Ronan (Mate’s Mark #1)

Chapter 12

Ronan

Unfamiliar emotions tear through my body until I’m reeling, shredding me apart from the inside out. There’s anger, of course, burning bright and furious, but underneath it lies a confusing, unidentifiable tangle I don’t recognize.

Disappointment.

Hurt.

Shame .

Cameron slams the door behind him, and an ache tears through my chest like someone has gripped that useless organ caged in my ribs, squeezing the life out of it. My hand lands on my sternum, fingers digging into the leather of my armor as I try to make sense of what just happened.

Every muscle in my body twitches with restless energy, the urge to chase after him so profound I have to physically fight my legs from moving.

Do I give him time to cool off or follow ?

Does he even want me to?

I don’t want you, Ronan. The words echo through my mind as I stand in a state of complete indecision, halfway to the door with no idea what to do. “Fuck!” I bellow, shoving my fingers through my hair and yanking. The sting against my scalp doesn’t help, though, only making me angrier as I pull.

“That’s it,” I mutter, charging after him. “He doesn’t get to walk away from me.” Hand on the knob, I’ve barely even started to twist it when the crunch of gravel outside makes me freeze.

Cameron .

Terror causes me to charge through the door, not even bothering to look out the windows in my haste. I burst outside to find a familiar van parked beside my sedan.

“Officer Ronan.” Commander Bravis stands with another officer I don’t know well, arms crossed, and an icy dread grips me as I see Cameron’s shadow flit behind a tree. “Care to explain what you’re doing here when you should be on patrol?”

My heart pounds as heavy as a sledgehammer against a bass drum, but I fight to keep my face composed as I gesture toward the house. “Apologies, sir, your presence threw me off guard. I was on my usual route when I caught the sunlight reflecting off the windows of this structure. I thought it would be wise to investigate.”

His soft hum is barely audible above the beating of my pulse, and his eyes are cold and full of arrogance as he strides closer. “You just stumbled upon this house today, then? Never seen it before? ”

My mind races, a clammy sweat prickling my skin. If he steps inside and sees the chaotic mess of supplies on the floor, it’s all over.

He’ll execute me on the spot, history be damned.

“Correct, sir. The structure is highly unstable and needs to be burned down before the rebels find a use for it. You caught me as I was on my way to base to file a report.”

“Is that so?” he muses, glancing around me to the open door, and I wonder just how much he can see inside from where he stands. His boots thud on the ground as he circles me, a predator sizing up its prey, and I maintain my posture with my shoulders back and spine straight. The other officer’s lip lifts into an amused smirk. His head is wedged so far up the commander’s ass, he can’t even see the precarious position he’s put himself in by aligning with such a traitorous man.

“That’s curious, Ronan,” Bravis continues. “Do you want to know why it’s so curious?”

My mouth opens and closes before I manage to speak. “If you consider it prudent to share, sir.”

“Ever since that escape attempt in the prisoner cells, something about you has been… off.”

Determined not to show my nerves, I force myself not to swallow or look towards the woods. “Off, sir?”

“Ah, Ronan, you forget how well I know you.” He hums, still circling me like a vulture over fresh roadkill. “How well I understand the way you think, and how easily I can read your body language. It just didn’t make a lot of sense.”

“The breakout?”

He shakes his head, staring at the ground with his hands clasped behind his back, and it’s an intentional slight. By dropping his guard, he’s showing me he doesn’t consider me a threat. “Not the breakout, although that was suspicious. No, it didn’t make sense that you left the base afterwards. I spoke to the gate guards, and they told me you used my name to keep the vehicle from being searched.”

“I’d seen a rebel escaping, sir. I didn’t think it was prudent to waste time searching an empty van while a murderer ran free.”

“So you’ve said,” he mutters, stopping in front of me. “Repeatedly.”

Commander Bravis is a tank of a man—not as tall as me, but with shoulders wide enough to be a wrecking ball when the situation calls for it. His presence alone is a silent declaration of power. He trained me to wield a sword and fight hand-to-hand, but more importantly?

He taught me how to trust my instincts, and right now, those instincts are screaming at me not to let him out of my sight again.

“It made me suspicious enough that I demanded to be alerted any time you left the base.”

My hands clench and release at my sides, refusing to glance at the other officer, who’s getting far too much enjoyment from this interaction. Fucking bootlicker, looking to elevate himself off my admonishment. “I didn’t realize my patrol rotations caused such concern, sir.”

