I rushed into his office on the second floor, pushing the door so hard that it bumped into the wall, bounced off it, and slammed behind me with a bang. I was shaking with anger. He was the only person in the room, and the moment he saw me he smiled and got up from the swivel chair. He walked around the desk and stood in front of me smiling even more. He still has the nerve to smile at me like nothing ever happened?
- What brings you to me, sweetheart? - he asked, and I tensed up even more. If my eyesight could kill then he would have been lying dead long ago.
- Hmm... Come to think of it... Maybe the fact that I can't take a fucking step beyond the damn threshold of the house! - I started screaming, but deep breathing helped me calm down a bit after my outburst. I have a feeling tha he will push my every button and my attempts to control my emotions will be in vain every time.
- Sweetheart... It's for your safety, I don't want anything to happen to you. - He says " sweetheart" to me one more time, and I swear I'll beat him to pulp.
- Because I'm human? - I spit out those words like they were venomous. He didn't know what to answer me, so I guess I hit the jackpot.
- It's not like that. It's just, it's for your own good, sweetheart. Believe me I had no ulterior motives in this. - there's that word again! This time I didn't keep my temper in check. I swung to give him a solid slap on the left cheek, but by some sort of a miracle he managed to grab my wrist when my hand was just a short distance from his face. He jerked my arm, making me wobble and land in his embrace. He placed his right hand on my lower back where I felt sparks at his touch. This distracted me tremendously, which he used to kiss me. I surrendered into his embrace and reciprocated the kiss. After a moment, he slid his lips down to my neck, and I sighed at the new sensation. Suddenly I felt a sharp, searing pain on my right collarbone that lasted only a few seconds. When I realized what he had done I looked at him with eyes filled with fear. Damn, he had just marked me. I felt despair growing inside me. This can't be true, this was never meant to happen. It's not in the cards for me.
- Sweetheart, what's going on? - He asked anxiously, seeing my reserve towards him after what he had done. I shook off my confusion and anger that brought me here, but it turned into fury.
- I'm not a toy that you can play with whenever you want. Especially to do something like this. - I pointed to his bite -Without my permission.
- YOU ARE MINE! - he growled, interrupting me.
- Remember one thing. I belong to me and me exclusively. I am not a pet or a servant to be commanded as you please. I'm not going to listen to your wolf's butt just because you think that we have some kind of cursed bond that gives you the right to behave like a possessive asshole and push me from corner to corner. - I gave him an icy stare and turned to leave. I was about to open it when I remembered about one more thing: - There' s one more thing. Do. Not. Ever. Call. Me. Sweetheart. Again. . No. Name. Me. Honey. - I muttered through clenched teeth as I left after saying those few words. I decided that I needed to go for a walk and think about everything calmly. If one of the gorillas at the door even tried to touch me with an inch of their finger, I would break his neck. I went down to the first floor and approached the first better door, behind the glass of which I could see the forest. I went out on the first step and was stopped abruptly by a tug on my shoulder.
- You can't leave. - I turned to the boy, who looked to be about twenty-five years old, with murderous eyes. He hesitated, but only tightened his grip on my shoulder.
- Immediately. Let. Go. Of. Me. - I stressed every word, and he just shook his head and nodded it towards the inside of the house, which meant I should go back and not make his life harder. Well... My self-control just snapped. I kicked him where the sun can't reach, causing him to land on his knees, wincing in pain. I leaned over and patted his back.
- I advise you not to stop me now. Unless you want to end up like your friend. - I said to the other guard, who started to approach us. He avoided me by a wide arc and helped his companion to get up. Without paying attention to them, I walked down the steps and headed straight into the forest. When I passed the first lines of trees, I started to run to cool down my burning feelings.

