Wait, the bite!
My fingers reached up to feel the spot where Griffin had marked me. There was no soreness in my n*eck and it didn’t feel like an open wound. Although my limbs felt a little stiff from sleeping for so long, I managed to drag myself out of b*d and into the lavish bathroom.
I turned the light on and gasped when I caught sight of the claiming bite. It was completely healed and it looked nothing like I’d expected.
Td seen plenty of claiming bites in my life. They were all visible but most of them weren’t obvious. If you weren’t looking for the scarred indent of someone’s teeth marks, you’d probably miss them. Some of them were barely visible at all, but others, like Luna Grace’s mark, seemed more obvious.
She’d told me that was because my dad was an Alpha. The higher a wolf’s position in the pack, the more obvious the bite.
It wasn’t intentional, but a more powerful wolf meant more powerful magic seeping into the bite.
Thadn’t thought much of it, but now, I could see the truth of that clear on my n*eck. The healed claiming bite gleamed silver in the light, but no matter which way I turned, you couldn’t miss it. It wasn’t just his canines either – it was every tooth, every little indent. It looked every bit like someone had put their entire mouth on me and bit down.
It was more noticeable, more eye-catching than any other claiming bite Pd seen in my life.
Well, there’s no hiding this.
As big as it was, it wasn’t ugly. There was something beautiful about it, like a stamped mark of Griffin’s love.
I never thought I’d hear myself say that about a claiming bite. I’ve always thought these things were eyesores…until now.
Before I could poke and prod at the bite any longer, I heard the bedroom door open.
“Little fox?”
“In here!”
Theard Griffin’s footsteps enter the open bathroom door but I didn’t turn to look at him. I was still mesmerized by the bite.
“I can’t believe it’s already healed like that,” I said, “You only gave it to me last night. Shouldn’t it be an open wound or something?”
“Claiming bites don’t work like regular wounds,” Griffin said, “They’re magic. When I bite you, the magic seeps into your skin, sealing my scent there forever. Besides, you were out for an entire day, so it wasn’t exactly last night.”
“Wait, I slept for an entire day?” I yelped, twisting around to face him. No wonder I had felt so stiff when I woke up.
Stupid wolf magic making me tired.
When I turned to look at Griffin, my eyes widened. He was wearing a fresh set of clothes and his hair was styled but that wasn’t what caught my eye ~ it was the white bandage stuck to his n*eck with tape and gauze.
I moved before I even realized it, rushing to stand in front of him.
“Griffin,” I said, staring at the bandage, “What happened to your n*eck? Are you hurt?” My eyes swept over his b*dy, but I couldn’t see any other bandages. He didn’t look like he was injured or in pain, he looked fine.
“I appreciate the concern but I’m not hurt, little fox.” I reached my hand up to peel off the bandage and he let me.
My breath caught in my throat when I saw what was underneath – a bite mark? No. It was a tattoo. A tattoo of a bite mark. A tattoo of my bite mark.
It was the exact outline of my teeth, the same exact spot where I’d bitten him. The tattoo looked extremely fresh, the skin was still raised and swollen around the fresh ink.
“You got…a tattoo. Of my bite?” I said. I couldn’t take my eyes off the mark.
“Yes,” Griffin said, and I could feel his eyes on me, “You said you wanted to mark me. Since you can’t actually leave a claiming bite, this was the next best thing.”
My throat felt tight and I could hardly get the words out. “But 1 thought werewolves could only get tattoos before they shift for the first time as teenagers. Before their full healing capabilities kick in,” I said, “Otherwise they wouldn’t stay.”
Griffin grinned. “Yes, that is true,” he said, “I got my other tattoo when I was fifteen.” He gestured to the half-sleeve tattoo on his forearm. The same griffin tattoo I’d dreamed about before meeting him. (?
I shook my head in confusion. “So, how did you get my mark tattooed then? How is it not healing as we speak?” It looked like any other fresh tattoo you’d spot on a human. Not a powerful werewolf with supernatural healing.
“The ink is infused with silver,” Griffin explained, and he took my hands in his, “It’s very unorthodox, but the artist ensured me that it would stay. The silver will prevent it from fading or healing.” I peered up at his n*eck. The inflamed skin around the tattoo suddenly made sense. It wasn’t just swollen from fresh ink – it was the silver irritating his skin.
“silver?” I echoed, looking at him. “Doesn’t that hurt you? If it’s infused in the ink…doesn’t that mean it’ll always hurt?” *
Griffin didn’t look the least bit like he was in pain. He just continued to grin at me, his dark eyes full of something intense.
“It hardly hurts,” he shrugged, “And the pain is worth it. It reminds me that it’s there, that you’ve left your mark on me.”
There was a lump in my throat – yes, I’d certainly left my mark on him. Even if it wasn’t directly.
Possessiveness swelled in me. Looking at the mark, at the indent of my own teeth, satisfied something primal in me.
“A queen offers her hand to be k*ssed, and can form it into a fist while smiling the whole damn time.”
Elizabeth Acevedo The next three days passed in the same mindless blur.
Griffin would leave early in the mornings to handle some sort of kingly business and I’d occupy myself around the bedroom. Sometimes with one of the books already in the room or with a movie on the big, flatscreen in Griffin’s suite.
Some servant who couldn’t make eye contact with me would bring me breakfast and lunch. .
Then, once evening came around, Mary or another castle girl would come to help me get dressed for dinner.
I’d dine with Griffin for dinner, usually in one of the many lavish dining rooms throughout the castle.
After dinner, Griffin would return to more of his kingly duties. It wasn’t until late at night that he’d sl*p back into the room with me, cradling me close in b*d. I was usually still awake when he wandered in, so there’d be enough time for touching or making out ~ but that was about as far as it went. I had a feeling he was just too tired from his long days to go much farther.
Inever thought living in a castle would be boring, but in reality, this new routine felt like a snooze fest. And this was coming from someb*dy who loved lazy days. But there were only so many movies I could binge- watch on Netflix, only so many books on the shelf in Griffin’s room.
So, by day four, I was determined to do something that wasn’t counting the marble flecks on the b*droom floor. Part of me was nervous about venturing outside. Griffin hadn’t forbidden me from leaving the bedroom, but he also hadn’t encouraged it either. Besides the one I shared with him, my meals were brought to me. He’d told me that if I needed anything, I could just ask the guards stationed outside the door or talk to Mary.
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