“Oh, they didn’t… until now. Tell me, Ronan, were you aware all the vehicles on base have trackers?”

“No, sir, I did not realize that,” I grit through my teeth as he gets a wicked grin on his face.

“It was my idea, actually. After a few cars were stolen by the rebels, I thought it would be wise to track them. Worked well, too. It allowed us to locate several troublesome camps that we were able to extinguish. Isn’t that wonderful?”

“Fantastic.” He’s not even paying attention to my answer as he continues his monologue.

“Tiny things, and they stick right inside the fuel tank door. Fascinating technology, really—pops on like a magnet and only needs to be charged every few weeks. Of course, almost no one realizes they’re there, because you’re never the person refueling the vehicles, are you?”

“No, sir.” Adrenaline surges a wild path through my veins and arteries, my vision pulsing in time with my heartbeat like a countdown to action. Commander Bravis flashes me a giant smile as his gaze drops to my neck, where I’m sure he can sense the thundering staccato.

“This is the second time you’ve stopped at this location, Ronan. The first was the night of the escape, and now you’re here again. So, tell me…” He inches closer until we’re almost nose to nose. “What am I going to discover inside that house?”

His eyes drop to my throat as I swallow, and I curse myself for the display of nerves. He only has to step inside to find the bags that would incriminate me in an instant. I can only hope Cameron has put some distance between himself and my mess. He’s smart—he’ll be gone by now, and that knowledge gives me an ounce of comfort as I seal my fate. “Supplies, sir. Food, blankets. A few weapons.”

Thrilled at catching me in the lie, his eyes flare as his chin tilts up, lip lifting in a bulldog’s taunting smile. “And who, pray tell, do those supplies belong to?”

“Me… they are mine.” A predatory glint shines in his eyes as he rakes his gaze over my physique. It's a slow, deliberate sizing up before a cruel smile twists his lips. His ca lloused hand is heavy as he pats my cheek, and the condescending chuckle that follows sends a shiver of rage down my spine. My whole body vibrates with barely contained fury.

“Defecting, then, Ronan? After everything you and I have been through together?” He clicks his tongue in a sharp tsk as he takes a half step back. “Such a pity. No matter how hard I pushed you to be stronger, you were always too fucking soft for this life.”

“Whatever punishment is due for my desertion, I’m ready to receive it.” I stand tall, wanting to leave this place so Cameron can make his escape. With or without the supplies inside, he’s smart… crafty. He’ll be fine.

A strange, gurgling laugh comes from the other officer, and my gaze shifts to him as his eyes flare. His smile is wrong, off-kilter, and he coughs a crimson spray that showers the grass beneath him. Blood stains his lips and teeth as both our eyes drop to his chest, where the tip of a large knife protrudes from his torso. Straight through his heart, with a slow bloom of bright red blood spreading outward. It slides down his armor in a thick, syrupy stream.

His body twists and reveals Cameron standing behind him, fury contorting his face. “No!” I bellow, as the wounded officer grabs at him with desperate hands, yanking Cameron’s jacket off his arms as the bloody knife slides free.

Right as the man collapses to his knees, palms over the blood gushing from his chest, Commander Bravis turns. His snarl morphs to astonishment as he stares at the mark that glows like the sun from Cameron’s arm.

“No, Cam, run!” I pull my sword from its sheath, darting between him and the commander. “Go!” I yell over my shoulder, not daring to take my eyes off Bravis for even a second. “ Please !”

Bravis looks past me at Cameron, although he speaks to me. “You have found your mate?”

“Do not look at him,” I growl, my hands tightening around the hilt of my sword, ready to strike at the slightest movement. “Keep your filthy eyes away from what belongs to me.”

His gaze locks back onto mine, the wheels turning in his mind as he considers the new information. “This changes everything, Ronan. Do not act in haste.”

“I will act as I see fit to protect him.”

“The supplies were for him, then? The rebel prisoners escaping…” I bare my teeth as the pieces connect in his head, forming the full picture. “It was to set him free, was it not? Ronan, put the sword down and let’s discuss this as reasonable men.”

“Discuss what, exactly?” I press forward, the edge of my blade indenting the flesh of his neck, and his hand twitches at his side in clear warning, itching to draw his weapon. “You will use this for your own gain. Pull him apart until he’s nothing but a lab experiment while you try to manipulate the bond between us.”

