Apollo

I'm not sure how to respond. To be truthful, I'm not quite positive I heard her correctly, that I just heard what I've been wanting to hear since the day she opened her eyes.

"Aella?"

Her soft smile returns, she looks so beautiful when she smiles, which is why I try so hard to make her smile as often as possible.

"I want you to mark me Apollo, I'm ready now."

I swallow hard, my canines making an appearance out of reflex.

"Are you sure? Once I do this, it's permanent."

I have to ask, because this isn't a temporary thing. Once my mark is on her shoulder, with my scent infused with hers, the only thing that will remove it is rejection, her rejection of me.

Or death...but I refuse to accept that as anything but a problem for a lot later in our lives.

She nods, her thumb brushing over my lips and under my canines, making Ronan and I growl lowly.

~What are you waiting for? She wants our mark! She's finally ready to be tied to us! Think of the benefits kid! We'll be able to watch out for her better, no one will dare mess with her, her scars will heal, and she'll never have another.~

He has a point...and with that, I lean my forehead against her shoulder.

"Then be still, this won't hurt a bit."

She nods again, and I can hear her heartbeat begin to pick up in anticipation. Trying to soothe her anxious mind, I start by pressing soft kisses to her jaw, slowly working my way down the arch of her throat. Her soft sighs replace the rapid pace of her heart, and by the time I reach the sweet spot in the curve of her shoulder, I can feel the warmth of her blush radiating off of her skin.

With one last kiss to her shoulder, I gently bite into it, my canines sinking in deeply. Her fingers tighten on my arms as my essence mixes with her blood, and as the link develops I can feel the pleasure she's experiencing.

"Apollo~" She sighs out, her bliss filled voice brings another growl from my chest.

From my view of her back, I watch the old scars slowly disappear from her skin as the healing factor spreads through her blood stream, and I know it's definitely healing the injury she just received, the doc will have to come back in and remove the stitches so it will completely disappear.

Once the mindlink is completely intact, I retract my canines from her skin, lapping at the wound with my tongue to remove the blood and seal it closed. Pulling back, I brush a hand over her shoulder, the bite mark healing up. It will be about an hour or so before the actual mark appears, but my scent is already melded with hers.

~How do you feel love?~ I ask, testing the link. She jumps in surprise, looking at me in frustration.

~Just focus the things you want to say towards me.~

She narrows her eyes in concentration.

~There are so many...how do you keep track of them all?~

I realize the problem, with her link being newly connected to the pack as well, all of them are welcoming her at once. She doesn't know how to close out the links yet, and being the marked mate of a Gamma now means she'll be able to hear everything each close by pack member is thinking. I quickly ask the others to save their questions for later, and it effectively leaves just the two of us.

~I'll teach you how to control conversations, but my link also links you to the pack...they just felt your link to them as their Gamma's mate, and got a bit excited.~

~Oh...I see...~

I lift one of her hands to my face, kissing the palm affectionately.

~And our link is always private, the link between a mated pair can't be interrupted unless it's permitted. No other pack member can hear what we say to each other.~ I explain.

~I knew you had ways of talking to each other without speaking, is this how you communicate when you are in wolf form?~

She learns quickly.

~Yes, and we also talk this way when we're physically separated, or if we wish to speak privately amongst a crowd.~

~It's very odd...but incredible...~

Ronan purrs happily, and Aella jumps.

~Was that...your wolf?~

~Yes mate, it was me.~

Her eyes widen in shock, and both Ronan and I chuckle.

~So, you're in here too...I wasn't aware that the wolves themselves could speak.~

~We can love, and I must say I have been anxiously waiting to speak with you for a very long time.~

Her warm blush sends us purring, and she looks down at her lap. This seems to draw her attention back to her injury, now healed from being marked. She traces over the skin in awe after she removes the bandage, and I smile. I may not be able to immediately heal the scars in her mind, but I can at least erase the physical ones.

~How is this possible?~ She wonders internally, staring at the mended wound.

~My mark.~

Her face looks upwards swiftly, a bit of confusion in her gaze. I help her off the bed and position her so that her back faces the mirror, then I gently turn her chin so that she see her back, now flawless and smooth...like she was never injured at all. Her eyes widen even more so, completely speechless.

~When a human is marked by a werewolf, especially by one of high rank, they change quite a bit. They heal quicker, and more thoroughly, their senses become sharper, and they become physically stronger. Basically, they become almost as strong as the wolf who marked them, gaining every ability except for shifting.~

She turns back to me, a flurry of emotions in her blue eyes, all of which I can feel.

