Chapter 17: The Mark

Ben followed Lotus when she left Adeline’s room. He was also there when Lotus slapped Alex. He heard every word Lotus said. He saw the pain in her eyes as well. After Lotus left, he walked towards Alex and Damien.

“I want to talk to you. Both of you.”, Ben said to them. His voice was calm.

Damien nodded, and they headed to his office. Ben closed the door and then turned towards them. Though he was much younger than them, he was still a friend. And right now, these two need a piece of his mind.

“What are you two doing?” Ben asked, “Why didn’t you acknowledge her, Alex? And you kissed another girl? Do you have any idea how much it hurts a mate?” Ben yelled at this time. Then he turned towards Damien to say, “And you are the worst. You kept man-whoring while you were already married to your mate? If you guys don’t want them, let them go. Reject them. They anyway deserve far better than you two.” Ben was furious.

“How did you know about Lotus?” Damien was beyond shock. The only people who knew about her being his mate were Alex and Jakob. He turned towards Alex, “Did you already tell him?” He yelled at him.

Alex was also shocked that Ben found out about her.

“Oh, please! Don’t blame him, Damien. Do you think you can hide stuff like your mate from me?” Ben said again.

“But how?” Damien asked.

“The man-whore went for a treaty and married a minor but never touched her? Sent a whole army when he thought she ran away? Gains his control just by only one touch from her? Get jealous when others were watching her dance! Do you think this is helping?” Ben yelled again.

Damien and Alex were standing like statues. The room was silent again.

“A mate is the other half of our souls. You should feel blessed. We are supposed to love them, support them. But, what did you do? None of you even acknowledge them. Damien, you even declared that Lotus is not your Luna. Do you think Lotus will accept you after all that you have done?” Ben paused. “Even you didn’t care to tell her that she is the one while I can see her fighting inside to understand what’s going on!”

“Ben, how is she? Adeline”, Alex asked in a shallow voice, more like a whisper.

“You don’t deserve to know that. And let me tell you one thing. If someday any of them wants to run away from this pack, I will help them with all my means.” Ben did not wait any longer for their response. He walked out of Damien’s office and went straight to his room. He has to do something about these two girls.

The next day, Ben got up early in the morning and went to the kitchen. He saw Adeline and Lotus sitting at a table drinking coffee. Both of them looked sad.

“Good morning, beautiful ladies!” he said in a funny tone.

“Good morning, Ben”, Lotus said with a smile. Adeline did not say anything, just offered him a smile.

“Well, go to your rooms and get dressed. You are off to work today.”, Ben said.

“What? But why?” they both said together.

“No more questions. Come on. Go now and get dressed. You have only forty minutes.” He said again with a smile. “And wear something nice like you did last night”, he winked.

Lotus and Adeline looked at each other.

“Where are we going, Ben?” Adeline asked.

“It’s a surprise!” Ben whispered. Both the girls giggled and went to their rooms to get ready.

Ben walked towards Damien’s room. He knocked on the door twice. Damien came out of the room wearing only a boxer. He was still sleepy.

“Ben! This is early! Everything ok?” Damien asked him in a concerned way.

“Ah, yes! Everything is perfect. It is just; the cooks will not be able to work today. They have some personal plans.”, Ben said with a smirk.

“What? Where are they going?” Damien asked. How come Lotus did not mention going somewhere? He gritted his teeth. By then, Lauren also went out of the room wearing almost nothing.

“What’s happening here, honey,” she asked Damien.

“Nothing much. Good day Alpha”, Ben said and left their room with a smile on his face. Damien was still surprised. He could bet that Ben has planned something. He knew the reason as well. Ben got rejected by his mate when he was eighteen. He was heartbroken after that. It was not going to be an easy day for him, he thought.

