Turning back around to face Alice, I nodded. “Grayson rejected me first. I don’t see why my rejecting him back would cause an issue within the pack. Now Grayson can mate whatever she-wolf he wants.”
“Surely you don’t want that. Think long and hard about this decision. Your mate is hand-picked by the Fates. He’s going to Fate Hollow Academy and won’t be back for two years. Can you really live with that? What if the bond remains? Unlikely, but a possibility. A rejected bond is a serious, painful thing.”
The cold air of the cabin soothed the fire burning inside my body at the thought of Grayson with another woman. What I would’ve given for rejection to shatter the matebond completely. “I’ve made my decision. I’ll deal with the consequences, no matter how severe they may be.”
“I can’t protect you if they decide to banish you.” Her voice was weak, and her posture slumped forward.
“I would never ask you to.” I walked over and squeezed her frail shoulder. “I’m going to go take a bath and clear my head. Everything’s going to be alright.”
I stepped past her and left the room, turning to the right and down the hallway to the bathroom. Juniper and pine met my nose as I opened the bathroom door and slipped inside. The familiar scent washed over me as I pressed my back against the wooden panels.
One day at a time.
Pushing off the door, I stripped out of my remaining clothes and piled them neatly on the off-white counter. Water dripped into the small porcelain tub, echoing around the small bathroom.
My toes flinched as I stepped into it. I turned the dial, and the pipes groaned before cold water spat out from the faucet.
Being an arctic shifter, I didn’t get cold easily. But sometimes, I wondered what a warm bath would feel like.
Lowering myself in, I glided my hand through the water, watching the goosebumps spread over my pale skin as the tub filled.
Today has been the second worst day of my life, right behind the day my parents were killed. Finding out Thorn was going to Fate Hollow Academy, leaving me behind, and then finding out Grayson was my mate.
A shiver wracked through me, and I turned the water off and sank back into the water.
What was I supposed to do now?
Continue on with making herbal medicines and helping Alice run the pharmacy, I supposed. But there was a gaping hole missing from that equation, and it wasn’t Grayson. It was Thorn. I needed someone who cared about me. Maybe I should’ve rethought the contract.
At least then, I wouldn’t be so alone.
A searing sensation exploded on my left thigh, and a white glow emanated through the water. I managed a strangled gasp before I gripped the edges of the tub to brace myself for the pain.
But as quickly as it began, the stinging in my flesh subsided and the glowing dimmed to reveal a bright white mark branded into my flesh. Embossed into my thigh was a glowing white fox with flecks of iridescence around it.
It was breathtaking, and my heart slammed hard against my breastbone as I realized its meaning.
“Alice!” I scrambled out of the tub, causing water to fly everywhere, and nearly slipped in my haste.
I grabbed the thin towel from the floor to wrap it around my body.
She opened the door with a frantic look in her eyes as she surveyed the room. “What’s wrong?”
“I think I’ve been marked.” My breaths became shallow.
I’d never thought I would go to Fate Hollow Academy.What could I offer them?I had manifested no other power than what I was born with.
“Oh, Fates.” Her gaze landed on the mark and her body went rigid. “I’ll inform the Alpha. Get dressed.” She rushed out of the bathroom.
“Okay.” I rocked back and forth on my heels, trying to calm my nerves before heading back into my room to throw on a fresh t-shirt and a pair of cotton pajama shorts that kept the mark visible. I was sure they would ask to see it.
My hair was still wet from the shoulders down to my waist, and the soaking hair clung to the shirt uncomfortably.
I wasn’t sure what to make of the mark. What did it mean? Why did I get marked? Surely it wasn’t because I was an arctic fox shifter alone, but my mark was a white fox.
Letting my fingertips run over the chilled mark, my breath caught. “I never thought…”
A hesitant knock came from the door frame, and I popped my head up to look at Alice.