~So basically, you'll eventually be a werewolf who just can't shift...and won't have the same weaknesses.~

~Eventually?~

~The process starts immediately after being marked, and with each day you'll get a little stronger and your senses a little sharper. The only thing that changes immediately is the healing factor.~

Her eyebrows pushed together, she traces a hand over my chest, running over my scars through my shirt.

~How do you have scars then?~

~It takes a lot more damage to scar a werewolf than it does a human. What scars a werewolf would kill a human actually, so when we scar, we scar permanently.~

A bit of anguish fills her eyes, and I can hear her wondering what could have given me my scars as she turns to look at her back again.

~I've had them for so long. So even though I'm happy their gone, it feels...empty...~

I gently cup her cheek.

~Because it is love. Your body is YOUR blank canvas now...you decide exactly how you want it painted.~

Realization fills her thoughts as I slide my hand down to her shoulder, where my mark would soon be.

~And you've already added your first piece.~

Her hand reaches up to touch mine, the blank skin smooth under our hands.

~But didn't you do that?~

I grin at the amusement in her voice.

~Yes, but it was your decision. You chose to bear this mark...and once it appears, everyone will respect it and appreciate its beauty...especially me.~

Before she can speak, a knock sounds at the door, it quietly cracks open to reveal Dr. Sarah peaking in.

"Considering her wound is healed now, I think I should remove the stitches."

I nod, already figuring out that she felt the link to Aella too. She comes in and cuts the stitches, pulling out the material painlessly. The tiny holes close up almost immediately, leaving no sign of the former wound.

After she finishes, she leaves again, and I take off my shirt to give to Aella to wear...at least until she reaches our bedroom. She pulls on the shirt, it hanging to her thighs, before looking at my bare chest distractedly. Her eyes flicker to the tattoo on my arm, and her lips curve upwards into a smile. Reaching her small hand up to the ink on my arm, her eyes glimmer with excitement.

"I think I know exactly how I want to paint it."

Zercon

"You let her get away!?!?! You impudent fools!!"

I growl at the pitiful excuses for soldiers standing in front of me, the cowards lowering their gaze from mine. Good, they have no reason to meet my gaze, they haven't earned it...

They let her escape...again.

That girl is my greatest creation. The most lethal living, breathing weapon that I've ever encountered. I spent over ten years molding and shaping her into the vicious assassin she has become...grooming her to be mine...and these idiots were so stupid that they let her get away. Along with the rest of my living arsenal.

It was much easier to control the girl when she believed I held her brother in captivity...when she thought that obeying my orders would keep him alive and unharmed. But, because of a careless mistake made by these guards, she now knows that I do not...that her brother died years ago. Because of that, she is no longer compliant, no longer submissive to me...

Frustrating...so very frustrating. But I'm not surprised. She has always been adverse to being told what to do...there is much fire in her spirit.

"Get out of my sight...and don't come back until you find her, and bring her in alive. Any man who even attempts to kill her will die a slow, painful death...am I understood?"

They all salute me respectfully and exit, leaving me alone with my thoughts. About just how disobedient my little weapon has become. Even daring to take my son from me out of petty spite...it seems I'll have to retrain her all over again as well, along with having her make up for her mistake by giving me back what she so foolishly took away from me...

A child.

A son with my blood and her dangerous power. He would be absolutely flawless, and invincible no less. Truly fit to carry on my legacy, to turn all superhumans into compliant soldiers...until the entire world is filled with nothing but the elite and the compliant soldiers.

However, that will require catching her first. I may have trained her a bit too well in that department. It would probably be easier to recapture the others first...but without Aella under my control, there is no guarantee that we'll be successful in our endeavors. No, I need her first, then I can focus on recapturing the rest of them like wayward sheep.

"Zercon sir! There has been success in locating the girl!"

I turn my eyes onto the ragged soldier in front of me, the damaged patch on his arm clearly marking him as a retriever. By his ragged appearance, it's quite obvious he had the unfortunate luck of trying to capture my little weapon...she always was hard to handle, if you didn't know her well anyway.

"Where?"

"Up in Montana sir! She's being protected by a werewolf pack in the mountains. She seems to be the mate of a high ranking wolf."

The news fill my mind with glorious ideas, and I let my mouth curve upwards.

I may no longer have her brother to control her with, but a werewolf mate is even better. I'd have both my weapon, and a equally powerful superhuman to help replace the ones I lost. An excellent start to rebuilding my legacy if I do say so myself.

"Get my plane ready, I'm going down there myself. The girl and I have much catching up to do."

He leaves without another word, and I grin to myself as I continue to sit at my desk.

You can run little Aella, but you cannot hide from me forever. It's time you come back where you belong.