Shadows of Dawn

Chapter 19

I turn around and see the crowd parting and bowing their heads for Landon as he walks towards the ring. Rolling my eyes I turn towards Sylas. "You might want to go," I suggest with a small smile.

He bows his head towards Landon before walking out of the ring and standing off to the side.

Landon stalks into the ring across from me. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Sparing. Duh." I jest. He doesn't like that and walks closer to me but I stop him a few feet away from me by holding my staff out in front of me. I can't help but admire his shirtless body and even though it is freezing cold outside, he is glistening with sweat. I inwardly purr.

Suddenly Sylas speaks from the crowd, taking me from my thoughts. "Alpha, I had no idea she was your mate. I would have never-"

"Quiet," his voice booms. "I will deal with you later."

I poke him with my staff and he turns to me. "There is nothing to deal with later. I asked him to spare with me," I declared.

"Don't test me right now, Aeralyn," he utter, looking around at the crowd where people have begun whispering. I know I should back down, challenging him in front of some of his pack members would be unwise. Thank god I'm stupid.

"Or what?" I antagonize as I stand in front of him, my hands resting on my staff again.

That does it. Landon comes surging towards me and I twirl my staff in my hand before swinging it sideways and letting it hit him in the neck which does little to stop his advantages.

"I thought the cold and ruthless Alpha of Winter was supposed to be better than this," I tsk. Gasps are heard from the crowd as I just purposely disrespected their Alpha. I only look at him with mock pity.

He comes at me again with more power and I duck as he goes for a right hook. I jab him in the stomach with a punch of my own and he stumbles back but doesn't fall. I go to hit him with my staff again but he catches in and twirls me around. Landon is behind me and has my staff pressed up against my neck.

"Are you ready to give up and stop being stubborn?" He asks in my ear.

"Are you going to tell me who marked you?" I retorted, angry that he's being such a wus about it.

He doesn't say anything to my question and instead continues to push the staff onto my neck. I'm gasping for air, but I will not give him the satisfaction of me conceding. Before I black out, I reach my hand behind me to his head and place my hand on his temple. Flashes of moments in time appear in front of me; A young Landon at a party, a she-wolf, talk about mates, and then the answer to my question I've been wondering about for weeks, the mark.

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I feel very dizzy. Once again I am not in my own bed and by the mint smell, I know it's Landon's. Sitting up, I rub my eyes and look around the room before stopping on Landon sitting in a chair in the corner. Unsurprisingly, he's looking grumpy and very tense.

"Sawyer told me about your little trick," he admits. Although he tries to make his voice sound stern, his face shows hints of worry.

My eyes widened. Shit.

We stay silent just looking at each other for what feels like forever. When I tapped into his mind I could feel everything. His hurt was so evident in how he tried so hard to forget what happened that day. Along with the memories of that night at the party, I also saw glimpses of after Landon turned 20 and he figured out that she wasn't his mate, that she had lied to him. A particular image of Landon trying to scrub away the mark on his neck comes to mind.

"Say something," his voice on the borderline of pleading.

I look at Landon, seeing his vulnerability despite his attempt to appear unbothered. I get up from the bed and walk over to where he sits in the chair. I look down at him and reach my hand to his neck hesitantly. This time he doesn't stop me from touching the mark on his neck. I run my fingers up and down the mark.

His eyes are closed and his breathing is ragged. "She's a bitch for doing that," I say truthfully. "And just because she marked something that never belonged to her, doesn't mean that I want you any less. Marks can be replaced," I admitted calmly with a shrug.

He looks up at me shocked. "You wanted me in the first place?"

I roll my eyes. "I think we can both agree that you were an ass the first time we met, but I can appreciate a good looking man."

One second he's sitting down, the next Landon's lips are pressed against mine. I want to resist, I know I should, but I can't. He stands from the chair and backs me up until I fall back onto the bed, both of us trying to assert dominance over the kiss. I nip at his bottom lip and he growls in warning.

Using all of my strength, I flip us over so that I'm straddled on top of him. I break away from the kiss and he looks at me concerned.

"Did I-"

"Shut up," I growl lowly. My wolf was very much trying to take control right now because of him. I hate it.

"What's the mat-"

I close my eyes and take a deep breath before looking back down at him. "Landon... I just learned that here, it's customary for the women to mark their men." He looks up at me confused, not knowing where I'm going with this. I lean in closer. "And my wolf id very... intrigued by that idea and is this close, to doing just that, so I suggest you be careful."

He looks at me stunned while his eyes hover on the border of green and the dark brown of his wolf. Before he can say anything my phone on the nightstand starts ringing. I groan and without moving off of Landon, reach over and answer the phone.

"Aeralyn." I answer.

"Hey Aerlayn, I just had some news I had to tell you," I hear Jax's voice on the other end of the phone.

I groan. "Can the news wait? I'm kind of busy right now," I say as I swat Landon's wandering hands away from my waist and give him a pointed look.

"No, it can't. I was looking at old pack records in the library and found a map of the facility you were talking about."

The news has my ear perking up and I sit up straight. "Can you send a picture of it to me on my phone? We're still trying to figure out a plan," I say anxiously. It's been 2 weeks since Leo was taken and I've been on edge ever since.

As I continue to listen to the details of the maps, Landon sits up and starts kissing along my jaw and down to my neck. I place my hand on his chest to try and maintain some distance, but that does little to stop him.

"That's awesome Jax, can I call you back later though? Thanks, bye." I say before hanging up the phone.

I reach over and set the phone down and turn back to Landon. "You better wipe that look off your face before I hit you," I say as I look away from him, annoyed.

He just smiles at me. "Mhm sure you will," he says as he nuzzles his head into my neck.

Too much is happening at one time. My mind doesn't feel like my own. I don't like the look in his eyes, don't know how to function with his gentle touches, don't know how to deal with any of it.

Distance yourself, that's how you keep them safe. Can't get attached, they get taken away.

I abruptly pull away from Landon and get off the bed. I hear him speaking to me but I don't say a word as I exit the room.