Lotus took a quick shower. Being unsure where Ben was taking them, she wore a pair of blue jeans and a pink off-shoulder crop top that Adeline made her buy yesterday. She tied her hair into a bun and applied light makeup. She looked at her reflection in the mirror. That top really suits her. She smiled a little. Adeline had good eyes.

Once she was done, she went to Adeline’s room. She was also wearing jeans and a very fancy crop top. She looked adorable. How could Alex do that to her? Lotus sighed.

“Hey Lo! You looked so pretty!” Adeline said with a smile.

“Me? Look at yourself, Ad!” Lotus giggled. Then Ben came into the room.

“All right, pretty ladies. Ready to roll?”, He said funnily.

“Yes!” they both said together with a giggle.

This was the most fantastic day Lotus was having so far. The same went for Adeline. Ben took them to a fancy restaurant first for brunch. The place was beautifully decorated. Lotus and Adeline didn’t expect that. After brunch, he took them to an exquisite spa saloon. It was beyond their imagination.

“Oh, Ben! You are the best.”, Adeline shouted.

“I never thought you would be bringing us here!” Lotus said in excitement.

“Well, what can I say? I am the best!” Ben said with a wink. They both giggled.

It's almost evening now. After the spa, Ben took them for a boat ride on the nearby lake. The place was beautiful. Lotus and Adeline were standing side by side on the deck. Ben really made their day.

‘Ben, where are they? It's almost evening!’ Ben got a mind-link from Damien.

‘Ben, I need to talk to Adeline. Bring them back!’, It was Alex this time.

‘Answer us, Ben’, Damien shouted this time.

‘Well, I am just treating the ladies what they deserve, like taking me to a fancy brunch place, a spa centre, and a boat ride.’ Ben informed me.

‘You took them on a date??’ Damien and Alex yelled at him together.

‘Not a date. Don’t be worried. We will probably be late.’, Ben replied casually.

‘What do you mean by late?’ Damien shouted again. He was running out of patience now. ‘Bring them back this instance!’ Damien used his alpha voice this time.

‘Yes, Alpha.’, Ben replied in a sigh.

“Lo, Ad, we need to go back.’ Ben said in a sad tone.

“What? No!” they said together.

“I want to stay longer, Ben,'' said Lotus.

“Damien ordered using alpha voice, Lo. I am sorry!” Ben sighed.

Lotus did not say anything. They started to walk towards the car, and Adeline noted something in the ear of Lotus. Ben did not pay any attention to the girl's talk. Lotus got into the car and sat in the front passenger seat. Ben took the driver’s seat. He started the car.

“Ben”, it was Adeline this time, “will you mind if I drive?” She was standing next to the driver’s door.

Ben thought for a second, then said, “sure”, with a smile.

Adeline got into the car and pressed the accelerator to drive away. Ben was still standing on the ground. He couldn’t understand what just happened.

‘Sorry, Ben! We really don’t want to go back right now. Don’t be worried. We will be back soon.’ Adeline mind-linked her.

Oh no! That’s not good. Damien and Alex will kill him if they find out.

‘Ad, come back right now!’ Ben yelled in his mind-link. But he found that Adeline had blocked him out.

‘Umm, Alpha!’, Ben mind-linked Damien.

‘What is it, Ben?’ Damien asked. He could sense something was not right.

‘They took my car and ran away!’ Ben said in a shattered tone.

‘They did what?’ Alex was this time.

‘Come back to the packhouse this instant’, Damien ordered him. They cannot run away as all their cars had trackers in them. He walked towards the control room and started to look for the vehicle. He found its location. He mind-linked Alex and Ben about the area and left towards the parking. His kitten was in trouble this time.

Lotus and Adeline just reached the area. They parked the car and walked into the bar. This was one of the most famous werewolf bars they had ever known. They both were so excited. Lotus was fed up with Damien’s behaviour. He was always hanging around with his sluts. He always tried to control her life. Not anymore. Adeline was also on the verge of her patience. They ordered some shots.

“To our new lives”, Adeline cheered.

