Bloodmark

  “What were you thinking, Ashling?” Mund said. “You should never have been in the woods by yourself. What could have happened?”

  “Grey was there.”

  Mund glared at us. “You’re a trusting fool.”

  “Mund?” I said.

  “You shouldn’t trust so easily,” Mund said. Then he turned his angry stare on Baran. “And neither should you. I know you want to trust him . . .” He turned his back on us.

  “Grey, we are putting our faith in you. You have to understand that you can never tell anyone about us, or you risk endangering Ashling’s life,” Baran said.

  “I understand,” he replied.

  “Is that bloody good enough?” Mund said. “You’re going to trust this half-breed with her life? I know he’s Brenna’s son, but that doesn’t make this right!”

  Grey turned his attention on Mund at the sound of his mother’s name. He watched Mund carefully. I wonder how much he really knew about his mother and about us. There was an eerie quiet to him.

  “Mund . . .” I said. How could he be so mean after everything Grey had done to protect me and how much he clearly loved me? He treated Grey as if he were still a stranger.

  “You understand this, wanker—she’s my sister, and if you hurt a hair on her head, I will bleed every drop of blood from your body,” Mund said.

  There was a quizzical look on Grey’s face, as though he knew something more than he was saying. He stood up and offered his hand to Mund. “Agreed,” he said, waiting for Mund to shake his hand. But Mund didn’t accept it; he only growled in return. “Look, I get it. She’s your baby sister, and you’re having a hard time letting go of the fact that she’s growing up.” He paused, studying my face. “But you understand this—I love her and I am a permanent fixture in your life as long as she wants me here. So get used to it.”

  Mund’s growl deepened. It was a warning, but Grey ignored it, turning his back on him. Was it arrogance, or a misguided trust in Mund? He was oddly unaffected by what Baran had told him, and it was troubling that he didn’t have a stronger reaction, as though he were the one keeping secrets.

  “So can I see you as a wolf?” he asked.

  Baran answered for me, “No. There’s more you need to understand, Grey. If you are going to be a part of her life, you need to understand she is in hiding right now. There are some dogs from our world that are trying to take her from us, so you’ll need to help us keep her safe.”

  “That I can do,” Grey said, scooping me up from the floor into his arms as if I were a child, holding me tightly to his chest as if I weighed nothing more than a feather. “As long as you want me.”

  “Good. Now can I finish my movie?” Baran asked.

  Grey sat down on the sofa with me in his lap, and I rested my head on his shoulder. Mund stayed standing by the front door. He was too shocked to move, and I was too angry with him for overreacting about this whole thing, but I had to admire him for loving me so much. No matter how mad I was, I was still touched by how much he cared about me.

  I listened to Grey’s heart; it was steady and unyielding, like his love for me. He was watching me instead of the movie, studying my face, though I couldn’t fathom what he was seeing.

  “You really are my little wild one,” he whispered in my ear. I hid my smile, but I liked the way he said my. I liked the way it sounded on his lips. Before I met Grey, I could never have imagined the depth of love and how much it would change me.

  The movie ended, and Grey said his goodbye to me—three times before finally driving off. Which left me with Mund again. He had to get over the protective-older-brother thing. It was getting old. I was a big girl, and I didn’t need a babysitter any more.

  I shut the front door quietly and stood, waiting for them to get it over with. But Mund didn’t say anything; he only held his face in his hands as he sat on the edge of the sofa while Baran still sat in his chair.

  “Thank you,” I said.

  “Ash, please be careful,” Mund whispered through his hands.

  “I know, I know. The prophecy,” I said.

  He looked up at me with pain in his eyes. “Ash, it’s not like that. I don’t care about any prophecy. I only care about keeping you safe.”

  “Right.”

  “Be fair,” Mund said.

  “Fine. Then you be fair. I love him. End of story.”

  “Well, now he knows what we are,” he said. “If we aren’t dead by morning, he’s probably a keeper.” I laughed despite my annoyance with him. Even when he was being melodramatic, he still had a sense of humor.

