Screw My Childhood Sweetheart His Alpha Brother Marked Me First novel Chapter 95

I stared at him, trying to weed through all the layers of pain and confusion. “I know control takes time, but your handle on it now seems to be good.”

“I’ve had this gift since I was eleven. If I was going to get a handle on it, it would’ve happened by now.”

“Eleven? I thought the gifts manifested around the time of your first shift.”

Vaughn stared out at the water. “They usually do. They also can manifest if a shifter is under a great deal of duress.”

My heart clenched. “What happened?”

“There was an attack. We still don’t know who was responsible. Whoever it was employed rogue wolves. We have emergency shelters and hiding places for that kind of thing, but when the alarms went off, I’d been playing in the woods. Before I could make it to one, they caught me.”

My fingers pressed into the rock beneath me as I watched the shadows dance in Vaughn’s eyes. “You don’t have to tell me.”

“No. You should know. They wanted to know where the alpha’s mate and son were. Mason and many of our top wolves were away at a council conference. The rogues knew we were vulnerable.”

“You wouldn’t tell them.” I might not have known Vaughn long, but I knew him well enough to know he wouldn’t have revealed the locations of the shelters if he could help it.

The corner of his mouth quirked. “That didn’t make them too happy.”

“What did they do?”

Any hint of humor fled from Vaughn’s expression. “They tortured me. I don’t know how long it lasted. It was night by the time I broke. It just wasn’t in the way they expected. I could feel this energy crackle over my skin, and when one of the wolves punched me, he crumpled to the ground.” He turned his gaze to me. “I killed all four of them. But it still took all night for someone to finally find me. When they did, they couldn’t cut me loose without me shocking them and almost sending them to their knees. No matter what I tried, I couldn’t turn it off.”

A tear slipped free and slid down my cheek. All I could see was Vaughn as a little boy. He’d lost his parents in the attack, been brutalized, and no one could touch him. I moved without thought, climbing into his lap and wrapping myself around him. I hugged him as if it could erase all he’d been through.

“I’m so sorry.”

“I’ll probably never be able to control it.”

“I don’t care.” A zap of pain sparked through my system.

“You sure about that?”

I only held on to Vaughn tighter. “StoNo one spoke for a moment.

Panic lit through my veins. “They can’t make me go with them, right?”

Mason’s jaw tightened. “It’s happened in the past. They’ve made the case for a particularly powerful female to be housed in one of the Great’s packs for her protection. But that’s usually a female who hasn’t found her bond.”

“And won’t ever be able to find it because they lock her away,” Anson muttered.

I blanched, my fingernails digging into my knees.

“Anson,” Knox barked.

“Shit. Sorry.” He moved behind me, dropping a kiss to my head. “That’s not going to happen to you. We won’t let it

“We need to leave with her,” Vaughn said again.

“They’ll only track us down and take her for sure,” Caspian argued. “We need to play the game.”

Mason nodded. “Caspian’s right. We need to show the council that her destined place is here with us. Even the council won’t go against the fates.”

River flowed more calming energy through me, but I shook my head. “Please don’t.” He looked hurt for a moment, and I took his hand. squeezing it. “I need to feel all of this. To have all my faculties.”

He pressed a kiss to the spot behind my ear. “Okay.”

I focused on Mason. “How do we make them believe my destiny is here?”

“The mark is a good place to start.” He looked around at our group. “If more of the bond were cemented, that would help.”

My breaths started coming faster. The last thing I wanted was to push the guys into bonding. I cared about all of them. Knew I was falling faster than was wise. But I didn’t want to force them into something they weren’t ready for. My gaze found Vaughn, and a pain lanced through my chest. It already hurt too much to know he didn’t want this. It would destroy me if I found out any of the others felt the same

I tore my gaze away from those ice–blue eyes and stared down at the floor. “I thought there was no way to make the bond happen more quickly unless it was against someone’s will.”

“Not exactly true,” Mason said. “You can spend time together. Be open with one another. The more you let down your walls, the easier it will be for the bond to form.”

Vaughn hadn’t let his walls down around me. I’d crashed through them like a wrecking ball. Completely against his will. My eyes found him again. “I’m so sorry,” I whispered

His pacing halted. “What?”

“I forced the bond. I never should’ve done that. I didn’t know…” I pushed to my feet. I needed out. Air, I couldn’t seem to get my lungs to inflate.

I started for the back door as voices called for me to wait. Vaughn barked something in response, but I just kept moving, down the steps and across the grassy backyard. I tried to suck in air, but my lungs wouldn’t obey.

Branches slapped at my arms as I charged through the woods. I didn’t know where I was going until I reached the lake. My chest heaved as oxygen slowly began to make its way through my body.

10:13

I knew someone was behind me. I could hear the footsteps in my wake. The scent on the breeze made my rib cage constrict.

“Senna.”

Had Vaughn ever actually said my name before? It sounded different on his lips somehow. Beautifully unique. I still couldn’t turn around. Couldn’t force myself to look at him.

“Senna.”

There it was again. But this time, it was a plea I was powerless against. I slowly turned.

There was so much pain in Vaughn’s expression. It filled his eyes and carved deep grooves in the planes of his face. “It’s not your fault.”

“Isn’t it? I shoved all of my energy into you. It’s no wonder we honded. I’m like one of those monsters that forces a bond on someone who never

wanted it.”

Vaughn’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed. “I wanted you, Senna. But there’s nothing in this world that’s ever scared me more.”

“What?“It came out as part word, part breath.

Vaughn’s chest rose and fell in a ragged rhythm. “When we talked about someone forcing the bond, that’s not what we meant. You gave selflessly and I took. We’re true mates. That’s why we bonded.”

My mind was still circling around the other little tidbit Vaughn had shared. “You wanted me?”

He let out a low growl. “Yes, I wanted you. I still want you, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to take you.”

A little of the hope that had flared to life in my chest snuffed out. “Why?”

Vaughn lowered himself to one of the boulders next to the water. “I’ve hurt people I’ve cared about before. I’ve hurt Caspian. I didn’t mean to, but it happened.”

I eased down next to Vaughn, leaving that space he liked so much between us. “Mistakes happen.”

His gaze jumped to me. “It’s not one I’m willing to risk when it could kill you.”

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83.5p trying to scare me.”

He rested his chin on my shoulder. “I don’t want this. Don’t want to be linked to another person I could fail. Don’t want to risk that I could hurt

you or worse.”

I trailed my fingers up and down his spine. “I was scared today.”

“That piece of shit never should’ve gotten close to you.”

“Not then.” Fear had sparked the initial reaction. But that flicker had nothing on how I felt afterward. “When I hurt him. That terrified me.”

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