Claws

Chapter Forty-three

Zale, Robin, and I carefully entered my house, tensing when we heard the loud sound of footsteps drawing towards us from what seemed to be coming from the living room. The three of us all mumbled different curse words at the same time, glancing at each other.

Zale stepped in front of me, adjusting his hood to cover his neck, and glanced back at me to make sure I was hidden. I didn't object but instead pathetically cowered behind his back. I didn't want to see my mom. "Calm down. You're releasing pheromones," Zale whispered as I grabbed the back of his and Robin's jackets.

"You're the only one who can smell them," I frowned. "It's not like my parents can tell I'm anxious."

I winced as I heard the steps enter the hallway and felt Zale tense. "Mrs. Astor. Hello."

"Hello, Zale. Robin," my mom's voice wasn't calm or gentle. Mae Astor, stop cowering and come to the living room right away. You too, Zale. We need to have a chat."

I closed my eyes and sighed out of dread, squeezing my way between Robin and Zale. Zale made sure to hold my hoodie up so it wouldn't fall as I squeezed by them. He looked down at me with an anxious expression. My mom obviously saw the gesture and looked at Robin with baffled eyes. "Robin. I would like you to join us as well."

Robin closed his eyes and shot Zale a glare when my mom turned around and walked toward the living room, expecting us to follow. We did, but very slowly, as if we were walking the plank.

"Thanks a lot for dragging me into this," Robin whispered as we dragged our feet through the hallway to the living room entrance.

"Well, this is what you get for barging into my house. It's not like I asked you to come with us," Zale retorted, taking a deep breath right before we entered the living room.

My dad was sitting in the ottoman with his hands on his knees and his fingers weaved together. My mom stood next to him with her arms crossed, gesturing for us to sit on the couch. When the three of us carefully sat down, Robin on one side of me and Zale on the other, my dad looked up at us with an irritated expression. It was focused on Zale and me, but Robin seemed just as scared as we were. The three of us winced.

"Um, g-good morning, chiefs," Zale was the first to speak. His voice was unnaturally unsteady and awkward.

"So, it's a good morning, is it?" My dad tersely said. "Did you two sleep well last night?" His eyes met Zale's, then mine.

"Yes," I interrupted, seeing Zale's mouth open. "Zale let me sleep on his couch last night...Since there was a storm and everything, I didn't want to go out in the cold," I slept on Zale's couch while taking my cat nap, so it wasn't technically a lie. I was just...avoiding explaining what happened after that.

"Oh, that's nice," my mom gave us a slightly forced smile, then dropped it. "So, how did it get to the point where you two temporarily marked each other?"

The three of us winced again as I held my breath, glancing at Zale. His face was as white as a sheet, and his blue eyes were wide with terror.

"H...How did you know?" I cowered, hiding behind my hood. I was humiliated, terrified, and worried all at once. For some reason, I gripped the back of Zale's sweatshirt, feeling a slight sense of relief when he released some of his pheromones to relax me. My cheeks grew hot. What was this feeling? I know I was temporarily marked to him, but was I really being childish and shameless enough to cling to him for comfort? This change in emotion towards him was way too drastic, but even I couldn't help giving in to it.

"First of all, I can't smell the two of your pheromones; second of all, Zale is hovering over you like an officer on patrol duty; and lastly, you're sitting right next to him without fighting, hitting, or glaring at each other. I do have common sense, you know," my mom sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "How did this happen?"

I opened my mouth, but Zale spoke before I could even get a word out. "It was my fault," he said, looking down. His gaze slowly drew upwards to my parent's astonished faces. My dad looked fairly mad, and my mom looked utterly shocked. "My rut symptoms manifested a week early. I would have started my rut and endangered the both of us if Mae hadn't been smart enough to grab an inducer and some light sedatives I had in my medical box at my house. However, after we were both injected with sedatives, they didn't start working until later."

My dad stood up, his amber eyes glowing with rage. "And what else happened? Did you two--"

"Dad! N--nothing else but a temporary mark," I flushed a bright red, covering my face. I felt like I was about to explode from embarrassment. "We didn't sl...We didn't sleep together, okay? I swear. It didn't go that far."

There was a long moment of silence until my mom let out a loud sigh. "Well, part of this is my fault. I shouldn't have let you two be alone, considering your pheromone chemistry and Mae's condition. I'm going to have to have someone keep an eye on you two from now on. You're lucky things didn't get too dangerous."

"They didn't," I sighed, looking up at my father, who was still red with anger. He sat down when my mom looked at him and shook her head.

"Cheifs, I've already gathered a couple of people, including myself, to help watch over them. I figured it would be a sensible thing to do when I heard that they'd be working together, so preparations and the schedules are already made," Robin butted in.

"Very good, Robin. Though I'm not surprised, you've done very well, as expected from one of our greatest omegas," my mom gave Robin an impressed look. It immediately darkened when her eyes turned to Zale and me again. "Mae, you need to be thoroughly informed on the process of marking, mate finding, and pheromone usage now. I have no idea where you learned to temporarily mark, but something like this cannot be taken lightly. The rules are different for the chief's bloodline."

"What?" I froze, feeling my whole body tense. "How is it different?"

"Well, first, we're going to have to explain to you the effects of a regular temporary mark if we were to get to that," my dad finally spoke, "And Zale, I know you may not like this, but we are going to have to examine her bite as well as yours for several precautionary reasons."

"Yes, sir," Zale nodded, shifting in the seat next to me. I flushed and scratched my chin. They were going to be so mad when they saw how many bite marks I gave him. No. They were going to be so mad the moment they saw how many hickeys we gave each other. It would be harder to convince them that we didn't sleep together like that.

"Zale, I know you already know all these things, but I need you both to listen carefully. Especially you, Mae. A superior bloodline temporary mark is no joke," my mom said, sitting in front of the three of us. I looked at her and nodded, a wave of guilt rushing through me. "When you get temporarily marked, you form a deep kinship with your partner and gain a sense of ownership towards each other. In short, you two basically belong to each other. It's not in a demeaning way as the human mind would interpret, but more of an instinctual connection. The males are affected more than the females in both temporary and permanent marking if you can't already tell. Mae, Zale will want to protect you at all costs, whether it's from other males approaching you, your mark being seen, or if anything the least bit harmful comes your way. Zale, almost every thought you have will be consumed by Mae. You won't even be able to look in another female's direction because all you will see is my daughter. Mae, this will be similar for you but not as intense. You two won't exactly be forced to feel love for each other, but you will be coerced to be closer in somewhat of a similar way. Since you two have bitten each other instead of just one biting the other, the temporary mark will last longer than it does with the normal process. On top of that, since Mae has the chief's bloodline, the mark will last even longer."

"S...So how long will I be marked with her then?" Zale's voice was faint.

"It could be up to a month at the very least, depending on how deep the bite marks are. This is why we're taking this whole ordeal so seriously." My dad sighed, looking at the two of us. "Now, let's take a look at the marks to see what we're dealing with here."

I couldn't even bring myself to say a thing as I looked at Zale's pale face, and it seemed like he couldn't, either.