Chapter 5 The Mark Beneath My Skin

The house was burning.

Not with fire-

with sound, movement, fear.

I strained against my uncle's grip as another crash echoed from the hallway. Wood splintered. Someone shouted. The scent of blood flooded the air, hot and sharp, sending the wolf inside me slamming against my ribs.

"Maya's still in there!" I roared.

"I know," my uncle snapped. "And if you go feral now, she dies with everyone else."

That stopped me.

Barely.

My arm burned again-worse this time. I cried out as pain ripped through my skin like something was being carved from the inside. My uncle swore under his breath and yanked up my sleeve.

The mark was there now.

Black and silver lines twisted beneath my skin, forming a symbol that pulsed with a heartbeat that wasn't mine. It looked ancient. Possessive.

Claimed.

"That's their seal," he said grimly. "Black Hollow doesn't mark lightly."

"What does it mean?" I demanded.

"It means they think you belong to them," he replied. "And wolves don't give up what they claim."

A scream cut through the noise.

Maya's scream.

The wolf surged.

My vision fractured into gold and shadow as I ripped free of my uncle's grip. Pain exploded through my spine-but this time, I welcomed it. I ran toward the sound, faster than thought, faster than fear.

I skidded into the living room.

Two men stood there dressed in dark armor, silver weapons raised. One lay bleeding on the floor. And between them-

Maya.

She was pressed against the wall, chest heaving, blood smeared across her knuckles. Her eyes locked onto mine, widening in relief and terror all at once.

"Ethan-don't-"

Too late.

The wolf broke loose.

Bones snapped. Muscles tore and rebuilt. The world sharpened into brutal clarity. I felt *huge*, powerful, unstoppable.

One hunter turned just in time to see me.

He didn't even get to scream.

I slammed into him, sending him flying through the window in a storm of glass and blood. The second raised his weapon-but Maya moved faster.

She threw her pendant.

Silver light exploded in the air, slamming into the hunter and pinning him to the wall like an insect. He screamed as the light burned into his skin.

I stood there, half-shifted, chest heaving, claws dripping red.

Maya stared at me.

Not with fear.

With heartbreak.

"Look at your hands," she whispered.

I did.

Blood soaked my claws. The wolf inside me purred.

I hated it.

I turned away from her instantly, shaking, trying to force the shift back. The mark burned like fire, resisting me.

"Ethan," she said softly, stepping closer. "You came back. That means you're still you."

I wanted to believe her.

She reached out-hesitated-then placed her palm over my heart. The contact sent a shock through me, grounding and unbearable all at once. My form collapsed back into human skin, leaving me gasping on my knees.

She knelt with me.

"You scare me," she admitted, voice breaking. "But losing you scares me more."

I looked up at her, eyes burning. "If I stay near you, I'll destroy you."

"No," she said firmly. "If you leave, you'll become exactly what they want."

Sirens wailed in the distance.

My uncle appeared in the doorway, eyes dark. "We have to disappear. Tonight."

Maya squeezed my hand. "This isn't over."

I looked down at the mark on my arm, still glowing faintly.

No.

This was just the beginning.