His Mating Mark by Alicia White Page A

It all made no sense.
    She needed them? That wasn’t normal. She shouldn’t be feeling this way. Nicole wrapped her arms around her stomach and slid down the wall, sitting on the bottom stair.
    “I can’t wait to meet her. It’s been two years,” she heard a female voice speak, and Nicole strained to hear the conversation.
    “I know, our Alpha waited so long, and now they claimed her. It’s so exciting. I can’t wait until I meet my mate. I want to be claimed so bad,” the other girl said in an excited voice, and Nicole arched a brow wondering who they were talking about. What was a mate? Claimed?
    “I want to hear the whole story. It’s so romantic,” the girl gushed.
    “I’m sure it is, but why did she make them wait two years? That doesn’t make any sense. I mean, really? Gabe and Josh are so hunky. What took her so long to accept them?” the other girl asked.
    Nicole froze in place. They were talking about Gabe and Josh. Did that mean that the woman they were referring to was her? She had just met them. How could she have denied them for two years? She heard footsteps and froze, wondering if she could make it up stairs before anyone noticed her. She leaned against the wall, hoping that nobody would see her. Two girls walked around the corner, stopped, and stared at her.
    “Hi! I’m Addison, and this is my sister Harper. It’s so good to meet you. Are you looking for Gabe and Josh? I can get them for you.” She recognized the girl right away. She was the same girl that worked at the grocery store, except now she was all smiles and talk where, before, she was a little on the rude side.
    “Hi? You work at the grocery store in town,” she said, sounding stupid. Why were these girls here at this house? Were they related to Gabe and Josh?
    “Yeah. I do,” Addison said, still smiling.
    “You’ve never talked to me. You don’t talk to me,” she accused.
    “I’m sorry. I meant no disrespect. I was told not to. You’re human.” Nicole made a face. Human. That didn’t make any sense.
    “Told not to? Human?” She was so confused. The girls weren’t actually girls, they were women. Probably around her age, but they looked young.
    “Yeah, Gabe wants us to keep our distance from the full humans. They’re kind of scared of us,” Addison said.
    “Not all of them, only a few,” added Harper.
    “Us?” she asked, feeling the hair on the nape of her neck rise.
    “Yeah. I know, right? There is no reason to be scared just because we can turn into wolves. We’re not dangerous,” Addison scoffed.
    Her heart pounded so hard she couldn’t think straight. Everything became fuzzy. Wolves. She was surrounded by wolves, which meant that Josh and Gabe were werewolves, the ones she had been avoiding. All this time, she had kept to herself, and now she was in their home. Surrounded.
    “Are you okay? You look a little sick,” Harper said, concern coating her voice.
    “Fine. Yeah, I–I’m fine,” she stammered, finally able to move. She stood up slowly and walked up the stairs sideways on shaking legs. She didn’t want to turn her back to them. She was scared that they might attack her.
    Why now? Why would they bring her here? She knew their secret, but she hadn’t said a word. She never told anyone about that night or about the bite on her arm. She never would. Did they want to punish her, possibly kill her? She walked into the bedroom, closed and locked the door quickly. She ran to the windows, looking for a way out of the house. She needed to get away. None of them opened.
    She could hear the voices downstairs getting louder and ran into the bathroom, shut the door, and locked it. She looked for something to block the door, something heavy that might prevent them from coming in. She started pushing a large white cabinet, using all her strength, and was finally able to block the door. She needed to think, but her mind was going crazy, and she couldn’t calm herself down enough to think