The drive home was pretty quiet but seemed faster than when we were driving to the ceremony earlier. I was itching to get out and get this jewelry off me so I could go for a proper run. Once we reached the oackhouse father was already outside on the porch waiting for us. I loved my dad he was so protective. The car came to a stop and the doors opened. Father closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
'Well, well, the ceremony shows to have been fruitful. Two out of three unmated children found their pair tonight I see.' He said enthusiasticly. Two? I thought to myself glancing at Derrick quickly looking for any sign he found his mate, he caught my eyes and with an unreadable expression he shook his head side to side to indicate 'no' to me.
'Come here let me take a proper look at you all,' dad said Arma outstretched waiting for us to exit the vehicle all the way. Daven existed first walking around to the trunk to pop it and let me out while Dylan existed the car with his mate in his arms.
'Who is this?!' My dad said excitedly toward Dylan.
'This is my mate Mara dad, she's from a island pack and came to the mainland foe the ceremony. She will be staying woth us as she had no status at her old pack and no real ties as her parents passed away when she was young' Dylan explained while being Mara to father.
Father embraced her in a giant hug, 'I'm so happy we have a new member of the family, it's nice to meet you,' dad said happily. Mara politely smiled and thanked him. Fathers eyes shifted toward Derrick who was silently and patiently waiting for his next words.
'Derrick?' Father said hopefully but Derrick only pressed his lips in a firm line to communicate silently with father using only facial expressions. Father looked on at him curiously in a searching manner. When he found no evidence of a mate on him ,father then furrowed his brows tightly together on confusion.
'Then why do u scent..,' father stoped short not finishing his thought once I gi silly exited the vehicle. His eyes blew wide staring straight at me. The silence fell heavy, grim looks adorned the faces of my brothers. My fathers face held shock and Mara wore an expression of unease not knowing how to feel. Father and daven had locked eyes and began a link, I could tell by their faces. Once their eyes cleared, without a single word father approached me and pet my head, I nuzzeled into him feeling comforted. Fathers hands glided down to my chain and removed it along with the head peice and handed it to daven. Then without so much as a warning father lifted my fur on one side if my neck inspecting the skin, and then the other until his hand cane to an abrupt stop.
'There it is,' he whispered almost to low for any of us to hear. But we all heard it. My brothers and Mara all gathered around me at the same time. Each of my brothers wolves surfaced leaving their eyes different shades and intensities of violet. They were angry. Mara gasped tears brimming her eyes.
'It's not sealed properly...' she whispered with her hand coveting her mouth.
I whimpered not fully understanding what what was happening.
'Let's go inside,' father said grimly. Each of us made our way inside I took the spit in the floor on the rug near the fireplace. When I did come inside this is where I liked to be. My father brothers and Mara all sat in respective seats around me on the sofas. They all looked at eacjither knowing something I didn't. My father spoke first.
'Brooke I know you're anxious and feel like we aren't rolling you everything so I'm going to tell you the whole truth here. Please be patient and allow me to finish before u make any rash decisions okay?' I nodded at him. Father took a deep breath before continuing.
'When you arrived earlier I scented two mated pairs, Dylan and mara...and you..' My eyes flew open and my body went rigid.
'After speaking with your vrithers about what you encountered on the trip I decided to check your neck for a mark, what your brithers said you described was a sharp pain in your neck that felt like a bite correct?' I nodded. 'I decided to look at it to confirm. You do have a bite on your neck but not one of attack but a mates mark..' the world spiraled around me. A mates mark?!?! I felt sick, how? The wolf that tackled me to the ground, was it him? Did I get marked then or was i unconscious when it happened? I was starting to feel hot and sick all at once when my father continued. 'However the mark was no sealed properly, whoever marked you didn't lock the wound closed and marked you without explicit consent, this means you will go into heat immeatedtly, probably within the next day or so where under normal circumstances you wouldn't go into heat until three months in.' I felt sicker with every word. Heat was dangerous fir a shewolf especially without a mate around, it meant all unmated males would be attracted to you and they had no control over it. Still father kept talking ' it will also start to become infected and could be fatal, before death y9h will become delirious with lust...your wolf and body desperate for any wolf to claim you and put you're suffering to rest, but any wolf other than the one who marked you cannot claim you, their mark wont erase the previous one and their touch would only provoke this sickness and leave you in worse shape than before. This is not something I would have wanted for you...we don't know who the wolf is who did this, which means we are now in a race against time to find him...before you start to show signs. The one who places the mark is not without their own consequences, which is why I wander why they chose not to seal the wound. The symptoms for the male will almost be worse than yours, their wolf will start to revolt, taking control unpredictably, he will become extremely agitated and hard to please, his anger will burn him up from the inside out leaving him feeling he is in his own personal hell...if your mate doesn't find you again soon you both will surely die..' father finally finished and I couldn't handle it anymore my body shook as I cried into the cool night air, my high pitched shining putting everyone on edge. Mara was the first to move.
'Omg Brooke I am so sorry' she wept with me. We hadn't even known eachother for very long but I already loved her. Her embrace was comforting even though it didn't do much to stop the anxiety and pain swirling within me...I didn't even know who my mate was but I didn't wnat him to die! I didn't want to die either. My brothers looked upon the scene with different e.otions in their eyes. Daven looked haunted, as if seeing me in this state reminded him of the past. Derrick was angry and agitated like anything could set him off. And Dylan my favorite brother, my playmate, my freind, she'd a single tear. My cry reached a higher pitch seeing g Dylan cry, he couldn't hold it in any longer. In a snap decision he bolted to me landed on me in a deep hug and wept into my fur, ugly sobs from the three of us. Dylan blubbered incoherently into my fur while daven and Derrick got up and started talking to one another. I couldn't hear what they were saying over my crying but suddenly Derrick left the packhouse and daven returned with a sour expression, took one last look and went upstairs. Father approached me and whispered into my ear 'we will find him little wolf.'
Eventually I got tired and my cries became soft pain filled moans. Mara sat with her arms around me in silence stating off into the fire while Dylan was calculating everything that had transpired while slowly stroking my fur. After what felt like hours I decided to get up and go to my room, Something I rarely did, to try to rest and contemplate what i should do. Dylan and Mara went to Dylans room to try and sleep.
When I got to my bed I crashed hard in the soft California kind bed that barely fit me in this form. Sleep was hard to come by but after a while of breathing slowly I closed my eyes and sleep came like a their in the night, quiet and without cause.