Marked by the Alpha Read Online Free Page B

Two
     
     
    “What is with the scarf?” Alisha was poking at her again. “It’s almost 100 degrees out.”
    Dani said nothing as she straightened another set of glass bottles.
    “Take it off or you’ll pass out with how tight it is , ” Alisha said, and tugged at the ends.
    Dani ducked out of her reach. “I like it , so please just leave it alone.” She moved to the next shelf a nd Alisha followed her.
    Alisha tugged at the scarf again and it came unwrapped and slipped down over Dani’s neck . Alisha giggled at what she thought at first was a love bite from some playful necking , but then the full picture came into view.
    Dani had studied the mark in the mirror for almost an hour last night . Even now, i t was a wicked dark rainbow of blues, purples, and yellows that extended from the sweet spot in her neck and ran into the hollow of her collarbone. It was not some high school hickey like a girl might get behind the school bleachers during a football game ; it was truly the mark of an alpha , a mark that promised that Mason was going to make claim to her, it was just a matter of when.
    Dani moved back from her reach and shrugged. “I should have show n you. I know you weren’t thinking. You thought I had some silly childish hickeys perhaps?”
    Alisha looked down and set to dusting again. “I’m sorry, Dani , ” s he mumbled.
    “Mason Daniels took it upon himself to mark me , ” she said, trying to put heat behind her words .
    “Someone stopped by yesterday from his pack.”
    Dani snapped her head up. “Who and how do you know?”
    “It was his second-in-command . He knew way too much information to just be some Joe S chmo from down the street. He showed me his driver’s license and it was from Mason’s town.”
    “How would you know where Mason’s town is?” Dani snapped, feeling a surge of anger .
    Alisha jumped away from her in horror , dropping the piece she had been holding. “Please, Dani ! Don’t be upset at me!” She threw herself at Dani’s feet and began to cry.
    “Oh fuck , Ali, stop. This isn’t me.” Dani pulled her up and set her on the counter. She had knelt on the glass and Dani shook her head. “I’m so sorry.” She went into the back and found the first aid kit. Why was she acting like such a freaking bitch to her best friend ? Dani walked back up front . She brushed the glass off and looked to see if any had stuck to the cuts. They were n' t deep , but Dani still felt horrible.
    Alisha was crying. “I wanted him to claim you, Dani , I really did!” She wiped at her eyes and rubbed her arms.
    Dani said nothing as she continued to clean the glass out of her wounds. Of course Alisha would feel that way , though Dani had had no idea how worried her friend was for her until that very moment. She rubbed anti-bacterial ointment on each cut as the smaller woman continued to cry.
    “I told his second-in-command that. I told him that you have n' t been acting normally . I told him how worried I was.” Alisha wiped at her eyes again. “I have never seen you like this. I can’t stand it!”
    Dani focused on placing Band-Aids of several sizes and shapes over the cuts . “I’m scared , Alisha , and I don’t know what to do.”
    “What are you afraid of?” Alisha slid off the counter. “What is it? Is it the hunters ?”
    “I don’t want to be part of his pack , ” Dani said, then turned away from her.
    “What are you really afraid of , Dani ? I have the right to know!” Alisha moved around her.
    “I am afraid of Mason. I am afraid that I will let him do whatever he wants to me … That I will obey every order that he gives. ” Dani began to cry. “I want him to claim me because I know that I will never willingly give myself to him.”
    Alisha wrapped her arms around Dani . “Hey, Dani , don’t be afraid of Mason.” She squeezed Dani tightly. “I think that he cares about you already.”
    Dani shook her head and continued to cry. “I’m so sorry that I snapped