Page 3 of Claimed By the Alpha

However, it soon all faded. As did the mark.

The tingles were still there but they seemed softer, just as they were before the mark.

I could feel it, the bond was there, but it was dimming. The seal started to crack and my heart clenched in pain.

“Isaac,” I whimpered, not knowing what was happening, but when I met his gaze all I saw was confusion.

His eyes were fixed on the mark, and I could sense it disappearing.

“How is that possible?” he mumbled more to himself than me.

“It hurts,” I cried, feeling my skin burn, but it wasn’t only that. I felt him. The disappointment in himself, feeling as if he failed me as a mate. But he could never fail me.

“Do it again,” I pleaded, blinking away the tears.

Tilting my head to the side, giving him the needed space, his canines plunged through my skin again.

His arms tightened around me while I trembled against him. The bond flared up, the seal forming.

But when he healed the mark, it started to crack.

“No,” he said in disbelief, ready to try again.

However, the pain I felt coming from him was too much, and I knew if he tried again it would fade. Another piece of his heart would break.

“It’s okay. It’s because I’m human.” I hoped my words would soothe him even though I didn’t know if I was telling the truth. Tears welled in his eyes, and I struggled to breathe.

He quickly blinked them away, noticing I could sense his emotions, and he did the one thing that pained me even more.

He shut me out.

Chapter two

Failure

Apartofhimbroke when the mark wouldn’t stick. The memory of the pain in his eyes stirred me awake. We were still in the car, his fingers gently brushing over my hip. I could still see it, feel it in my bones. We had to talk about it, but he kept saying he was fine. Liar.

With Liam, it was different. After he marked me, my heat simmered on, but with Isaac, it did stop; just the mark didn’t stay.

I told him it would be okay, not wanting him to try again. But he did. Again and again.

And eventually, he stopped trying.

I had to give him some time to process everything, and so I did.

There was one thing that remained. His feelings and thoughts all lingered inside me, at least when he didn’t shield himself from me.

I never had that with Liam, but the tether between Isaac and me was stronger even without the mark.

Something must be wrong with me, and I knew I had to figure out what. And maybe I was the only one who was looking into it because they were consumed by what the moon goddess had told Isaac. I was too, but now my mind wandered, and I needed to know more about my family.

Was I human? Yes, a half-blood without a wolf. And maybe I was hoping too much, but there was this itch in the back of my mind, just out of reach, but I knew I was close. I knew it was almost in my grasp—all the answers.

Was it weird that I wanted to go back to where my family was buried and dig them up? Yes, it was, I knew it was, but it was a closed casket funeral because of their injuries. And with everything that happened, you can’t blame me for wondering.

Isaac told me he saw him die, but still, there was this doubt in his eyes because he wasn’t a hundred percent sure.

Maybe I had hope for something impossible, but Isaac came back. He did the impossible. So, I could be right.

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