“You always were a hothead, even as a child. Think , Ronan. For two godsdamned seconds, consider what this could mean for our kind… what we could accomplish by understanding this on a deeper level. Until now, it’s been a myth, but this? This is real.” The tension in his posture loosens as he pulls his hand from his sword, showing me his palm as a gesture of peace.

I don’t believe it for a second .

“Your crimes are forgiven. They’re understandable , given the circumstances. You were simply protecting your mate, and I’m the only one who knows what happened here, so it can disappear. Nothing has to change. Come back to base—come home —and bring him with you. You could live the life you’ve always known and have him, too.”

“Wow,” Cameron drawls, and the muscles in my jaw tighten. “You’re really going to talk about me like I’m a possession, and like I’m not standing right here. Real classy.”

“Not right now, Cameron,” I say through clenched teeth as Commander Bravis glances past me. “I said do not look at him!” My sword digs deeper into his neck, a single drop of blood trailing from underneath the blade as a smirk spreads over his lips.

“He’s a fighter, too, isn’t he? I wouldn’t expect that level of fire from the scrawny thing—”

“There we go,” Cameron mutters, “someone else calling me skinny.”

“… but he snuck up on a highly trained officer and drove that blade through his heart without hesitation. And the way he argues? Ronan, he is magnificent.”

“And you won’t get anywhere close to him.”

Commander Bravis sighs, indifferent to the blade pressed against his jugular. “You always had an affinity for making things more difficult than necessary.” In a single move, he pulls out his sword and knocks mine back, assuming a fighting stance as that smile spreads. “It really is too bad you’re forcing me to do this the hard way.”

“You sound like every cliché villain ever,” Cameron calls from behind me as my sword meets the commander’s, and I grit my teeth as I force myself to focus on the fight in front of me.

Metal clashes as our weapons send a spray of sparks into the sky, and we dance a deadly waltz, swinging heavy blows that throw us both off balance. We separate as we find our footing. “Come on, Ronan, I taught you everything you know. Do you really think you can best me? I’ll give you one last chance to share him with me before I rip you apart and take him for myself.”

Fury unlike any I’ve ever experienced consumes me, and I charge, bellowing a guttural challenge. His eyes flash a brief flicker of shock before he uses his considerable muscle to force me back, driving his sword in a perfected pattern built over decades of battle. A brutal onslaught of blows vibrates the hilt in my hand, but I return his attack with just as much intensity. Visions of Cameron in his control spur me forward as I match his ferocity.

His sword whistles past my face as I jerk back, the searing heat of his blade a near miss that grazes my cheek. The warm rush of blood streams over my skin as he snarls in triumph. “You’ll never win,” he taunts, rushing me as I parry and knock him aside. “Do you wonder what will happen to that mark when you’re dead? Maybe I’ll mark him for myself—”

The whoosh of my sword cuts off his words as I feint, redirecting my blade into his exposed ribs. His attempt at a block is too slow, and I snarl at the contact. Though his armor absorbs the brunt of the blade, the wind is knocked from his lungs with a grunt. Fury twists his face into something terrible, his roar shaking the very air as he lunges forward with strength that catches me off guard .

A cry shatters in my throat as his blade finds its mark, searing pain blossoming where the steel slices between the edge of my glove and my sleeve.

It’s a rare weak spot—one that he knows how to exploit.

I stumble back, the slick, hot trickle of my blood filling the fingers of my glove in a sticky heat. He catches me again in my biceps, and even though it’s stopped by my armor, the force of the blow sends a bone-deep shockwave that drops me to my knees.

“You should’ve known you weren’t a match for me,” he sneers, the glint of his sword catching the light as he pulls it back in a deadly arc. “You have never been a match for me, Ronan.” Defeat weighs heavily in my stomach as the world moves in slow motion.

“Ronan, please,” Cameron whispers from behind me, pleading , and the fear in his voice stirs the monster inside me. The mark on my palm is a wildfire as my eyes dart up to the commander, and I dodge at the last second. When his sword finds nothing but air, the unexpected force causes him to stumble and almost fall. More animal than human, I bellow as I ram my shoulder into his stomach.

A pained grunt whooshes out of him as we hit the earth, his breath stolen by the impact of my body. My tail lashes around his wrist, immobilizing his sword hand as the other two constrict his throat, and his eyes flare as he bucks his hips, trying to throw me off him.

