Page 35 of Marked By the Alphas

“If I can’t walk tomorrow, you’re all on carrying me around duty,” I mumbled, and I felt Rowan’s chest rumble with a chuckle while Kai gave a playful salute that made me giggle.

Once I was clean, Rowan helped me out of the tub while Kai toweled me off and brought me back to the bedroom. Rhys had changed the sheets, and he had cleaned himself up, too. I approached him to see that one of the cuts on his arm had reopened, and I frowned.

I moved to the nightstand where I had placed the medical kit from earlier, and I pulled out some antiseptic and some cotton.

“You should have remained in bed, Rhys. All of you should have done that, in fact,” I scolded softly and they all chuckled.

“I didn’t hear you complain while we were inside you, though,” Rhys responded and I blushed, biting my lips at the thought of it.

As I meticulously cleaned the gash on his arm, my fingers brushed against raised scar tissue right beside it ,and my eyes widened in horror as I immediately recognized what it was. I quickly composed myself, not wanting to draw their attention to it. It was a mark, a symbol that looked like it had been burned into his flesh. It was a sigil I knew all too well—a stylized serpent coiled around a dagger.

It was the mark of Silas.

And the sight of it made my blood run cold. The mark would eventually fade, but I knew it was a message.

Silas wanted me to know that he had found me, and I knew he would stop at nothing to get me back.

Chapter 18

Rhys

The rhythmic thrumming in my head intensified the moment I came awake, and I groaned, pulling the quilt higher up my body in hopes of completely disappearing into it. Disoriented, I blinked away the remnants of sleep, and the events of the previous night came flooding back.

I could almost hear the guttural snarls of our attackers as they attacked viciously, the desperate clang of fangs against fangs and claws against claws. Kai's frantic shouts when they had found me injured—all of it was a hazy memory. There was a dull ache in my muscles that I knew would only get worse as the day went on.

Then came a sharper detail, a glint that pierced through the fog—the eyes of our attackers. Those icy blue orbs had definitely belonged to Silas' hunters, and the realization that slammed into me with the force of the revelation was enough to send a jolt of dread coursing through me.

It confirmed what I had once tried to deny. Elara wasn't our enemy. Silas would have never placed a bounty on her head if he had been the one to send her here, and those hunters from last night looked like they had been paid well to try to infiltrate the pack and get her back. I knew the way Silas’ hunters worked. For them to carry out a mission like last night they had to have been paid heavily. She was just like myself, another escapee who had clawed her way free from Silas’ clutches.

No matter what she did, she would forever be marked by her experience. I wanted to get out of bed and run to her to try to force the truth out of her. I wanted her to confide in me and give me all the details that could help me properly protect her from that maniac’s clutches but I, of all people, knew how difficult it could be opening up about the truth.

It had been more than ten years since I left, and not a soul knew about it. Silas was the kind of secret you guarded with your life, because once the people around you found out, there was really no telling what their reactions would be. That risk had never seemed to be worth it for me. Still, I longed to ease her of this burden.

The memory of her face, etched with worry as she had treated my wounds, surfaced next; the gentle ministrations of her hands, the focused intensity. That thought was quickly followed by the searing intensity of our unexpected sexual encounter. The soft mewls that had fallen from her lips, the way she had felt wrapped around me. A comforting warmth bloomed in my chest, and it created a sense of fascination.

Most people never recovered from the horrors that they experienced within Silas’ castle, especially his Sirens. Yet she possessed a strength that had allowed her to move about without that burden trailing behind her or dancing within the depths of her eyes. I needed to talk to her, to thank her first, and then to bridge the chasm of unspoken emotions that hung heavy between us. Maybe, just maybe, honesty could pave the way for trust.

I moved to disentangle myself from the sheets, the movement sending a fresh wave of pain through me, and I winced at the protest from my muscles as I forced myself to my feetbefore trudging into the bathroom. The feel of the warm water against my aching muscles was blissful and even after I finished washing, I stood still under the shower, enjoying the way it eased my aches and pains.

It wasn’t until the water began running cold that I stepped out, pulling a towel off the rack to dry my body. I pulled out a pair of jeans and a soft T-shirt. I could still feel my wounds as they throbbed, and the last thing that I wanted was the annoying feel of a shirt rubbing over my arm and torso throughout the day. I had just finished dressing when a knock came on my door. Before I could respond the door was pushed open.

“I didn’t say you could come in,” I said and I heard Kai’s annoying snicker from behind me.

“Well, you should have spoken more quickly. It’s a good thing you’re dressed too, because Anyah is here to see you, and that sweet elderly woman doesn’t need to see your junk hanging around,” Kai said. I whipped around to face him.

True to his words, Anyah trailed into the room behind him and her face flushed with embarrassment at Kai’s words.

“I’m here to check on your wounds, Alpha Rhys,” she said, clearing her throat after she spoke. I offered her a small smile.

Fuck you man, I said to Kai through the mind link and the idiot had the audacity to snicker.

I love you too. Stop by my office for a brief meeting once you’re done here,he responded before moving out of the room and shutting the door behind him.

I moved to settle on the bed, pulling my shirt off so she could observe my injuries.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t get to you early enough. Alpha Kai had given instructions that all the warriors that needed urgent care be taken care of first, and some of them were in really critical condition,” she apologized as she began prodding my wounds. I nodded in understanding.

“It’s okay. Elara was able to attend to us as soon as we got back home,” I consoled her, and a smile danced over her lips at the mention of Elara.

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