Fawn is a mute, orphaned human living in a world where werewolves and Lycans rule and humans are assigned jobs. When the Alpha King reveals that she’s his mate, her entire life is turned upside down. Will their bond be able to bring the two sides together, or will an unknown evil tear them apart?
Age Rating: 18+
Mark of Mars by Mutemoonfairy is now available to read on the Galatea app! Read the first two chapters below, or download Galatea for the full experience.
Read the full uncensored books on the Galatea iOS app!
1
Fawn is a mute, orphaned human living in a world where werewolves and Lycans rule and humans are assigned jobs. When the Alpha King reveals that she’s his mate, her entire life is turned upside down. Will their bond be able to bring the two sides together, or will an unknown evil tear them apart?
Age Rating: 18+
Original Author: Mutemoonfairy
I’m running in a forest.
Mud between my frozen toes, lungs burning for air as I push my legs to carry me faster through the branches, adrenaline flooding my veins.
The forest is just as it was last night wet, foggy, and cold but the part that terrified me the most was just how quiet it was.
The quiet air made me feel as though even the rapid beat of my heart would be enough to give up my location, and that at any moment it would come out of the bushes and rip out my throat.
I kept running but this time I heard it.
Tripping over a log and on to my stomach I clutched my eyes closed and screamed as I heard the terrifying sound of it’s heavy feet pounding toward me.
I waited for what seemed like an eternity for the sensation of my flesh being torn open…
I woke up on the cold damp floor of my one bedroom apartment in a cold sweat doing what would’ve been a scream if I wasn’t born mute.
Quickly I jumped up, stomach growling loudly, and went to the sink in my tiny corner kitchen seeing that it was almost time for work.
The floors were stained,wallpaper torn, no windows leaving the room dark until the lights would automatically flip on.
The only thing worth looking at being the fake plant I found one night on my way home from work.
The smell of mold and old paint is heavy in the air. I quickly pulled my long dark brown hair into a braid leaving baby hairs to frame my hollow face.
Brown tired eyes stared back at me in the cracked mirror hanging above the sink. I wondered who I looked like more between my parents.
Looking behind me longingly at the small refrigerator, I never checked the fridge fighting that strange urge to check it every five minutes as if the food would magically appear.
I only ever had enough money and time after work for an apple and maybe a can of spam all of which I saved for dinner.
I’d have to wait all day until I got home just before nine-thirty PM but at least I’d have food, others weren’t as fortunate.
Licking my chapped lips for the millionth time, I turned to grab my uniform, a small plain white collared dress with two pockets on each side.
Pairing it with my only jacket and flimsy black slip-on, I rushed out the door making sure to lock the three janky locks.
I hated waking up.
Every day I’d rush through the cold wet streets, my head held down afraid of making eye contact, following the cracked sidewalk until I came across the bus stop about two blocks away from my house.
There was no bench, making keeping my tired body up even harder having to wait in the cold. I would sit out there before the sunrise waiting to see the bright headlights of the old city bus come my way.
I’d never known any different though, werewolf guards found me at the border of town in the woods as a baby.
And just like everyone else, I was given a number and then when I was old enough to leave the human orphanage and work, I was assigned a job.
One of the nuns at the orphanage named me Fawn. I guess I was sleeping in the grass when they found me underneath a tree and I was much smaller than the other children.
Werewolves or Lycans had taken over years ago long before I was born. We were taught that this is what we “humans” deserved after years of humans trying to abolish their kind.
Many tried to rebel and all have failed.
Werewolves were much stronger than Humans, though it didn’t help that most were malnourished living off of what the werewolves saw as appropriate human minimum wage.
My town just so happened to be home to the King of all werewolves, the Alpha King, though most of us have never seen him.
He’s said to have lived for many many years purifying the lands of filth or “humans”. Werewolves also outlive humans unless killed which as you can imagine isn’t often.
Their god-like appearances fool everyone around them, seeming to never age.
I’ve heard old-timers who can no longer work roaming the streets talking of the good old days. Sometimes it gives me hope thinking that things may once again be “good”, but they never live long.
Night patrol always drags them off to be killed after curfew, ten PM, no one is out past then unless they have a death wish.
I think they get to a point where they don’t care, they all seem so happy. I wish I could be that naive enough to ignore my terrible surroundings.
The bus finally pulls up and I’m shoved in as late risers try to hurry into the bus.
Sliding my ID card through the machine waiting for the obnoxious beep to screech in approval, I then walk to the back of the bus and watch out the window until the final stop.
Seeing everyone quietly conversing amongst themselves in temporary bliss made my heart feel like someone was squeezing it. I was ashamed to admit it but I envied them.
I had a friend once that I often thought about, Melissa Froth. She used to work with me at the castle, she was like a sister to me although she was much older, maybe in her thirties or early forties.
We would help each other with chores and make the day seem to fly by.
Until one day, she snuck out past curfew to meet with a man who worked at the local fish market.
