Bonds

-Maya's POV-

All day, I'd been trying my hardest to act normal around Ivan when we got to work but I had to figure out what the hell had happened so second the clock struck noon and my lunch break officially began, I practically dove for my phone and dialed Natalia, Sarah, and Riley. Thankfully, it was their lunch break too, except for Riley who was working the night shift today.

Natalia suggested we meet at a bar as I have come to realize that there was something absolutely wrong with my best friend. Thankfully, Ms. Edwards was giving Sarah a hard time about something - though maybe "thankfully" wasn't the right word. Sarah ended up grounded, which for her, was a fate worse than detention. To drown her sorrows, she craved ice cream, so here we were, at a brightly lit ice cream parlor that looked like it belonged in a cartoon, filled with overflowing bowls of sugary goodness and more sprinkles than seemed possible. I'd just finished explaining how the mark I had mysteriously disappeared.

Natalia frowned, her perfectly manicured nails scraping against the rim of her ice cream bowl. "Okay let me see if I understand this straight. It just vanished? Did you even check for it before, like yesterday or something?"

"The truth is, I hadn't really even noticed if it was there or not. I don't even know why I did this time, but something made me check, a sudden urge I couldn't explain. And then...poof, it was gone, like it never even existed."

Riley, who had been unusually quiet the whole time, finally spoke up, her voice hesitant. "Hold on a sec, you guys. I'm a little lost here. How exactly does this whole mating mark thing work? Is it like a permanent tattoo or something?"

to take s Natalia, Sarah, and I exchanged glances. Riley wasn't a werewolf, so explaining the intricacies of the mating bond was going to tak needed to break it down for her from the very beginning.

some time. We

"Okay," I started, taking a deep breath, "Imagine two wolves who are destined to be together, like soulmates you know? When they find each other, and the connection is strong enough and they decide to be together, they claim one another and form a bond by marking each other."

"A mark? Like a tattoo or something?" Riley asked again, her brow furrowed in confusion.

"Not exactly," Sarah chimed in, wiping a stray bit of chocolate ice cream from her cheek. "It's more like a birthmark, but it appears out of nowhere. It's usually a symbol that's unique to each couple, something special that represents their bond."

point of the mating mark is to create a connection between the two wolves. They become attuned to each other's Natalia continued. The Dep emotions. They can feel what the other person is feeling, almost like they're sharing the same mind."

"Whoa, that's intense," Riley muttered, her eyes wide with wonder. "So, basically, you can tell what the other person is feeling?"

I nodded, "Pretty much. So Ivan marked me, I haven't marked him back but it isn't ground for the mark to just disappear. Mating marks don't just disappear unless there is a rejection like there was with Alex."

Silence stretched on, heavy and suffocating.

ing. Each of us was lost in our own thoughts, grappling with the implications of the vanished mark. Suddenly, Natalia broke the stillness. "Hold on a minute. We haven't really talked about your wolf coming back and then you don't exactly know when it cleared off but it was there just before the gala and during the gala which only meant it must have disappeared after."

My eyes widened in understanding. "It was definitely there then and after the fight but I never checked after that."

A low murmur escaped Sarah's lips. "Oh, Goddess."

Riley threw her hands up in exasperation. "What? What is happening?" she whisper-yelled, her voice laced with frustration. "You guys are talking in riddles! Explain this whole werewolf telepathic bond thing to me because I'm completely lost!"

Taking a deep breath, I tried to piece it all together. "My wolf," I said slowly, the dawning realization hitting me like a punch to the gut. "My wolf wiped off the mark. She doesn't want Ivan as a mate."

As the words left my lips, I felt a presence bloom in the back of my mind, a familiar echo of my own thoughts and emotions and it felt like she'd been waiting for this moment, for me to finally understand. My eyes narrowed instinctively, and I directed a mental snarl towards her.

"What is wrong with you?" I demanded, the frustration bubbling inside me threatening to boil over.

en dring There was a long pause, a sense of resistance in my head. Then, a defiant image flickered through my mind - my wolf, sitting with her shoulders puffed up in a nonchalant shrug. It only served to further fuel my annoyance.

you clean it off?" I pressed, my voice tight with anger.

"Why did Silence. She was ignoring me.

"I'm talking to you!" I yelled in my head, my ice echoing in the emptiness. "And you better start answering me or else..."

"Or else what?" My wolf's growl reverberated within my skull, raw and powerful.

I clenched my jaw, the sound grating against my teeth. "Why did you take his mark away?" I repeated, forcing myself to stay calm. “Because he is not our mate," she finally answered, her voice firm and unwavering. "Only our mate has my blessing to mark us."

"Well, in case you forgot," I ground out, my voice laced with bitterness, "our mate" - the word felt like a slap in the face - "is an asshole who rejected us, Ivan is a good man."

"Or maybe you're seeing what you want to see," she shot back, her words like a twisted logic that only made me angrier.

"What does that even mean?" I demanded, my head spinning with confusion.

"Scratch that. You have no right to come back here after you left me for four straight years, turned your back on me only showing up when you felt like it, and now trying to control who I can or cannot mate with."

"You seemed to be doing just fine Ween without me, she echoed, her voice tinged with a bitter amusement. "I've only been fully back with you for a week now, and you've hardly acknowledged my presence. Why is that? Because you've been so preoccupied with someone that we don't belong to,"

"Alex is gone." I growled, the memory of his rejection still a raw wound. "Now, return the mark to me."

There was a long beat of silence, thick and heavy with tension. Then, she did something unexpected. She turned away from me, a mental image of her back and her tail appearing in my mind's eye. Without a word, she slammed a mental door shut, severing the connection.

"You damn asshole!" I roared, the mental scream echoing in the emptiness of my head seeping into reality.

The sudden outburst startled everyone at the table. Heads whipped around, eyes wide with surprise and confusion. A blush crept up my cheeks, burning hot with embarrassment.Contentt bel0ngs to N0ve/lDrâ/ma.O(r)g!

"What just happened? Where did you just go?" Riley asked hesitantly..

"My wolf is damn right annoying. That's what happened," I grumbled through gritted teeth. "She erased the mark and won't give it back because Ivan is not our mate."

Riley's eyes widened in surprise. "So you can talk to your wolf?" she blurted out, her voice laced with wonder.

Natalia chimed in with a knowing smile. "You are closer to your wolf than anyone else in the world, Riley. You're two halves of a whole. So yeah, she understands you better than anyone. Isn't that right?" she finished, directing a glance towards her own head, a silent conversation passing between her and her wolf. A satisfied smile bloomed on Natalia's face, suggesting her wolf had responded positively, unlike mine who was currently giving me the silent treatment.

Stuck between frustration and confusion, I mumbled the question hanging heavy in the air, "So what am I supposed to do? I can't exactly tell Ivan my wolf doesn't want him, that's basically rejecting him outright."

Sarah sighed, swirling her melted ice cream, "So what does she suggest you do?"

A groan escaped my lips. I had no idea. It was only a matter of time before Ivan noticed the mark was gone. It was a miracle he hadn't already. Just as despair threatened to consume me, the mental link between me and my wolf snapped open. A vivid image flooded my mind - a replay of the moment Alex and I had claimed each other as mates, the bond solidifying with a glowing mark.

The connection slammed shut again, leaving me with a chilling realization. Two things were crystal clear. One, my wolf was definitely back, and judging by her attitude, she clearly has beef with me. And two...well,

"Shit."