**********

After several kilometers I came to a huge cliff which ended in a huge waterfall. I sat on the edge of that cliff watching the falling water, and then I laid down on the grass. I crossed my arms over my stomach and began to watch the sunset. The sky took on a variety of colors, from blue turning to purple and pink to sharp orange. The sun disappeared behind a nearby mountain range peak, but continued to brightly illuminate everything around me. I heard a rustling behind me and was about to pull myself up from my seat when I smelled a familiar scent. I relaxed and at the same moment Daniel placed himself next to me.
- I've known you for years and it's been a long time since I've seen you so immersed in your head. What happened? - I sighed and turned my head so I could look at him. He was lying on his side, supporting his head with his hand bent at the elbow and had a worried look on his face.
- He marked me. He marked me for the fuck's sake! - my voice broke down since-I-don't-remember-when and I felt tears well up in my eyes. It was the first time I'd cried in ages and it was still for such a hopeless cause. He was shocked to see my tears, but after a while he looked at me with compassion.
- Oh, sweetheart. I know what you think about mate and relationships in general, so I have a tiny idea of what might be going on inside you right now. But didn't you ever think that this could be a good thing? That you could finally experience happiness? That you don't have to hide from this one and only person, tell them literally everything? To fill the yawning emptiness and longing in your heart? I know that this bond won't fix everything, but maybe it will heal at least some psychological wounds? - He asked these questions in a soft voice, and I began to wonder if I should admit that he was right or that he was babbling. Can I really be happy and not look into the past? Forget about the people I lost? For so many years, memories have faded and all you can remember are the people. People who helped you, were important to you, meant something to you. But then you think to yourself that three quarters of those people are already dead and you will never meet them again. Then feelings become an obstacle to a normal life. The pain of separation remains forever. That's why getting away from everything has always helped. I never stayed in one place for a long period of time to avoid getting attached to anyone. There have been exceptions like Dan, but not many. The isolation of feelings allowed me to remain in a state of dullness, but I managed. Running away was my way of surviving. Now fate has made a mockery of me and placed an obstacle in front of me that I can't possibly escape from. It has presented a blessing that to me means weakness. I don't want a mate because I have too many enemies that I may or may not know about, and they will ruthlessly exploit this weakness. The person you love above your life, you would give your life for and without which you are unable to cope. Am I really considering accepting a bond that to me means a curse and certain death? Sure I'd like to be happy, but I'd rather not mean it in that way. At some point I felt my eyelids drooping, which I now couldn't even lift, so I gave up and fell into a deep sleep.

**********

- What did you do to her? - I heard a quiet whisper.
- Um... I marked her? - There was an uncertain answer, and then a quiet shout from the first caller:
- What did you do? Brother... Did you even ask her what she thinks about it? Did she do it voluntarily or did you force her to do it? - After the silence that followed, I heard a long groan of disappointment and the darkness consumed me again.

**********

I opened my eyelids quickly, which was a mistake, because I felt as if my head was about to explode. This time I raised them gradually, and when I got used to the brightness of the room, I looked around. I was lying on a bed in a room painted white, and the smell of antiseptics was in the air. I must be in a hospital. I hate them. Let's just say I've had a few pretty bad run ins with health care institutions. I was alone, but after a while that changed. A woman in her forties dressed in a white lab coat came rushing in. I nodded and she looked at me with curiosity rejoicing with her whole body.
- My name is Ann Star. How are you holding up?
- I've been worse. - I mumbled carefully watching her every move.
- You slept for three days. From now on I'll be your personal doctor. Um... I mean... If anything happens you can call me. - She shuddered under my scrutinizing gaze, but at the very end she sent me a radiant smile. She doesn't seem bad, unlikely to harm me, so I sent her a tiny smile. She checked a few parameters and started talking:
- Do you know what happened to make you fly away? - I shook my head, pretending not to know anything. - I'll start straight out. You're a shifter, aren't you? - I froze, and seeing my reaction she continued in a matter-of-fact tone: - I assume so. I took your blood for testing, that's how I know. I am bound by doctor-patient confidentiality, so what we talk about here will remain between us. When I picked up the results, I realized what had happened. Alpha marked you, but he doesn't know about your second nature, which is why he used a little of his venom on you. If you were human it would have been needed to cement your bond, because as a human you couldn't repay the marking. Werewolves are designed so that when their mate is a supernatural creature they don't need to use this venom, it only applies to humans. Most werewolves don't even know they have this ability. If you were a human you'd never be able to leave again, because that's the use this fluid has. Only you're not, so the venom had a primary use: to hurt, incapacitate, poison, and eventually kill. Your body started to defend itself, but after the strain you put it through, it didn't have the energy to do it. Your body gave up fighting back, but luckily you got here quickly. Otherwise you might not have woken up that easily without some kind of damage. - I was staring at her like a deer caught in headlights. I began to calmly analyze everything she just said. I knew that sooner or later I would have to tell everyone, especially Adrian, about the fact that I am a shifter too. Clearly it is time to have a confession. I'm not fooling myself that they'll believe the fairy tale I could push on them, that we're not yet connected by that bond because my body rejected it or something. That's definitely not how it's going to work. What's happening here? I feel like I'm a passenger and not the driver in my own life. On the one hand I find it intriguing, but on the other I'm scared to the marrow of my bones. I've always had had my finger on the pulse. Ever since I got here I can feel the control starting to slip through my fingers. There's only one thing that can't come to light. I'm a werewolf? Okay, let them know. But my origins will remain a secret forever. Not even my mate will be briefed.
- I don't want to see anyone for now. The only person who can come in here is Daniel. Could you send him here? I need to talk to him straight away.