  Luckily two weeks passed without any fights. Grey spent every day at our house or at Ryan’s practicing. Either way, we spent every evening together. Laughing, hugging, even stealing a kiss or two when no one was looking. School blew by without even having to notice. I just kept smiling and saying hi to Lacey, and she just kept ignoring me—the best of both worlds.

  I worked on translating the journal and found poems of love from Ragnall to Calista. I found a pressed thistle, which was a sign of strength, and drawings of the ring on my finger. One passage I translated caught me by surprise.

  Spring 1048

  The visions come more often of Ragnall’s and my demise. Our wedding brings my death. Uaid’s betrayal. The red one, the dream, she will come from my blood to save us all. With her snow-white skin and crimson curls. She is the missing element that will bring balance back to the earth.

  She wrote of her own death two years before it came to pass in 1050. She knew Uaid Dvergar would kill her, and yet she still married Ragnall and died. For love? Or for me? Why would she accept death for the idea of someone coming over nine hundred years later? She knowingly sacrificed herself . . . for the dream of me.

  Could I have made such a sacrifice for the sake of love? I couldn’t truly know until I was put in the situation. I couldn’t say how strong I would be, how hard I would fight, or how much I could really sacrifice for the ones I loved. It was humbling to finally understand the sacrifices that had been made for me.

  Another entry also captured my attention. This one I didn’t share with Mund or Baran. This one I kept to myself. They wouldn’t understand.

  Winter 1048

  The Dream will be all-powerful with her love by her side. Finding this wolf is of the utmost importance. He is the key to her . . .

  The entry was incomplete and abruptly stopped midsentence, the ink smudged on the last word. But I knew it referenced a wolf . . . a wolf who would be my love. If Mund knew the prophecy spoke of a wolf love of mine, he would fight harder against my choice to bind with Grey, a human. This entry would be mine alone. I tore it out of the journal, hiding it in my copy of Pride and Prejudice. Mund hated fiction—he’d never open it.

  Maybe she was wrong about the prophecy. Or maybe it was never about me and they were all mistaken. All of the maybes made it hard to think. I wished Mother were here; she would hold me tight in her steel grip, safe from worry, and braid my hair while singing a sweet song. She would tell me to stop running wild as she delicately washed the dirt from my face. I missed everything about her, though I could still feel her love and strength in my heart.

  The day of the dance finally came, and it coincided with Samhain, the end of summer. It was an important ceremonious day for our kind, but I had a dance to go to. The girls had nominated my house for getting ready. Baran was less than thrilled about having so many hormone-charged humans in the house again, but he still agreed. He said he would stop back before we all left for the dance. Mund also decided to hide elsewhere until he absolutely had to come back in to get dressed.

  Kate and Beth were the lucky ones with dates. At least the rest of us had each other to hang out with, though. I wasn’t sure why I was going—Grey would be playing up in the band. I would be alone all night, and Lacey would be there, hopefully without incident. She had been ignoring me for weeks, so that seemed promising.

  The girls sculpted their hair into beautiful up-dos, but I did
n’t have a clue what to do with mine or how. This was one of those moments when I found myself looking around and realizing how completely unfeminine I really was. I could hardly put mascara on without poking myself in the eye.

  “What do you ladies think?” Kate asked, spinning around, showing her perfect hair.

  “Beautiful,” Emma said.

  “Truly lovely,” I replied.

  “You haven’t started your hair, Ashling,” Kate said.

  “I don’t know what to do with it. And even if I figured that out, I’m not sure I’d know how to accomplish it.” I laughed nervously. I hated feeling inadequate. I could dance nearly every classical step, I could weave silk, speak the language of the Bloodmoon, and recite classic poetry in Latin. I was even learning ancient Greek, but could I do my own hair? No. Every part of being a girl that should come naturally was foreign to me.

  Kate squeezed my shoulder and studied my dress. “With the shape of your dress, I think we should do something asymmetrical.” She began moving my hair around expertly, creating a side sweep. “Let’s straighten your hair. It’ll be beautiful, but still a little wild. What do you think?” she asked.

