***Natalia***
“Wh-what if… I mark y-you?” Zane asks timidly, his voice low and soft.
My heart feels as though it might pound out of my chest as a silence falls between us.
He wants me to bear his mark? Now? I stare at him, wondering why he would bring up marking now of all times?
Zane seems to understand my confusion and smiles sheepishly at me.
“T-this is w-war, Ta-Talia,” he says quietly, a warm tingle traveling down my spine when he says my name. “A-and if some-something happens t-to me-me… then I-I want to go out kn-knowing my ma-mate wore my mark p-proudly…”
“Zane…” I sigh tiredly, pinching the bridge of my nose and closing my eyes as I think of an answer. “You know how I feel about marking.“
“I-I do,” he replies. “B-but so do y-you.”
I groan in frustration, thinking back t
