by Cece Rose
Table of Contents
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Blood Sea Prologue
Blood Sea Chapter One
Wings of Ice Prologue
Wings of Ice Chapter One
Marked by Pain
The Marked Series
CECE ROSE AND G. BAILEY
Contents
MARKED BY PAIN
Copyright
Dedication
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
About the Authors:
Other Titles by Cece Rose
Other Titles by G. Bailey
More reading…
Blood Sea
Blood Sea Prologue
Blood Sea Chapter One
Wings of Ice
Wings of Ice Prologue
Wings of Ice Chapter One
MARKED BY PAIN
THE MARKED SERIES
CECE ROSE & G. BAILEY
Marked by Pain © 2017 Cece Rose & G. Bailey
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or used in any manner without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
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Cover Design by Covers by Christian
Dedication
For Gem, thanks for stalking me into friendship.
For Cece, thanks for making my stalking easier by being my best friend.
Prologue
Mackenzie
My fingers scrape across the ledge, holding on as the portal behind me pulls me to it. I glance down, only regretting doing so as I see the swirling blue portal and my grip on the edge of the stone slips. I hold in a scream as I try to get a better grip, only the blood on my hands is making it impossible to hold on. The stupid white dress I’m wearing only makes it harder for me to use my feet to climb up.
“Kenzie!” I hear Enzo shouting my name. I try to look up, only to have to use my hand to push a piece of rock that flies at my head away from me. I know Enzo won’t stop looking for me, even in all the madness of the flying pieces of rocks that are being pulled into the portal, and the chance he could die before he finds me.
“Enzo, here!” I shout back, and I see him look over the edge of the cliff I fell down. Enzo jumps, landing right in front of me on the ledge and reaches down, pulling me up into his arms.
“I’ve got you, it’s okay,” he says and gently kisses my forehead.
“No, it’s too late,” I mumble, shaking my head and Enzo squeezes me tighter.
“You couldn’t have changed anything about what happened,” I hear Enzo say but I’m too distracted to tell him he is wrong as someone jumps down and lands next to us. Enzo turns us so he is slightly in front of me as we face my father. He stands there, with his long coat blowing in the wind and a happy expression. He won.
“It’s your fault,” I spit out and he laughs.
“Goodbye, Mackenzie. Thank you for everything you have done for this world, but I’m afraid we don’t need you anymore,” he says in a cruel, emotionless voice. I’m too late to stop him when he shoots a blast of air at me and Enzo, sending us flying off the edge of the ledge and down into the portal. The last thing I see is Enzo pulling me to his chest and his dark eyes as he looks down at me.
Chapter 1
Mackenzie
Sitting with my knees to my chest, while staring down at the cold floor of the warehouse, I reject the man's offer again. I don't even respond, choosing to try and ignore his presence in the room. I don't want any part in this resistance or their plans. I've just got to be patient, and wait for the right moment to escape or for the guys to come for me. I know they won't just leave me here.
“We've been here for two weeks, Mackenzie. You need to give me an answer soon. The men are getting restless,” he says. I've given him an answer, plenty of times, just not the right one. Well, the one he is after anyway. The door opens, and I look up to see Ryan enter the room. He whispers something to the man and then leaves, casting a regretful look in my direction as he leaves. It’s a bit late for regrets now, big brother. The man—Alaric—stands closer. I think of him as Alaric, as I refuse to call him anything else. He is nothing else to me. As he towers over me, I advert my eyes back down, not wanting them to meet with the man whose eyes match my own. He sighs and turns back away from me.
“Mackenzie, my child, if you will not talk to me, perhaps you will listen to your lover?” he asks, as he continues walking to the door.
Lover? The confusion settles into my mind, and I look up, wondering what he could be talking about. Icy shock sets in, chilling me to my damn bones, as a familiar face looks down at mine. He’s got a tight-lipped expression on his face, and his hair is messy. His glasses are noticeably absent, and I’m convinced he only ever wore them for show at school. He's never had trouble seeing during our training sessions, and I never saw evidence of contact lenses in his cabin. It was just a front, something to hide who he really is. What else was he hiding? Running my eyes all over him, I’m feeling both happy to see him, but cautious about the way he has shown up. I bite my lip as I sink back against the wall, bringing my knees up in front of me again, more tightly this time. One question breaks through all the other thoughts that I feel rushing through my mind right now.