I don’t know what she had planned that night but the next day she wasn’t on the bus and I never saw her again. She would never purposely leave me though, I’m sure of it.
She was immediately replaced that day as if nothing happened.
To the beasts, we were all replaceable, we held no real value other than to work until our bodies eventually gave out.
My hands started to shake with uneasiness, I could only imagine how easy it would be to simply toss out someone who couldn’t even speak.
I was ok with being alone before her, I knew trying to communicate with me could be a hassle but now being so completely alone hurt more than ever.
In a way, I’m glad I had my work to keep me busy and tire my body to ensure I fall asleep at night. I had too many painful thoughts keeping me up without it.
I was awoken from my train of thought as the bus pushed forward to a hard stop slamming its doors open. The Werewolf bus driver roughly yelled over the speaker for us to get out.
I got up, squeezing past everyone, ignoring the dirty looks until I was finally out into the cold open air on my way to the palace.
The sun rising behind the castle never failed to take my breath away.
This job was god-sent, I had a thing for cleaning and it was one of the more doable human jobs for someone like me. This small window of time was my favorite part of the day.
Walking up a long set of stairs through the back entrance that only the maids used, I came across my section.
The smell of cinnamon rolls and bacon filled the air passing by the kitchen making my stomach growl loudly. I quickly ran straight to work in the East wing that was reserved for the Alpha King’s guests.
Scrubbing a stubborn spot in one of the suite’s bathrooms, I stop for a second to wipe the sweat off my forehead and give my lungs a break from all the chemicals.
Taking a deep breath, looking up, I jumped back a little as the head maid Dana stood above me.
Dana was never a nice lady but she got the job done and had a way with words making anyone snap into shape instantly.
For some reason, I always felt like she was a piece of something I wanted to be, strong.
Her fluffy reddish-grey hair was always done up as high as she could get it, maybe attempting to seem more tall and intimidating. If that was even humanly possible.
Her uniform needed to be a few sizes bigger as the front buttons barely kept it together, thank the heavens she wore an undershirt.
“Taking a break, are we?”
Smoothing out her uniform with her large hands she eyes me up and down her large figure shadowing my mere height of five feet easily. Shaking my head quickly she instantly rolls her eyes.
“Don’t bother lying, you don’t get paid to lounge around, Fawn. You should be grateful to have this job. A mouse-like you wouldn’t last a minute doing real labor, you’d do well to remember that, human.”
I begin nodding slowly, signing an apology, knowing she’s right.
“No matter, you’re needed as a replacement in the West wing. Someone else will finish this later before anyone noteworthy arrives.”
As soon as the words came out of her mouth my ears started to ring, my palms becoming wet and shaky. The West Wing is where the Alpha King stayed. The one and only beast of my night terrors.
I didn’t want to know why a replacement was needed, only how to dig myself a hole big enough to hide me forever in the neat carpet beneath my feet.
I was yanked up and roughly shoved out of the room. Making a motion with my hands back to the room Dana waves it off quickly.
“No no, you leave the supplies there, nice try mouse, they’ll be plenty more there don’t you worry.”
Dana’s raspy laughs tumble out as she shoves harder, almost landing me face-first on the ground.
“Now hurry along, we haven’t got all day.”
My stomach started churning and tears started forming in my eyes thinking about possibly being in the same room as such a beast.
What would happen if he didn’t like the way I cleaned the rooms? What if he punished me? What if I disappeared like Melissa?
Twisting my uniform in my hands until they turned colors, I kept my head down, there was no way I was getting out of this unscathed. I felt deep in my gut that this wasn’t going to end well for me.
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2
After a while of walking and climbing many stairs, Dana and I finally came across the West wing.
Even though I hated being here because of how anxious it made me feel I was mute, not blind, this castle was without a doubt stunning.
Everything from the dark cherry wood to the hanging chandeliers every piece in it was made with such detail.
If It were mine I wouldn’t change a thing about it, except for maybe the people in it. It almost made me sad that such a beautiful place was home to so much hate and anguish.
I woke up from my daydreaming after bumping into Dana’s broad back. Signing a quick apology, I was then pushed toward the large wooden door in front of us after an irritated huff from Dana.
“This is his master’s private dining quarters. You are to clean it spotless then promptly move to the next room. Break anything and you’ll be answering to the big bad wolf, got it, short stack?”
Dana chuckled at herself, her gut shaking as she clutched it, she then ruffled my hair playfully seeing my expression.
“You’ll be fine kid, just don’t fuck up. Should be no problem, with you being a neat freak n’ all.”
I audibly gulped already being a perfectionist where nothing was ever actually perfectly clean. This was gonna be a long day.
Dana then shoved me in the room and left, slamming the door behind her, making me jump.
You’d think I’d be used to it with her by now. But I was always so timid living amongst werewolves, everything scared me.
Finally taking a good look at my surroundings, this place was huge! Dining quarters? This was more like a ballroom, you could fit fifty of my apartments in here and still have room for a parking lot.
