Marked By Power (Marked, #1)

I cut the lights off completely and scream, as I use my transmutation to change my eyes into a wolf’s eyes. Night vision, I impress myself sometimes.

“Shit, was that not you?” he asks. I use the moment of concern against him, and twist out from underneath him, blasting him with air to help me with just the lift needed to escape.

In the darkness, I have the upper hand.

I use my water ability to use his own tricks against him, covering the whole floor in ice. I kick my shoes off, and heat my feet with my fire, so I can move effectively around without slipping.

I stalk around him in a circle, now he is the prey, and I’m the predator. I launch at him, feeling the animal-like dexterity in me aid my attack. He dodges at the last possible moment, and jabs a fist into my side. Fuck!

I back up a few paces and circle him again. Shit, how did he know I was there?

“Move lighter on your feet, Miss Crowe,” he says softly. Is he a freaking mind reader? Is it a secret bonus ability or something? I try to move quieter. “Better,” he says.

He lashes out and grabs hold of me, pulling me to him, before spinning us around and planting me against the wall. “But, not good enough,” he murmurs into my ear. The tone in his voice is so seductive, I swear it has to be on purpose.

I lick my lips, seeing as they feel so suddenly dry. I’m so freaking stupid, he’s so unbelievably perfect, and here I am just fawning over him. Idiot.

“Excuse me, Miss Crowe?”

“Did I say that out loud? Wait how much of that did I just say out loud?”

“Just the word ‘idiot’. Why, what else were you thinking?” his body seems to move even closer up to mine. Fuck.

“N-nothing,” I stumble the word out.

“It doesn’t seem like nothing. You wouldn’t be lying to me, would you, Kenzie?” the way he says my first name, as if on an exhale of breath. Shit, bad thoughts; bad, bad thoughts. “Kenzie?” he repeats, softly.

I tilt my head up, seeing him perfectly in the dark thanks to my wolf eyesight. I focus and bring my eyes back to normal. If I see him, I won’t be able to do this. With my eyes back to normal, I can’t see him at all, but I know exactly where he is. I lean up, closing the gap between us, and press my lips against his.

At first, nothing. He seems too stunned to react, I’m about to pull back and apologise for completely misreading the situation, when he returns the kiss, a satisfied groan coming from him when I push myself up closer against him. His hand snakes into my hair, pulling it from the ponytail and letting it down. I move my hands up his shirt, feeling across the hard planes of his chest. He bites my bottom lip, and I moan softly, opening my mouth and deepening the kiss. He seems to come undone, tugging at my shirt, it comes off, his follows straight after it. It seems like a desperate rush on both our parts. The tension of the past few weeks finally getting to us. It can’t be ignored anymore. I need this, right now.

I go for his jogging bottoms, sliding them down his toned legs. He lifts me up, and pins me against the wall. I wrap my legs around him, feeling him pressed right up against me. He presses a kiss against my neck, before biting down. Fuck I need out of my leggings, right now. I reach a hand down to start to pull them off, when light shines into the room from the door. The now open door. Fuck.

He springs back from me, and we stare at the light from the door like deer in headlights. The collision tumbling closer and closer, but we can’t look away as we’re frozen in place. I can’t see the face of the person, but I’d know that body anywhere.

“East, it’s not—”

“What it looks like? I think it’s exactly what it looks like!” he snaps, cutting my words off. He turns back away from the room.

“Easton!” I call after him. I grab my shirt, pulling it over my head as I race after him. He shuts the door after him.

I pull it open, and dart out into the hall, I look around, but he has already darted away. Fuck. Without a backwards glance at Mr. Daniels, I run off in what I hope is the direction East left in, knowing I can’t let him run off after seeing that. Especially not after our conversation this morning damn it! I spot him sitting on the bottom step of the stairs, with people walking past him as they rush to their classes. He looks up at me as I walk over, stopping in front of him.

“East–” I start to say, but stop, not knowing what to say. I’m not sorry for what happened between me and Mr. Daniels, but I’m sorry I didn’t tell East how I was feeling about him.

“I don’t care that you like him, Kenz, I care that you didn’t tell me. I thought . . . well, I thought you would tell me first before you sleep with someone else,” he says gently. I expected him to be angry at me, not this, this is worse because I feel guilty.

“I haven’t slept with him, and that just happened,” I explained and he nods, standing up and coming over to me.

“I mean, after this morning I just . . . I guess I just need some time to think, Kenz,” he replies and walks around me. Turning around as I follow him with my eyes, watching him walk down the corridor, feeling like my heart is hurting more with every step he takes away from me.





Chapter 34





Kenzie





“Stupid, damn phone,” I mutter as I try to turn the thing on as I walk through the woods and back to the cabin after my lessons. It’s getting darker every day, and I can barely see where I’m going. I groan and slide it into my back pocket, knowing I’m more frustrated about everything else in my life than my phone. Enzo is avoiding me since the kiss in the hallway. I haven’t seen Mr. Daniels since we got hot and heavy in training, yesterday. East is still mad at me. Ryan is an accomplice in a murder, and I won’t speak to Kelly until she apologises for lying to me. The twins are the only ones who aren’t annoyed at me, but I haven’t seen them much since what happened yesterday with Mr. Daniels. I have the feeling East told them, by the awkward looks I got over the breakfast table this morning.

“Kennie,” my brother’s voice says from the shadows of the trees to the right of me, and I nearly jump out of my skin.

“Ryan, what the hell?” I ask, watching as he steps into the moonlight, followed by the rebel girl I saw before and an older man. It doesn’t shock me like it should to see them all together, but there’s still a sting that my brother would betray me like this. No matter what Kelly says, he is betraying me.

“Kennie, I need you to come with me,” he says, using the stupid, childhood nickname and making my heart hurt as I look him over. Ryan has dark hair that is cut short, with a slight beard, and a massive build from the training I know he does. He is paler than I am, but we look so similar. Other than his eyes, which are green compared to my blue.

“Why? Are you working with the rebels as well as fucking my best friend?” I ask, and he flinches ever so slightly. I’m sure Kelly told him I knew, but now, I’m thankful I didn’t tell her about hearing any more of their conversation.

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