What the hell is Mr Daniels doing here?
“Kenzie,” he says gently, making me remember the last time he used my nickname, moments before we kissed. I wonder if he uses it on purpose, to convince me to trust him.
“What are you doing here?” I ask him, and he sighs.
“Can we have a minute, Alaric?” Mr Daniels turns and asks him.
“Fine, but I want her to cooperate, I’ve had enough of this game she’s playing,” Alaric says firmly and
walks out, slamming the door behind him. The harshness of the slam makes the whole wall slightly shudder. I look up as Mr Daniels kneels in front of me.
“Kenzie…” he starts, reaching for me, but I knock his hand away.
“Tell me what the fuck you’re doing here, Mr Daniels? Why the hell would Alaric listen to you?” I question him, and he sighs, rubbing his hands over his tired looking face.
“Will you please listen to me? That means not trying to attack me before I can tell you the whole story?” he asks me gently.
“Depends what you’re going to say to me, and it wouldn’t be trying, Mr Daniels,” I respond, and for some reason it makes him smile a little.
“I’m the leader of the rebels, well me, your father, and two others are,” he explains. I stand up quickly, walking as far away from him as I can as the sting of betrayal begins to boil inside of me.
“You bastard! You did all this, didn’t you? You let them take me away from the academy, it’s your fault they kidnapped me! You knew my father was alive the whole fucking time!” I seethe and he shakes his head.
“I didn’t know anything about the kidnap plan. I swear to you I didn’t,” he tells me, but I don’t believe a word he says anymore.
“Was kissing me part of the plan? Making me fall for you?” I ask, my voice catching a little. He tries to move towards me, but I hold my hands out in front of myself in warning.
“Get out. Just get out, Mr Daniels,” I spit out and he stops walking.
“You can hate me for lying to you, and I deserve that, but remember not everything’s fucking black and white, Miss Crowe,” he replies, walking out of the room. The door slams shut once again, as I fall to my knees and hold in the tears that threaten to fall. I don’t know how long I spend staring at the floor, running every moment with Mr Daniels over and over in my mind, before coming to the conclusion that he played me. He played me so damn well. I stand up and walk over to the middle of the room. Nobody else is going to save me now.
“I know you can see me, and I want to see my father. Now,” I shout and cross my arms, waiting for the door to open. I wait in silence. The seconds turn to minutes, and then the minutes turn into hours as I wait in silence. I pace back and forth in my little makeshift cell, waiting for him to come. Typical that as soon as I am ready to talk, he makes me wait. Eventually, I give up, going to sit on the air mattress on the floor,while I wait for someone to come in.
The door finally opens and I look up, watching Alaric as he strolls in, a satisfied look on his face. About frickin time.
“Well, Mackenzie?” he asks, as he leans back against the door, looking down at me. I stand up and walk across to him.
“What exactly is it you need me for?” I ask.
Instead of answering me, he gestures for me to exit through the door. I watch him, unsure for a moment, before daring to step through. When nobody stops me, I relax a little as he walks past me, and then leads me to another room. He opens the door and again gestures me inside. Like he’s herding freaking cattle.
I motion for him to go first and he frowns, but steps inside first anyway. Following him in, I’m holding back a smile at my tiny victory. I refuse to let him be in complete control. I’ll push where I can so I don’t become a mindless robot while trapped here.
“Take a seat, Mackenzie,” he says as I shut the door behind us. I grab a chair on one side of the table, and he sits at the other before beginning. “We need you, the twelfth power is crucial to our plan,” he says.
“You’ve said as much, but what does it do? What do you need me to do?” I ask, crossing my arms across my chest defensively. I glance around at the small meeting room. There’s a long table with chairs on either side, and not much else. Other than to shower, this is the first time I’ve been out of my cell since arriving here, so I appreciate the change in scenery. Even if it is just a trip to this bland-looking room.
“Mackenzie, do you think I am a fool?” he questions. When I don’t reply, he sighs. “I cannot trust you with our plan just yet, but you need to realise why you should help us. The Marked Council are corrupt, mad with power. They make decisions for our kind that they should not. There are things you don’t know, Mackenzie. They have forgotten our ways and allowed polluting of the bloodlines. They’re making the rest of our kind weaker, so that they remain stronger. Encouraging people to procreate with humans, when they themselves do not. Why do you think that is?” he asks me, and I try not to snort. Does he not realise how crazy he sounds?