Looking down at the intricately placed pieces of marble I stepped back realizing they formed the shape of a large black wolf.
Its eyes, a deep forest green made out of some other type of precious stone, seemed to give me the chills almost as if it were staring directly into my eyes.
Shaking my head, I decided I’d probably sniffed too many cleaning products over the years. I then quickly ran over to the nearest maid’s closet grabbing supplies and began mopping.
Cleaning wasn’t by any means my favorite thing to do but sometimes it kept my mind off of what was happening in my life.
Mopping in particular reminded me of a movie I once saw a clip of as I babysat a pup in the East wing belonging to a guest.
A woman in a flowing blue gown danced with a man in a garden singing something I don’t quite remember about love.
She seemed so happy, sometimes I’d pretend mopping was some sort of a dance and the mop was my prince.
The way I’d move as I mopped was like a dance, Melissa was usually my partner when we had free time which didn’t happen often.
She would teach me some steps her father taught her when she was younger. He was a dance teacher for the werewolves in the upper class.
When he passed away, she was left in my class, the lowest of the lows, the South Section. At least she had such warm memories, unlike me, never having met my parents.
I often thought about what they would be like. Were they voiceless too? What did they look like? But most of all why did they leave me?
One thought I was afraid to think but was always there nagging the back of my mind Did they leave me because I was mute?
After a long while of mopping, I realized I’d forgotten all about underneath the large, very obvious dining table in the center of the room.
Looking down at my cheaply made kid’s wristwatch I’d gotten at a trade market I realized I’d gotten way too carried away.
Getting on my hands and knees, I started scrubbing the floors as quickly and efficiently as possible.
Finding a tough spot on the marble I began to immerse myself in trying to erase it. It almost looked like blood but…no I’m sure someone just dropped some ketchup. Yeah, ketchup.
I must not have noticed the door opening and closing because the next thing I knew I heard two voices, one belonging to Dana and another to a man.
They seemed to be in a very heated conversation.
“I don’t care how it’s done, just find her! I know she’s here, I can smell her all over you!”
The man’s voice seemed familiar, almost comforting even, minus the growls. If he was a werewolf there was no way I knew him and absolutely no reason I should be comforted by him.
Looking down at my watch, I shook my head as more baby hairs fell into my face. I had to get out of here or I was gonna miss the bus! And I can’t afford to be out this late.
I wouldn’t make it back in time for curfew. Even though my life was kind of terrible it was better than nothing.
Just as I was about to meekly pop my head out from under the large table and maybe sign a shaky “surprise!”, I heard Dana’s rough voice speak.
“Yes Alpha, um with all due respect sir, I just don’t know which one of my girls could possibly be the next Luna, it doesn’t make any sense.”
What in the world was Dana saying? I couldn’t believe my ears.
First, she says one of the maids is possibly the next Luna and secondly, the Alpha King himself is standing right outside this now safe haven of a table!
TABLE… My eyes grew big again. I’m still under the table. How was I supposed to get out now, with him there? Eavesdropping on Lycan royalty would be punishable by death.
Another large growl ripped through the air sending a hard shiver to run down my back
“Are you doubting my ability to sense my own mate?! Danika Swartz, is it?”
There was an uncomfortable pause before I heard Dana’s shaky gruff voice.
“No Alpha, um, I mean yes, Alpha! Friends call me Dana, though!”
The sound made my skin crawl. If Dana was this nervous then I’d definitely be wetting myself on these freshly cleaned floors.
“Well Danika, she was here this shift, her scent is still strong.” I then heard him sniff the air making me nervous he’d smell me instead.
“Bring me a list of today’s maids for the West wing and I might let you keep your job.”
My eyes widened even more if that was even humanly possible connecting the dots. That means I might’ve worked with the future Luna! If I’d worked in this wing for longer, that is.
So far, I hadn’t seen any other maids in this wing.
“Actually Alpha, there’s only one. There was a shortage of maids today due to a problem with one of the buses. But I’m sorry to say, she’s just a mute girl from the South section.”
Oh, how wrong I was. I just about died inside my heart completely dropping to my stomach making me nauseous. At this point, there was no holding back the tears that fell.
I unconsciously let out a small hiccup then, realizing my mistake, I heard the dead silence in the room. I shot open my eyes in fear.
Looking up, I was met with intense green eyes coming from the Alpha King peaking his large head under the table. His eyes seemed to glow intensely with that striking green.
At that moment, I felt something within me change or maybe something entirely new being settled in.
Horrified, I crawled quickly toward the opposite side of the table, bruising my knees on the cold marble trying to go faster.
Feeling a large hand enclose around my ankle, I let out harsh gasps trying to call Dana for help, but as usual, nothing came out sending me deeper into my panicked state.
“Shhh calm down, little one. You’ll only hurt yourself.”
I was then pulled from under the table causing me to thrash harder. A mixture of whacking my head on the hard flooring somehow and a panic attack had me blacking out.
The last thing I remember was being held to a warm chest and hearing him growl low, “MINE.”
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