  I just nodded. I had no idea what she was talking about, but I trusted her style. The others continued on their own hair and makeup while Kate straightened my hair, section by section. I watched her transform me into someone I didn’t even know. The girl in the mirror was smooth and refined, wide-eyed and beautiful. By the time she was done, my hair was exquisitely shaped around one side of my face.

  “Oh, Kate . . .” I said.

  “You’re welcome. Emma, can you help Ashling with makeup? You’re a pro.”

  Emma smiled. “What do you want me to do?” she asked as she started digging through a large makeup bag, pulling out dozens of strange little containers.

  “Not sure really. Something simple.”

  “How about we play up your eyes and do a simple nude lip,” she said, more to herself than to me. “A lightly smoky eye, but in golden tones.”

  After Emma and Kate finished their work, I looked like a woman. I had to admit, I loved the feeling of being dressed up.

  “Clint and James should be here soon,” Kate said.

  “Will you help me?” Emma asked Kelsey as she held out a flower corsage she’d purchased herself. Kelsey easily pinned it on to her bodice.

  “My mom bought me one too,” Kelsey said.

  A horn honked outside, sending us all running to the window to peer out. There stood James and Clint in front of a black limo, smiling proudly. Beth and Kate rushed out to greet them, and Kelsey, Emma, and I followed. It was going to be my first ride in a limo. Everyone was ready to go, but I felt out of place. I wasn’t as dressed up as the others, and I didn’t have flowers as they all did. I wished I would have known—I could have picked something up.

  Mund walked out the front door in a light-gray suit with a white dress shirt and a white tie. He looked striking. And if Emma’s gasp wasn’t enough to convince him he looked good, nothing would.

  “I was just wondering about you,” I said.

  He smiled, opening the limo door. “Ladies, your chariot awaits,” he said. Emma giggled as she hopped in. Mund pulled a container from behind his back, revealing white orchids. “I thought you could use this,” he said, pinning the delicate flowers into my hair.

  “Thank you, Mund.”

  “Let’s go!” someone called from inside the limo.

  “Where’s Baran?” I asked. “He said he’d be here.”

  “Something came up.”

  “What?”

  “Nothing to worry about,” Mund said.

  Nothing to worry about? With them, it was always something to worry about, but I decided to wait and give it my full attention later. Tonight was about enjoying this human ritual, the homecoming dance.

  We arrived at the dance about twenty minutes after it had already started, making our grand entrance. The darkness made me nervous, but luckily the strobe lights made it impossible for anyone to notice our glowing eyes. The gymnasium was decorated with paper streamers and gossamer. It seemed the entire senior high was actually there, even Lacey. I could have spotted her a mile away . . . even if she wasn’t standing in front of Grey, jumping up and down, screaming like a groupie. She was dressed in a nauseating pink strapless dress with a bow on the side, as though she were a little pink present, her bleached-blonde hair piled on top of her head.

  The song ended, and Lacey and Nikki headed off to the refreshment table. The dance floor cleared, leaving an opening from Grey at the front of the gym to me at the very back, standing alone. He wore an exquisitely tailored black pinstriped suit coat and pants with a white dress shirt, collar tips flipped up, and a loose, straight-cut black tie. He looked delicious, and my heart was beating so loud in my ears, I couldn’t hear anything around me. All I could see was him. They started playing another song, and his voice penetrated my mind. It felt as if my blood were being replaced by an intoxicating drug, tingling every inch of my body. His guitar swung at his hip as he walked the length of the gymnasium toward me, singing. His jacket swayed with each step of his strut, enticing my soul.

  I couldn’t hear the words he was singing; my erratic pulse thundered through my body as I watched the movements of his perfect lips. I knew everyone was watching him, but I didn’t see any of them. Only Grey. He fell to his knees, sliding to my feet with six bright-red roses in his hands. His lips curved up into a mischievous little grin, and his eyes were wild. He studied every inch of me from the top of my head to the bottom of my toes.

  “May I have this dance, my lady?” he said.

