Marked (bxb)

Chapter One - Marked Purpose

Clara was many things. She was beautiful, with pale silver hair and sharp blue eyes. She was the mate of Lord Etan Allister the First and the mother of three wonderful children, ages 8, 9, and 10. She could run a household like no other Lady of the court even while pregnant with her fourth at only 26. Most importantly though, and many people seemed to forget this, Lady Clara Allister was painfully, painfully intelligent.

Of course she knew that her husband - her mate of 10 years - was unhappy and none of their children where omegas. Alphas of the shifter world, while they are powerful and politically useful in their own right, they have little value compared to omegas when it comes to moving up the ranks of court. Lower noble omegas could be married to alphas of much higher ranked, while those omegas of higher birth rarely married down. With three little Alphas the Allister house was likely stagnate.

This unhappiness had lead to problems in her marriage. Oh sure, Etan may have loved her at one point - back when she was young and naïve enough to believe that she could hold the heart of a man 14 years her senior. Now though, she hadn't provide him what he wanted and as a result he rarely paid her much mind. She had hoped, prayed even, that this newest pregnancy would save their bond, but Etan hadn't scented her for months, not even now that she was showing. She hadn't even been allowed to see her children as much, Etan kept her well away from them and their governess - a governess her husband was far too close too.

It scared her. She was touch-starved and as an omega herself she knew what would happen if this went on. The mating bond would break and Clara would fade, her will to live draining more and more until her body simply stopped working. It was a fate all omegas feared, and here she was, so close to living it.

She was painfully aware of this as the doctor chanted above her bulging stomach.

She had secretly sent for the elderly omega women days ago. Clara had been sick with what she had thought was morning sickness when she had noticed the trail of blood coming from her nose. She had rightfully panicked, only to find her limbs couldn't support her alone. It had taken several minutes for her to gain enough strength to pull herself to the bed, where with trembling hands she sent off a letter to a private doctor. Now as the doctor stood and meet her eye, and an iron ball seemed to form in her throat.

"Lord Etan..." The doctor said, "Has he taken another to his bed recently?" And the iron in her throat dropped. The image of her children's governess, with her dark eyes and even darker curls, flashed into her mind.

"Yes," Clara replied, tears falling, "It seems he has rejected me." The doctor nodded grimly, a dark shadow falling on her face. Clare buried her face in her hands as she sobbed and sobbed, shoulders trembling and eyes stinging. It was as she feared, she was going to die and leave her children with that retched man and his mistress.

The doctor held her as she sobbed. A broken woman in the arms of one who had seen this too many times. Clara clung to the first touch she had felt for months, even as her sobs turned to gasping breathes and a snotty nose. She wished for nothing more then this mess to end and for Etan to go back to the way he was after Elton was born, loving and kind. But now she knew and it could never go back to that.

"You need to put as much space between you and Lord Etan as you can," the doctor whispered, "It is the only way to dull the broken bond enough for you to survive this pregnancy."

"B-But my children!" Clara cried, ice blue eyes wide. The doctor shook her head.

"My Lady you have months to live if you stay," the omega woman said, cupping the 26 year old's cheek, "He will never let you take them, he hasn't let you close to them alone in years. But this baby here -" She rested her free hand on Clara's stomach. "- This one won't have a chance to know you, to know the world, if you don't run. They will die here with you and your broken bond. Do you understand me?" Clara let out a bubbling sob, nodding.

"Can-Can you help me?" Clara begged, "Etan, he'll never let me leave if he knows." The doctor nodded, helping Clara to her feet.

"We'll need to leave at once."

~~5 months later~~

Clara screamed as she pushed. The blizzard outside raged, pounding on the thin walls of the cabin as she sat naked and alone in the lukewarm bathwater. She couldn't stop, not for anything. She screamed as another contract hit her and she pushed once more, one final time as she gave birth to this precious child. Her precious child. No one else would claim them, no one else would know.

Asa.