Marked Mate

6

SCARLETT

After yet another restless night next to Roman, he woke me up with breakfast in bed, claiming that he had a meeting in his office to discuss trading deals with other packs. Again, he gave me the opportunity to come with him to the centre or stay behind, meaning he would work from home.

I was tempted to ask him to stay, enjoying being able to lounge around while I waited for my strength to build back up, but I knew that I couldn't let myself enjoy Roman's company too much. Being here alone with him was dangerous, and I needed to put as much distance between us as possible - even though I didn't want to.

We hadn't spoken about our kiss, but I could tell that Roman was on cloud nine. He wouldn't stop smiling, and even though he appeared stressed about today's meeting, he was putting me before it all.

As I made my way into the library again with Erica, I found myself reflecting on my life.

I so wished things could have been different. If I had been born a normal wolf, I would have been able to leap into his arms upon first glance and open myself up to him fully. There would be no secrets between us, and I would be able to look forward to a happy and healthy future. Maybe even children.

But I couldn't even think about having kids. Pearl and I weren't sure, but we had concluded that there would be a high chance that my children would also be gifted. We had no evidence to back up our theory, but it was safer to believe it and convince myself I was never going to have children, than allow myself to become disappointed by the fact later on in life.

There was no point thinking about the what if's. This was my life, and there wasn't anything I could do to change it. Wallowing in self pity was going to help nobody.

"Do you like these?" Erica asked me, tapping away on the library computer, trying to keep her voice down as much as she could. She pointed to the screen, and I narrowed my eyes at the pages and pages of clothing that popped in front of me.

Every item was a different style - a different colour- and it was incredibly overwhelming. In reality, it didn't even matter what we bought, because I wasn't going to be sticking around for long, and there was no way I would be able to take an entire wardrobe with me to the city.

I would be able to stuff a few pairs of tops and some jeans in a bag at best. I needed to travel light.

I wanted gloves, and I almost opened my mouth to ask Erica if she could search for some, but I was brought back to reality by her throat clearing, realising how weird it would sound to ask for them. People knew that gifted wolves were marked on their hands, and I didn't want to raise suspicion.

"Um, yeah, they're all nice," I stated, gazing at the computer screen once more, nodding.

Erica sighed, running her hand through her long blonde hair as she added even more items to the cart, seeming to get a kick out of watching the total cost rise and rise. It never stopped. Who was going to be paying for this?

My guess was Roman.

My mind wandered to our kiss for what felt like the millionth time this hour. The way his lips felt against mine - it was incredible. I had never been kissed before, but I had never imagined it to feel like sparks. Like actual sparks. It was such a cliche, but it was true.

My entire body tingled, my throat running dry, and my emotions slammed into me like a sledgehammer. It was intense. Kissing Roman was a huge mistake, because it was all I was going to be thinking about - for the rest of my life.

And it sucked, because I knew that it was never going to happen again. Ever.

"Okay. Anything else you want?" Erica asked me, also having snuck some baby clothing into the cart, the adorable white and beige onesies like a kick in the teeth, reminding me of what I would never have. "Brandon will send Roman the money for the baby stuff. Don't worry."