The soft flicker of candlelight dances across the room, casting long shadows over the bed where Ghost lies, trembling. His body is flushed with the warmth of their mating, but his mind is icy, spiraling out of control. The burn of the mating mark on his neck throbs with each beat of his heart, each pulse of blood that flows through him a reminder of what’s just happened. What they’ve just done.

At first, it had been... gentle. The soft caresses, the quiet murmurs of reassurance. The alpha had made sure to stay tender, their scent weaving around him like a protective shield. It should have been perfect, and for a moment, Ghost had thought it could be.

But then came the bite. The sharp, sudden pressure of teeth sinking into his neck, leaving behind a mark that branded him as theirs. It had burned, deeper than he ever thought possible, and suddenly the world around him wasn’t safe anymore. It wasn’t their soft, reassuring scent that filled his senses—it was the dark, searing pain of a past he couldn’t outrun.

His instincts scream at him to relax, to trust the bond. They’re your mate. This is natural. You’ll be okay. But his mind doesn’t listen.

The mark, the mark they left on him, it burns with the force of a thousand memories—every alpha who ever used their strength against him, every painful moment from his past when love had been twisted into something ugly. His chest tightens, and a familiar, suffocating pressure builds in his throat.

Why does it hurt so much? Why am I still so scared? The darkness of his mind twists his thoughts, pulling him deeper into a well of panic.

What if this was a mistake?

What if you’re just like them?

What if they leave? What if they don’t stay?

His breathing quickens, and his heart races. His fingers dig into the bedcovers, the sensation of them too tangible—too real. He wants to rip the mark off, tear it from his skin, but he can’t. It’s there, a permanent reminder of something he doesn’t know how to process.