Chapter 143
Lily POV
For a second, I couldn’t breathe.
The room felt like it spun beneath me.
He said it so casually, like it was the simplest thing in the world. Like he wasn’t talking about changing my life forever, about chaining me to him in a way I couldn’t undo.
A mating mark was permanent, sacred—it would bind me to Lucas forever. Not even Kai and I have gotten around to marking each other and now Lucas wanted to mark me… No other wolf would touch me once I carried his mark. I would be his ultimate claim.
I struggled to keep the horror from showing on my face. “You… you want to mark me?” I echoed, hoping the tremor in my voice would be interpreted as excitement rather than revulsion.
“Yes,” he said, his fingers trailing down my neck to the spot where shoulder meets collarbone—the traditional place for a mating bite. “You’d be mine, Lily. Completely and totally mine p>
“I wanted to do it back then but you haven’t gotten your wolf then and the whole thing that followed afterwards. But now that we’re together, I have power and you’ll finally belong to me.” He added, smiling like it was the most beautiful thing in the world.
Inside, I wanted to scream.
But outwardly, I smiled shyly, looking down at my hands. “You’re serious p>
“Of course, I’m serious,” he said, crouching in front of me so he could look directly into my eyes. “It’s the only way to make sure you don’t leave me again. And thank the goddess you haven’t been marked by that brute called Kai. It makes it easier p>
I swallowed hard, my throat suddenly dry. This was worse than I had anticipated. Lucas didn’t just want to kidnap me or use me as leverage against my pack—he wanted to claim me as his mate.
“That’s… that’s a big step,” I managed to say, trying to sound flattered rather than horrified.
“It is,” he agreed, his thumb now tracing small circles on my skin. “But I’ve wanted you since the first time I saw you at that inter-pack gathering and fell in love with you. We had a good thing going, Lily. Your sister and the others—they never understood what we could have together p>
But then you cheated on me with her all because you wanted to become Alpha. I said in my mind. Though I kept nodding slowly to let him think I was thinking about it.
“I love you, Lily. A day doesn’t go by that I don’t think of you. That I don’t regret everything that happened. I swear to the moon, I miss you everyday and giving you my mark is one of the many ways I can express how you make me feel. I miss what we had together. Vanessa is not the right woman for me p>
Yet you repeatedly slept with her. I said in my mind.
“She’s not like you in any way and Alpha Gregory… they don’t deserve to be your family. If you give me another chance, baby, I promise, I’ll make it all up to you. I swear p>
I had to play for time. A mating mark couldn’t be given without consent—at least, not traditionally. But I didn’t trust Lucas to honor that tradition, especially not when we were far from pack territories and their laws.
“I’m honored,” I said, the lie bitter on my tongue. “But shouldn’t we wait? Get to remove the obstacles on our way first. You’re married to my sister and I have a mate. Like my real mate now and p>
His expression darkened slightly. “It doesn’t matter, Lily. You love me and I do you so much. I’ve waited all these months, watching you from afar, planning for the perfect moment to make you mine p>
“I just I hesitated, then glanced at him from beneath my lashes. “I want to do it right p>
That seemed to catch him off guard. “What do you mean p>
“Well,” I said carefully, “you want me to be yours completely, don’t you? Not just because I’m scared or tied up. You want me to choose you just like I did in the past when we dated. I agree, we had the perfect relationship p>
Lucas’ eyes softened slightly, and he reached out to brush his knuckles against my cheek. “I do p>
“And you know we cannot just mate. We have to have sex and p>
“Yeah,” he interrupted me with a known grin. “You’ve always begged for it in the past. I’m ready now to give it to you the way you like,” he winked.
The revelation sent a new wave of disgust through me. Was he delusional or something? Are just going to forget the shitty way he treated me before?
“Of course,” I backpedaled quickly. “I just meant… Wouldn’t it be more special if we built up to it? If I could prepare myself mentally for such an important commitment p>
Lucas seemed to consider this, his hand still resting possessively on my neck. I held my breath, praying he would agree.
He leaned forward, our faces were inches apart. I wanted to draw back but I stayed. “C’mon, Lily, sex with you won’t be bad p>
“I know,” I nodded. “But…I just have so much. I’m still trying to come to terms with a lot of things. For one, you hurt me, Lucas. You cheated on me with my sister p>
“And you did same with Kai. I guess we’re even p>
I stared at him wondering if this was a stupid version of Lucas… the version I’ve never met before.
“The main thing, you cannot mark me when I’m sure you’ve marked Vanessa. It could bring problems for us. You need to reject her first p>
“That is not necessary,” he shook his head. “As soon as I put my mark on you, I am rejecting Vanessa. You don’t need to worry about unimportant things like that. I assure you, Lily, we’re perfect for each other and the longer you put this off, the more you suffer p>
I knew he won’t drop the topic and the only way to accommodate him was to make a small compromise.
“Fine, if you can arouse my desires, I would let you mark me p>
He stared at me for a few seconds. I guess he was trying to understand what I meant.
“Can you repeat what you just said but slower because I need to understand that I’m not dreaming or anything p>
I took a breath, making sure I sounded unsure, hesitant—but not outright resistant.
“I just… if I’m going to let you do something that permanent, I need to know that I want it. That I feel something.” I lifted my chin and met his eyes. “That you can still… stir something in me p>
That smirk of his widened, exactly like I expected.
“You mean, you want me to prove to you that you still want me p>
I nodded, schooling my face into something between shy and curious.
“I don’t want it to be… clinical,” I said, choosing my words carefully. “A mating bond should be special, right? Built on mutual desire p>
Lucas leaned forward, clearly intrigued. “What are you saying, Lily p>
I took a deep breath, hating myself for what I was about to propose, but knowing it was necessary. “I’m saying that if you can arouse me—truly, arouse me—then I’ll let you mark me willingly.” I forced a shy smile. “No resistance, no reluctance. I’ll be yours completely p>
The hunger in his eyes was immediate and predatory. It took everything I had not to recoil.
“You want me to seduce you p>