“Never threaten my mate,” I growl, grunting when his head snaps forward and smashes into mine, crunching my nose with one of the blunt horns on his forehead. Fresh blood drips from my nostril as I struggle to keep him in place, and my tails slide away from his neck as I replace them with the point of my blade.

“Do it, I fucking dare you,” he taunts, lifting his chin. “You never had the balls to do anything without orders, Ronan. That’s why I had to take you. So young, so impressionable, but I saw your potential. It was so easy to make you mine once everyone else was out of the way. Such a mindless killing machine once we got past that annoying need for comfort and love.”

My eyes flare as I recognize the truth in his words, and I’m deathly calm as I lean into his ear. “I was never yours,” I whisper, and a slow gurgle replaces his response as I press my sword into his neck. The blade punctures through flesh and muscle until it meets the resistance of bone. I give a final, furious thrust, and a sickening crunch echoes in the stillness.

Further and further, I sink the sword until it passes through to the ground below. His eyes widen as he chokes on his own blood, his life extinguished as a crimson pool spreads beneath him.

Take you…

That’s why I had to take you…

Visions of the massacre in my village flash through my mind, turned into nothing but bloody nightmares through the lens of time. But it was the radicals that attacked… it’s when Commander Bravis took me in, barely old enough to remember life beforehand.

Lies.

Lies, lies, lies … Nothing more than the false words of a dying man. It has to be.

Because if it isn’t …

Hands land on my shoulders, but I only plunge my blade deeper as I quake with rage. “Ronan, he’s dead,” Cameron says, his voice miles away as I shake my head. Bloodlust drives my sword further until the hilt meets the mutilated skin of his neck, but still, it’s not enough.

“It’s done,” he tries again, grabbing my face and forcing it to his. “He’s gone… you killed him. It’s over.” I twist in his grip, trying to track my prey beneath me as Cameron yanks my head.

Bright blue eyes are all I see, his voice breaking through the cloud of my rage. “Come back, Ronan,” he whispers, inching nearer, and everything is blue… so blue, like my feet have left the ground and I’m hovering, lost in the sky. “You promised you’d come back to me, so come back.”

Soft lips land on mine and everything inside me rearranges.

Every vein.

Every drop of blood.

Every godsdamned synapsis in my brain.

It all halts until all that’s left is him.

The very roadmap of my being shatters into a million pieces, reforming as the mark on my hand sings its pleasure, my soul screaming with the rightness of his body against mine.

My blood is on fire as I whirl, wrapping my arms around Cameron and pulling him infinitely closer until he consumes every one of my senses. His taste is on my tongue, his scent surrounding me, his skin hot under my hands, but it’s not enough.

It’s not fucking enough .

My fingers lace through his hair and my teeth tug at his lips, demanding entrance as my hips roll against him, my body alive at the contact. The sounds that leave me are feral, clawing at his clothes in my desperation for more.

“There you are,” he whispers against my kiss, hands still on my cheeks. “That’s it, big guy. Come back to me.” My eyes snap open, the fog in my mind clearing as bright blue meets my darkness, and reality hits me in a crushing blow.

I tear my mouth from his and scramble backward, shame burning hot as I realize I was mauling him like an animal in heat. A painful swallow catches in my throat as I sink back on my haunches, my heavy head drooping. “Fuck, Cameron, I’m so sorry,” I rasp, exhaustion hitting me like a hammer to the knees as the world sways.

“There’s nothing to be sorry for,” he says, standing and reaching for me. “Come on, let’s get you inside and clean.” I jerk my hand away, ashamed of the way I attacked him, and Cameron’s annoyed sigh lets me know his temper is close to snapping.

He kneels in front of me, a steady hand landing on my chin and forcing me to meet his eyes. “You are exhausted and losing blood. As you love to point out, I’m skinny, and I sure as hell can’t carry your oversized ass if you’re unconscious. So, please , Ronan—let’s get inside so I can help you.”

With a tired nod, I agree, and he stands as I wobble to my feet. My brows pinch at the unfamiliar, heavy way my body moves, limbs full of lead and feet cased in cement. “Shit,” he mutters, wedging himself under my arm and dragging me forward as my vision goes spotty. We barely make it up the stairs and inside the house, Cameron staggering under my weight. My body crashes onto the couch as my eyes flutter closed and I’m lost to the world.