And his delicious scent was making her wolf swoon and her body hot.

Yeah...that was unusual.

Katie figured should have investigated her target more thoroughly; She was too hasty. Now, she has been caught, and no alpha would let anyone who attacked their pack live.

"Answer me? Who the fuck are you?" he yelled, and she growled back instinctively, almost biting at his lips.

It was a natural, instinctive reaction, after all, she was a dominant female. 

"I don't have to answer to you," she snarled, and he raised his brow in surprise.

Bryan realized he was dealing with a dominant wolf, so no answer was going to come easily from her, unlike a submissive who would have crumbled under his powerful gaze and spilled everything in fear.

Bryan then wrapped his hand around his neck, choking her,

"You come into my territory and shoot at me. Yet you dare to be bold." he chuckled squeezing tighter, the fire inside his eyes burning hot.

"I should kill you for the insult."

Katie choked wondering why he didn't just kill her.

Though he was squeezing her neck it was so tight to be life threatening.

He could kill her right this instant if he had wanted to, but it appeared that he intended to capture, torture, and find out who sent her.

Not that anything was going to come of it; after all, she didn't know who her client was either. The whole Assassin League was covered in secrecy.

"So why aren't you doing it?"Katie challenged.

"I'd warn you that torturing me for answers is a waste of time, I'll tell you nothing," She said but then noticed Bryan seemed to be in a trance looking slightly downwards.

A ferocious glint appeared in his eyes, and Katie had an uneasy feeling about it.

Yes, there was something wrong.

He was staring longingly at her neck and that triggered a bad feeling within her.

She struggled to break free, but Bryan held her firmly in place.

"Oh… I don't think so."

He said it in a smoky voice, and the next thing she knew, he bit deep into her neck.

Katie entirely shuddered, pain and pleasure feeling her as she more or less orgasmed.

Her body quivered, gushing with lust, and she uncontrollably ground herself on him.

Bryan sucked deeply, making sure it left a mark.

And as he pulled his head backward, the ferocity in his eyes dimmed, clarity returning.

His expression turned into shock as he realized what the hell he had done.

He slowly let her go and stepped backward, he felt a snap in his head and could feel her presence in his pack link.

Katie slid to the ground, and her mouth agape, as she struggled to process what had just happened.

She placed her hand over the bite mark on her neck and could feel it bleed.

She had indeed been marked.

More confusing was the fact that she had practically melted for him, and it only took a bite.

When his teeth dug into her, it was like an electric current that demanded her submission.

Now she could feel Bryan's presence in her mind, strength, danger, and raw sexuality.

It made her wolf pleased, which was confusing to Katie as it made her feel the opposite.

Her wolf was dumb and so might the man in front of her,

She was an enemy, she tried to kill him and yet he bit her.

Marking her as his.

What was he thinking?

"What...what have you done?"

She asked Bryan but the alpha didn't respond.

Instead, he remained speechless staring blankly with a confused expression on his face.

This made Katie infuriated.

The more she thought about it the more angry she got.

He had just claimed her against her will.

More aggravating was the fact, that it didn't feel like a violation.

Worse, even as she stood, she craved more of him.

Am I that horny?

Katie asked herself in bafflement and the fact she had to question her reaction to him made her angry.

With a hateful growl, she unsheathed her claws and was about to lunge on Bryan, but the sound of footsteps stopped.

"Shit," she cursed, she had wasted too much time here.

The rest of the pack was approaching and if they caught her she would be in trouble.

She turned to leave, but Bryan caught her wrist.

"Wait! Where do you think you're going? I marked you so I can't let you leave."

Earlier it was like something had hit a pause on his thinking and now he seemed to have come to his senses. 

Katie responded with a glare and she placed her thumb over the jade ring on the finger next to it. It was a backup that was perfect for a situation like this.

On it was a button that clicked as Katie pressed it. And she covered her nose.

Bryan's danger sense echoed on seeing this and he hurriedly let go of Katie then a small purple gas exploded out of the ring enveloping both of them.

Bryan swiftly emerged from the smoke, covering his nose, and he realized what the smoke was.

"Poison?!"

He watched as Katie scurried out of the fumes and in a blitz she ran off.

Bryan moved about to give chase but his actions from earlier stunned him and he froze once again.

Why the hell did I do that?

He was so driven by the desire to have her right then and there, that he forgot this was the female that almost put a hole in his head and stupidly laid a claiming mark on her.

On a freaking assassin.

Bryan's pack arrived, and they were surprised to see their alpha on his knees coughing, but one sniff of the air told them what had happened.

Wolfsbane!

They growled and their desire to hunt down the assassin increased.

