The Girl He Marked by Laila Callaway novel Chapter 1

‘Myra!‘ Jayce calls my name, relief crossing his features as he sees me standing a few feet away. He takes a step towards me and I back away, not wanting to be anywhere near him right now. 

‘Myra let me explain,‘ he says, holding his hands out pleadingly. I just stare at him and shake my head. 

“You stay away from me,‘ I tell him, not recognizing my own voice, raw with emotion. His hurt face near ly breaks me, but I get another flash of that abused man‘s face as a sickening reminder. 

I‘m begging you, let me explain, this is what I didn‘t want to happen, this is why I didn‘t tell you, he im plores me, and I feel completely torn in two. 

‘Then you shouldn‘t be such a fucking sadist then, I snap, fuming at him for being such a violent per son. 

What kind of heartless asshole can torture someone? 

I‘m not a sadist Myra, hear me out, he takes another step towards me, but this time I don‘t back away. He looks relieved and runs his hands through his ha 

‘Damien gets me to interrogate trespassers and rogues who might be planning an attack or uprising, never women, never anyone underage, and they are only the trespassers we suspect have bad intentions, I never use tools or weapons, only my hands, it‘s not like I torture them, half the time all it takes is a bit of in timidation and they fess up anyways, he explains, and I become more relieved as he goes on. 

‘What about the man in there?‘ I question and his face hardens. 

‘That man in there, killed two members of my patrol team, both of whom had mates and children that are now heartbroken, he doesn‘t deserve to be alive today, he growls, and I suddenly don‘t feel so bad about the beaten man. But that doesn‘t make his job okay. 

‘Look, I know it‘s a lot to take in, and I‘m sorry you had to find out this way, but I promise those assign ments are a rare occurrence and a necessary evil in protecting the pack, I don‘t kill those men, they are re leased after questioning as long as their plan has been stopped, he continues, and I feel slightly reassured. 

‘Please don‘t ever be scared of me,‘ he says to me, and the fear in his voice breaks my heart. I close the distance between us and wrap my arms around him, burying my face in his neck and inhaling his intoxicat ing scent 

‘This is a lot right now, just give me some time, my voice is small and shaky, and I hate myself for sounding so meek, 

‘Of course, give me your phone and I‘ll add my number, text me when you‘re ready or want to talk, he of fers and does as he asks, watching silently as he adds himself to my contacts. 

‘I‘m sorry Myra, he says and my heart clenches tightly at the sound of my name on his lips. 

I‘ll see you later,‘ I tell him and head back over to the pack hall, to eat whatever lunch I can manage at my desk. 

I can barely concentrate on my work, and I think Alpha Damien senses this, because he sends me home early. I‘m grateful for his understanding and happily comply, arriving home a couple of hours earlier than usual. 

I manage to keep myself occupied for the rest of the day, but I lay in bed that night, staring up at the ceiling and trying not to picture that man‘s bloodied face. I imagine if I were a true shifter and had been born into the violence and fighting like my brother was, I would be more accepting of this. But it is hard, be 

cause when my brother was training and learning to fight, I wasn‘t involved, I was doing human things like going to see a movie or shopping or something. 

I make a mental list of the pros and cons of Jayce, feeling relieved but still uneasy when the pro‘s mas sively outweighed the cons. He has reasons behind his job, and I suppose when it really comes down to the safety of everyone, someone has to do it. 

Why does it have to be his job? Why can‘t it be someone else‘s? 

I decide to leave it for tonight and although it takes me a while, I eventually fall asleep. 

Myra‘s POV. 

I expected to have bad dreams after what I saw yesterday, but the sensual images that filled my mind last night were anything but nightmares. Like the other nights, I‘ve thrown my bedding off the bed again and stripped myself of my garments, I don‘t know why I even bothered wearing them, to be honest, I sit up in bed for a moment, looking around at the chaos that is my bed, why is this happening? 

My body is sticky from sweat and I feel like my blood is on fire, heating my skin, despite being naked. I peel my body from the bed and jump into my shower, eagerly turning the water to cold. The icy water pelts down on my body and I‘m surprised it doesn‘t hiss and steam off, considering how hot I feel. 

I step out ten minutes later, feeling slightly cooler but certainly not cold. I dry myself off and search for my outfit for the day. Once dressed, I come downstairs and decide to text Aria, I need to see my friends to 

distract me from thinking about Jayce. 

I‘m excited to see she has messaged me and our friend Alena already on our group chat, suggesting a camping trip on my next day off. 

I try to keep my mind off Jayce all morning, an impossible task, I know, but the moment I hear him talk ing to Damien outside, I snap. I glance out of the window and see the two of them talking on the lawn, Jayce is wearing a tight white t–shirt that shows off his tan and bulging muscles, he looks delicious. His skin is glowing with a faint sheen of sweat and he wipes his forehead, maybe it‘s not just me having hot flushes? 

| smooth down my skirt, pat my hair and make my way outside, hoping that Damien doesn‘t mind me taking a quick break, I‘m due one anyway. I pass Damien coming back in as I step out, the second Jayce‘s eyes land on me, my steps falter. He starts walking over, one of his strides matching my every two steps. We meet in the middle, before I can say anything, he grabs my face and pulls me in to kiss me. 

Not for the first time. 

| react instantly, instinctively placing my hands on his chest, pressing myself willingly against him. I can feel his body heat permeating through his t–shirt and onto my hands, he is as warm as me. The kiss deepens, his hands tangling into my hair, his tongue delving into my mouth. A shiver of pure pleasure runs down my spine and goose–bumps rise on my arms in reaction to the sex god kissing me. 

I try not to pout as he pulls away, looking down at me with those smoldering dark eyes of his. 

‘Sorry, I know I was meant to wait until you were ready, but I couldn‘t resist, he admits, his voice is so husky that I can feel my body getting all worked up again. 

• How is he so damn sexy? 

‘It‘s okay, I reply, coughing to try and get the breathiness out of my voice. 

‘I was wondering if you would like to have dinner with me, tonight?‘ He asks and I grin at him. It‘s quite adorable seeing a tall, muscular guy get nervous. 

Td like that, yes, I smile and a faint blush spreads across my cheeks, no one has asked me on a date in a while, it‘s flattering. 

‘Okay. I‘ll pick you up tonight at seven?‘ He offers and I nod eagerly. 

Sounds great, I‘ll see you then,‘ he grins at me, and I walk back inside before I do something stupid like throw myself at his gorgeous body.