DANCE WITH THE DEVIL

Part 17 - No one will hurt you

I lay in bed, awake for hours, pondering my conversation with Tankhun. I always wondered why Tankhun didn't get married, and then I realized the moment I saw the mark on his neck. It's not that he doesn't want to be with Arm; he doesn't want Arm to feel unloved. After marking, an omega can only react to the scent of the alpha who marked them. And if that's the case, it means the alpha who marked him is alive. The only way to rid oneself of that mark would've been to kill that alpha, so why didn't they kill him?

Kinn slept beside me, and I had to ask him.

"Kinn...? Kinn...? Kinn..."

"Mmm," Kinn mumbled in his sleep.

"Kinn!" I raised my voice!

"What? Are you not feeling well?" He turned to me, opening one of his eyes.

"No."

"Did you dream about Tawan?"

"No."

"What's the matter?"

"Can I ask you something personal?"

Kinn glanced at the clock. "It's 2 a.m. Does it have to be now?"

"Yes!"

Kinn sighed, lying on his back, clearly annoyed that I had disrupted his sleep. "What do you want to ask?"

I lay on my stomach. "Tankhun showed me his mark today..."

"Really? What did he tell you?" Kinn sat up.

"I only know that he was marked — against his will."

"Tankhun was marked at the age of fifteen..."

"How did that happen?"

"He went to some senior student party and got his heat cycle there. One of the alphas at the party took advantage of it and marked him, then threw him at our doorstep."

"How did Tankhun feel at that time?"

"He didn't cry, but he changed a lot."

"In what way?"

"In everything, personality, clothes, he created a new version of himself."

"And is that good?"

"I don't know. I feel like, behind all the colorful clothes and smiles hides a sad person."

"Who marked him?"

"King.... Ling's older brother."

I punched Kinn. "So why didn't you tell me?"

"Ouch! Because Tankhun didn't want anyone to know."

"What did you do with him?"

"We couldn't find him."

"And his family?"

"They claim they don't know where he is. The only thing we managed to do was to make them agree not to publicize the mark."

"So, you need to stay away from Ling; he's no different from his brother."

"Okay, I'll stay away."

"Porsche, I don't want to argue anymore..." Kinn lay down and ran his fingers through my hair, tucking them behind my ears. "Let's try to make things work... okay?"

I nodded. Kinn leaned down and kissed me gently on the lips. He pulled me closer to him, and I nestled against him. He kissed my forehead gently.

"Maybe we should go to sleep; we need to wake up early?" I suggested.