The poison was commonly used by humans to fend off shifters, and it was deadly effective on all species of shifters.

"What are you waiting for?" growled Jeremy, "Go get her!"

The pack warrior chased after her, running even faster.

Jeremy knelt next to Bryan, who was sitting on the ground, a look of concern on his face.

Unlike the others, he hadn't shifted as he had trouble thinking clearly when he was in wolf form. His beast was quite blood-tasty and merciless. More brawn than brain which was in contrast to his own personality.

"What in the world happened here?" Jeremy asked shocked and confused to see Bryan in this state.

"Well, she happened, got the jump on me."

He coughed into his hand and on it was blood.

"You've been poisoned, we need to get you to Selena as soon as possible," Jeremy said attempting to help him up but Bryan refused.

"No, just let me stay here for a while as my punishment for letting her go."

Jeremy sighed deeply, and despite being unwilling, he didn't argue with his Alpha as it was pointless and only sat on the ground in front of him.

Bryan had an insane healing ability way stronger than normal in the werewolf sense so Jeremy knew he'd be fine.

For a while, there was silence before Jeremy finally spoke.

"So it was a she?" Jeremy pointed out.

"Yes, a very nimble and stealthy she," Bryan described there was almost awe in his expression. "She moved like a freaking ghost."

"Right?" Jeremy disinterestedly stated.

"What's with the tone?"

"I'm just surprised you gave her enough time to use a wolfbane, and even when she did, you let her escape when you clearly still had the strength to talk; also, this may be the first time you've lost an altercation... so it's a lot to take."

Bryan smiled, shrewd as always but he couldn't tell him what had really happened.

How could he tell Jeremy he claimed the assassin he was supposed to kill because he couldn't control his raging dick.

"It's not that surprising; perhaps it's because you overestimate me; Yes I'm strong, extremely, but I'm not invisible."

"I know that, but I also know you're tenacious as hell, and you'll never let anyone who dares to harm you or what you love, escape, even if it's to your detriment."

"She had so much up her sleeve, my tenacity simply wasn't enough."

"Perhaps you were gentle with her because she was a female."

Bryan scratched his face as he turned away from Jeremy's prodding gaze as he remembered he really did mark someone he was supposed to kill.

"Don't worry," he reassured Jeremy, "they should be able to catch her, I made sure of that."

"Seeing as you didn't deny it means you acknowledged that you held back against her, though I don't know why and won't question it, but I want to know what you'll do if we do catch her?"

Jeremy gave him a look, and Bryan rose to his feet, his expression undiscernible and then he said with a cold voice.

"If we catch her, she's dead whether or not she reveals who sent her. No one messes with my pack and live."

Noting his tone, Jeremy nodded somewhat appeased, but as he rose to his feet as well he noticed something that made his expression turned sour.

"You're butt-ass naked?" Jeremy pointed out.

"Yes, I am." Bryan answered casually.

"No way, I'm not letting Selena come anywhere near you," 

Selena was Jeremy mate and he felt a strong sense of possession towards her, so there was no way, he would ever let a naked male near his female, even if it was his alpha.

"Dude!" Bryan complained. He needed Selena to get the wolfsbane that he had inhaled still lingering inside of him.

"Don't dude me, get dressed," Jeremy said as he took off his jacket before tossing it to Bryan.

" So...do I cover my back or my front?"

Bryan asked with all seriousness.

Jeremy tilted his head in disbelief while he kept a poker face.

"Front and center, do you really have to think about that?!" Jeremy yelled.

"Of course I have to. The back is equally as appealing as the front," Bryan said matter-of-factly and Jeremy's face palmed.

It then looked like he was about to say something but he turned away muttering gibberish in annoyance as he went to meet the pack members who were chasing after the assassin.

Bryan grinned, he enjoyed teasing his beta, but then his expression turned serious and he glanced in the direction, of the mysterious female.

"Why the hell did I do that?" Bryan wondered.

He remembered the overwhelming sense of raw urging and lust that filled him and blinded him, preventing him from thinking straight.

Even now, he craved the exotic smell of the strange female, and his wolf was still pacing around anxiously, angry at him for letting slip from his grasp.

Bryan then decided to issue an order through the pack link.

"Don't kill the assassin, capture her. I'll deal with her personally." He ordered.

He could sense her through the link; confusion, exhaustion, and worry were what she felt. He tried talking to her through the link but it didn't work.

He couldn't commune with her like the rest.

He had forced his mark on her, and she didn't accept it, so though the link was there, it was blurry and undefined.

Only one reasonable explanation came to mind that explained his foolish action, but Bryam refused to accept it.

There was no way.

She couldn't be his mate...right?