  I slipped my hand into his and let him lead me to the center of the dance floor as he sang to me. Everyone watched us, but to us, the room was empty, only our love remained. The song came to an end, and the room stopped spinning—or we stopped moving. I wasn’t sure which. He leaned forward, kissing me on the cheek.

  “Love you,” he said as he winked and ran back up to the stage.

  I had to escape. Everyone was staring at me, and it made me apprehensive. I darted to the bathroom for shelter. I needed to breathe and have a moment to myself away from the scrutiny of their prying eyes.

  After regaining my ability to think and breathe on my own, I relinquished my hiding place and exited into the hallway, where I promptly ran right into Lacey. Her face matched the color of her dress. “I hate you!” she said, ripping the roses from my hands. Petals fell all over, creating cascades of red that covered the floor. It looked like blood. The glorious flowers were destroyed, but I knelt down to scoop them back up.

  “You’re nothing more than a fling,” she sneered. “He’ll dump you when he’s done using you up! He’ll come back to me, you know.”

  I looked up at her contorted face. “I’m sorry you feel that way,” I replied, and I went back to collecting all the petals from the floor, trying to put back together what she had destroyed. Lacey slapped the broken flowers from my hand. With the second assault, anger started to flow through me, and my vision flickered, but I had to hold the wolf at bay. No matter how much she deserved my wrath, I had to remain calm. This wasn’t the place to lose control.

  Standing up, I put myself face to face with the little waif of a girl, looking her right in the eyes as she continued her verbal assault. “Why don’t you go back where you came from, you dog!” she said.

  At some point, people had started to notice what was going on and were beginning to circle around us. I almost laughed at the spectacle she was making. And to think, I had hid in the bathroom so I wouldn’t be the center of attention. Now here I stood, in the middle of a silly fight over a boy, just like a teenager. I finally got what I wanted, to feel like a normal sixteen-year-old girl.

  I stood in a pool of broken flowers as Grey walked over to us. He wrapped his arm around my waist and started to pull me away from Lacey and her hate. She grabbed my arm, pulling me back, then pushed me with all her might into the wall. I hardly felt th
e impact, but rage churned in my body.

  “What the hell, Lacey,” Grey said.

  “She’s not good enough for you, Grey. She’s not like us,” she said.

  “You’re right about one thing,” he replied. “We’re not like you.”

  “Little cat fight?” Mund asked, suddenly appearing.

  “Hardly,” I said.

  Grey said, “Come on, let’s get some fresh air.” He led the way out the front doors to the picnic tables, leaving Lacey in her embarrassing mess of pink and red.

  “You okay? Did she hurt you?”

  “I’ll be fine,” I said.

  “I’ll buy you more flowers,” he said.

  I poked him in the nose with my index finger and smiled. “I don’t need flowers. I only need you.” He smiled back, kissing my forehead, and we gazed up at the stars in silence.

  Suddenly, Mund ran out to us. “We have to go,” he said.

  “Why?” I replied.

  “Baran.”

  Instantly both Grey and I were up and ready to run. Emma came out after Mund. “Where are you going?” she asked, batting her eyes. Her infatuation with him was starting to annoy me.

  “Ashling isn’t feeling well. So we’re going to take her home,” Mund said. “Will you be a dear and tell everyone?” He knew how to put on the charm when he wanted to.

  “Oh yes,” she said. “Feel better, Ashling. Bye, Mund. . . .”

  We made our way to the side of the school, out of sight. “We have to run,” Mund said.

  “Okay,” I replied.

  “Can he keep up?” Mund asked.

  “Yes,” I said, slipping off my high heels.

  “We have to get home to Baran—something isn’t right,” Mund said to Grey. “I trust you.”

  Grey nodded. With one shoe in each hand, I started running for home with Mund and Grey flanking me on either side. Flying past houses at incredible speeds, I could see Mund watching Grey’s agile movements. It had to blow Mund’s mind to see a human with such strength and agility.

  We reached the house in a matter of minutes. Bursting through the front door, the rush of a human’s scent washed over me. Mund recoiled from it, blocking both Grey and me from entering any farther. He was instantly on the defense, only a split second from shifting at any sound.