He caught sight of the potted plant on the windowsill, which looked like it had grown several inches. Were those small flowering buds on it? Dessie had been correct to give it water. His mom was a botanist, and so was this little sweetheart.
It figured he’d find the perfect woman for him, and he’d be unable to make her his forever. He hadn’t known her long, but every cell in his body wanted to keep her. What if that tumor in her head always prevented their complete mating? Was there a way she could live her life with him? Could he watch her grow old and die? The mysterious mate he’d been chasing for so long dropped away for the moment and then comingled into Destiny Applegate. She was the murderous sweetheart on the back of his bike.
He had finally found his mate.
So he kissed each of her shoulder blades and her spine again, pulling her hair out of the way to kiss her nape.
Even in the darkened room, he could see an outline on her soft skin. He paused, and his body went from satiated to alert in a second.
Holding her still, remaining inside her, he reached for the bedside lamp. Light illuminated her beautiful skin. He swallowed, looking at the birthmark that had been hidden beneath her hair. The outline was graceful and extended to the bottom of her hairline, covering her vulnerable nape. “What the fuck?” he whispered.
She lazily turned her head to the side and rested her cheek on her arms. “What?”
He couldn’t believe what he was seeing. “What is this?” His voice came out nearly demon guttural.
She blinked and tried to turn her head farther to see him, but he was still on her and hampered her movements. “My birthmark?” Her voice came out tentative this time as she caught his mood.
“Yeah.” He pulled out of her body and reached for his boxers, yanking them on. “Hold still.” Though he didn’t need to, he lifted the light closer to examine the deep red mark.
She tried to move, but he held her still. “It’s just a birthmark, Garrett.”
No. It wasn’t. On Dessie’s neck was an intricate Baroque symbol in the shape of an ancient butterfly. “Dessie, this is Ulric’s mark. Tell me you somehow just got this last night in that dream world.”
She started to struggle, so he allowed her to roll over to face him. “No. I’ve always had it. Since birth. Why?” The sleepy look in her eyes began to slide away, leaving concern.
He couldn’t believe this. A quick glance at her hip showed theKmarking fading away already. He scanned back up her to meet her eyes. “The birthmark on your neck is Ulric’s marking, which means you’re his current Intended.” Well, that wasn’t going to fucking happen. Ever.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Dessie could barely think through the haze of post-orgasmic bliss she was trying to maintain, but the tone of Garrett’s voice shot her right into awareness. “What do you mean?”
He stood and reached down to grab her clothing, tossing it on the bed. “Ulric has an Intended born every once in a while who’s supposed to help him get free, mate him, and have tons of Ulric-style evil babies. The marking on your neck shows you as an Intended.” He paused, his jaw hardening as he drew on clothing. “Who else knows about this?”
The suddenly frigid air prickled her skin, and she hurried to pull the shirt over her head and shimmy into her yoga pants. Her body held whisker burn and love marks from him, but right now his expression was a hard mask. His anger chilled her to calmness, when all she wanted to do was run. “I don’t know. It’s never been a big deal.”
When his chin lowered, she hastened to continue. “I’ve worn a ponytail at school, so I’m sure everyone has seen it at some point or another. When asked about it, I just say it’s a birthmark.”
“A birthmark.” He wiped a thumb across his bottom lip.
Both his lips had been on her sensitive parts just minutes before. “Yes.” Her mind ticked back to the terrifying creature in her dream, and terror rumbled beneath her skin. Should she just run? “So Ulric can mate unenhanced females?”
“No. No, he can’t. You’re enhanced. I can’t see you being a shifter. So whatever they did to your head, to your chemistry, keeps negating my mating mark.” Garrett paused and then turned to look at the flowering plant on the windowsill, his gaze narrowing. “Flowers and plants thrive around you, don’t they?”
What was he talking about? “I’ve been told I have a green thumb.”
“More likely an enhancement,” he murmured. “My mom has the same one, in addition to being empathic.” Then he removed a phone from his back pocket. “Turn around and lift your hair.”
She blinked. “No.” Her entire body tensed as if expecting an attack.
He didn’t move, but he blocked the illumination from the outside lights. “We have a drawing of another Intended’s marking, and I want to compare it with yours. The symbols within the wings might be different. Could tell us something. I just want a picture, Dessie.”
They both knew he could take the picture if he wanted.
She huffed and turned her head, piling her hair out of the way. “Fine.”
Garrett leaned in and snapped several pictures.
She let her hair drop and scooted up to sit on the pillow with her back to the worn wallpaper that might’ve been red roses at some time. “All I wanted was a normal life for the brief time I had left.”