“To our freedom”, Lotus replied.

After the shots, they hit the dance floor. They started to dance with the beats. The music was getting louder as the night was getting darker. Two guys came towards them. They were well built but not as good as Damien, Lotus thought. The guy with dimples asked Adeline to dance with him. She agreed without any hesitation. The other one asked Lotus. It was just a dance, right? What could happen?

They started to dance. Lotus began to feel a little dizzy. That guy pulled Lotus closer to his chest and hugged her. She tried to get away but couldn’t.

“Let go of me”, Lotus said

“Why, sweetheart? Don’t you like my muscles? It can be all yours for tonight”, that guy whispered.

Lotus got scared. She kept struggling. That guy was holding her in her waist. Now his one hand started to travel towards her hip. Suddenly he was stopped by a loud growl. Lotus felt that she was pulled away by someone. She knew who that someone was. Well, her husband came at the right moment, though.

“Mine!” Damien growled again and threw that man on the floor. He was bleeding terribly.

Damien put Lotus on his shoulder and started to walk towards the door.

“put me down, Damien!” Lotus yelled at him. Damien did not say anything. Lotus tried to search for Adeline, and she saw her with Alex. Well, she would be safe, at least.

Damien walked to his car, opened the passenger seat, and literally threw her inside the car. Using his speed, he went to the other side and started the car. The ride to the packhouse was silent. She saw Alex’s car following them. Once they reached there, Damien opened the door for her and started to drag her towards the packhouse.

“Damien, stop!” Lotus said, trying to stop him, but he only tightened his grip on her wrist.

“Damien, you are hurting me”, Lotus said again. By that time, they were in the drawing-room of packhouse.

“Damien stop this”, Lotus yelled this time.

“Shut the f**k up!” Damien shouted on her face. Everyone was watching them.

“What were you thinking? Wearing a dress like a slut? Dancing with another man? God damn it! You even smelt like that bastard.” He was furious.

“Damien!” Lotus said softly. She could not believe what Damien was telling. He was blaming her where he was the one sleeping with other women.

“What were you planning next? Going on the bed with him?” Damien yelled again. This time he crossed the line. She could not tolerate it anymore.

“It’s you who go to bed with every single slut in this pack, you man-whore!” Lotus yelled back.

“Think before you speak, Kitten. You are talking to the Alpha of this pack”, Damien replied. He was looking directly into her eyes. His voice was cold.

“Enough of me living in this pack. I cannot do this anymore. The treaty is over! I am leaving you and your pack in this instance.” She shouted.

“Nobody leaves my pack without my consent”, Damien said again in a cold tone. He is still looking into her eyes.

“Oh really? Watch me leave you.” Lotus was furious.

“Don’t test my patience, Kitten. You will not like the consequences”, his voice made everyone shiver this time.

“I don’t care. I was here only because my pack needed your help. They don’t need it anymore. I regret every moment I spent here. I regret our marriage. I am leaving you right now, Alpha Damien Black. I am breaking our marriage.”, Lotus said. Her tone was heavy. Her wolf was in pain.

Damien was on the verge of his patience and control. He lost it now. He lost it with her words of leaving him. He pinned her against the wall.

“I told you, Kitten, not to test my patience”, it was not him anymore. It was the demon inside him.

“You… are… hurting… me….” Lotus said in a shattered tone.

Damien smiled at her. His eyes were pitch-black. His wolf was in control. Damien bent his head and bit her on her neck, behind her ear. His canines ripped her skin and sank deep into her blood. It took her a moment to realise what he was doing. He was marking her! No!

It was so painful. Lotus could not hold back anymore. She felt so many emotions at once. Her wolf became numb. She started to feel dizzy. Damien was done by the marking by then. He loosened his grip and held her chin to make her look into his eyes. She saw him smiling.

“I hate you, Damien Black”, Lotus whispered before losing her consciousness.