“Why?” I ask, trying to feign interest. I’m sure falling asleep won’t help convince him I am on their side. I need to do that, if I want them to drop their guard enough that I can escape.
“Because they want to rule completely. Not as elected officials, but as a dictatorship over our kind. They want to weaken us all to the brink, so that only their selected few families remain strong,” he answers.
“And what do you want?’
“We want to stop that. This is why we need you. You can stop this madness, and bring the power we need into our cause. We must overthrow the council.”
“How am I meant to bring power into your cause? Why does it have to be me? How do you even know what my mark does?” I fire off my questions, not able to keep them in any longer.
“I cannot tell you everything yet, nor can I trust your change of interest now. But perhaps, soon I will be able to. I hope that over time you will see what we are doing here, that you will understand we are the good guys in all of this. We will be moving you to our main base tonight. If you try to escape during transport, we will lock you up tighter than Alcatraz. Do you understand?”
“I understand,” I acknowledge.
“I’m not quite sure you do, but it does not matter. Either you will comply willingly, or we will make you.”
“Is that a threat?” I ask, wanting him to just spit it out.
“Call it a motivator to behave accordingly,” he answers, making me roll my eyes. “That’s all I am going to tell you for now, Mackenzie. We’ll be leaving in three hours,” he says firmly, and it’s clear this discussion is over.
“Where exactly is this base?” I ask anyway, but he doesn’t answer. He stands and exits the room, slamming the door shut behind him.
Chapter 2
Mackenzie
“Why are you working for them? Why are you a part of this stupidity?” I question, as we drive down the motorway. He stays silent, refusing to answer me like he has been doing for ages. I curse and stare out of the window. There are rebel-driven cars in front of and behind us, so we’re completely surrounded. Not like I could escape Mr Daniels if I tried anyway. I need to wait for a better opportunity. Get back home to my parents, clearly the academy isn’t safe. I need to tell mum about Alaric too. Now I know why she could never speak to him using spirit, it wasn’t a lack of skill, the bastard was never dead.
“There are things you don’t understand—”
“Save it,” I mutter, cutting him off. Excuses won’t change anything. He betrayed my trust, pretended to care about me, all to help the rebels. The people who wreak havoc in our communities.
A car undertaking us, speeding up way above the speed limit, catches my eye. I watch the Mercedes with the tinted windows curiously as it slows down to keep level with us. Is this another of their cars? What are they doing?
The window rolls down and I try not to scream. Easton. The window rolls back up before I can even do anything about it. He speeds up again, before switching to the furthest lane. He’s going to get off at the next exit, I’m sure. Why? I look around at the road signs and the answer hits me. There’s a service station.
“I need to pee, can we stop?” I say, pointing at the upcoming exit.
“You cannot be serious,” he replies, glancing across at me.
“Completely. What do you think I’m going to do, cause a scene in front of all the humans? Expose our entire race, just to help myself?” I question sarcastically. He seems to consider it a moment, be
fore pulling out his phone. I can’t help but glare at him. He really shouldn’t be using that while driving.
“We’re stopping at the service station. I need a female member of the team to go into the restroom with her,” he says, not bothering to greet whoever he’s called. “No, I don’t care if you think it’s a bad idea, we’re doing it,” he barks, ending the call. He quickly switches lanes, and pulls off at the exit.
“Thanks,” I mutter.
“Don’t thank me,” he says quietly.
“You’re right, I shouldn’t,” I snap back. He turns to look at me, watching me for something as I stare right back, neither one of us wanting to say a word or break first. Mr Daniels stops the car, and places his hand on my shoulder. I don’t move, but I glance at his warm feeling hand and then back up to his face. His soft brown hair, the cute dimples, and the alluring green eyes that I ended up falling for. I smile slightly, before placing my hand over his, linking our fingers and calling on my fire mark. He doesn’t move as my hand gets hotter, hot enough to almost burn both of us.
“I deserve for you to hurt me, but I know you won’t,” he says quietly, and I glare at him.
“I could. You really don’t know me that well, Mr Daniels,” I say in an overly sweet tone, making my hand burn a little hotter, though still not enough to actually hurt him or leave a mark. I hate that he’s right, that I can’t make myself hurt him. Not that I will ever admit it aloud.