Chapter 7

• Marked As Theirs
• Chapter 07
• Aaron Vozenilek's POV
• “Beta, run!”
• “Run or we all die!”
• “I...can't…” I slurred, feeling dizzy and weak, as he shook me.
• “You’re a Beta, Aaron. Act like one,” I heard a familiar voice say. It was my Alpha.
• Alpha Xavier.
• He's alive?
• I forced my way out of the hazy fog and opened my eyes. Blonde hair lined with white strands, blue eyes…
• It was really him.
• He helped me up. “Now, this is the Beta I've always worked with—”
• His remaining words were interrupted at the sound of a gunshot. His eyes widened and his face paled as he fell into me, his mouth dripping with blood.
• “No. No. No," I muttered, tears stinging my eyes as I hugged him. My hands were filled with blood. “All my fault. Again.”
• I woke up with a gasp.
• I knew it was a dream, but every time they came, they always haunted me. It was as if they were reminding me that I failed them.
• I sighed and swung my legs over the bed. I pulled up a shirt and ran a hand through my hair and went out to the living room. It was dark and silent. That meant everyone had gone to sleep.
• Good.
• My mother had nightmares at times too, though it wasn't often like mine.
• That woman had gone through a whole lot, and it seemed as though I was adding more pepper to her wounds.
• I gulped down the water left on the small table before I unlocked the door and went out.
• I sighted Josh hunched over a burning fire, its spark burning silently.
• “Come over here, big man," he said without turning back.
• I obeyed and sat beside him. He passed a piece of meat to me as he took a bite out of his.
• “Figured you'd be out,” I said at last. “Things are really bad?”
• He sighed and glanced at me with those tired yet sharp eyes. “I'm afraid it has. Someone is activating some powers that are not meant to be explored. There would be violence, son.”
• I pulled my shirt together. The fire made everywhere warm, but there was a cold in my chest. It had always been there, far back from when I was a child.
• I chewed the meat slowly even though it wasn't appealing to my taste buds.
• My pack, my Alpha…everything that led me here, to this cabin in Georgia, where everything I knew was gone.
• Josh’s golden eyes glanced at me, studying me like he always did. “You’re not thinking about the past again, are you, Aaron?”
• I swallowed, trying to push them back. “I can't help it. Every time I close my eyes, it’s there.” My chest clenched, and I remembered Xavier falling in my dream. He was always falling in different styles, no matter what I did. “I couldn’t stop it.”
• Josh was quiet for a moment, then his eyes flicked from the fire to the trees around us. “It wasn’t your fault, Aaron. You did what you could. You’ve always done your best.”
• I clenched my fists, trying to quench the anger building inside. “Then why am I here, Josh? If I was so damn good, Xavier would still be alive. My pack would still be up and running.” Bitterness mixed with that anger. “All I do is fail.”
• He took a bite of his meat and turned to me. “You're not the only one, remember? I lost everything too, but you saved me. I didn't ask for your help, yet you took that sword for me.”
• He chuckled bitterly, and I scratched at my hair, feeling uncomfortable. I remembered everything vividly. That day, we had just won a battle with a rival pack when I heard a cry for help. “You’ve got scars, but you've got to keep swimming, son.”
• “But what if I... we can't handle whatever is coming?" I asked, feeling un-Betaish. It was something that I started feeling after I lost my family.
• He breathed out. “We will. And if we don't, we'll know we died doing it.”
• “What are the Alphas saying about it?” I asked, wanting to change the subject. Josh wasn't a part of the high-held officials in Georgia, nor was he labelled a rogue, but he knew his way around.
• His eyes darkened. “The Alphas are minding their own business. Northland doesn't care about Southland. And Adler… Adnam had always been wild.”
• My mind wandered to the packs. Northland, Southland, Alder. According to Josh, none of them were allies, not after the war twenty years ago. They kept to their win and ignored anyone who wasn't on their side.
• Adnam Sergio of the Alder Pack. I hated the guy. And not just because he was the Alpha. He was arrogant, and his eyes… always felt like he was taunting me right before my eyes. His Beta was the same. Maybe even worse.
• “What about the Elders?” I asked, kicking a nearby stone. “What are they doing?”
• “Waiting”, he tilted his head like he was debating whether to say whatever he wanted to say next. “It might be someone among them.”
• I stood up abruptly. It wasn't because I didn't want to press, but because I already knew what he meant, and I didn't have the stomach to face that kind of betrayal.
• At least, not yet.
• Not when the previous one was still fresh in my head.
• “I’ll fix us something for breakfast,” I said.
• I stepped into the kitchen and switched on the stove before I grabbed the flour, eggs, milk, and butter. Cooking helped me a lot.
• I poured and allowed it to be done before I flipped it. Josh always said I made them better than his grandma, and considering she was some kind of old legend, I'd take that as high praise.
• “I knew—” my mother started to say but stopped when I turned to her. “You didn't sleep at all, Son.”
• I chuckled. “I did, mom. I just woke up too early.”
• She gave me one of those mom looks but didn't say anything as she reached for the syrup.
• We ate quietly, and I cleaned up after. Then, I grabbed my bag, pulled on my jacket, and stepped out. My baby was against the side of the cabin we adapted into a small garage.
• It was a black bike. Josh had got me through one of his dealers. Said something about “a Beta shouldn’t be walking to school like he’s broke.”
• And he was right.
• I was a Beta. I had money. Just that I didn’t like drawing attention to myself.
• But today? Screw it.
• The engine came to life as I rolled out onto the narrow road. The wind hit my face as I increased speed. Georgia’s air always had this weird mix of warmth and wetness, like it couldn’t decide if it wanted to be summer or fall.
• I rode too fast, and it helped quiet my mind. At least until I started nearing the school gates.
• ‘You’re not ready for this. You don’t belong here. What happens when they find out who you are?’
• I clenched my jaw and—Great.
• A car overtook suddenly, and I slowed down immediately to avoid being side-kicked into the ditch.
• I cussed under my breath, expecting the car to wait, but it didn't as it entered the school compound.
• I climbed off my bike and took a few steps forward to ask who the hell they were when the back door opened and Alpha Adnam came out.
• And Beta Gareth.
• I stopped walking.
• Right… I should've guessed. The arrogance radiating off that car made sense now.
• I was about to walk right up to Beta Gareth and say something like, “Drive well next time.”
• But I didn't.
• Because both of them… their eyes were glued somewhere, and I followed their gaze.
• Veronica.
• The girl who sat in the back row of my class with her always-brushed ponytail and eyes that flicked like they had gone through hell but were still standing.
• Beside her was Seth Northland.
• Yeah, that Seth. The heir to Alpha Liam Northland.
• Then, there was chaos everywhere.
• It brought me right back to North Dakota.
• Everywhere I went, a war made sure to follow.