by Alisa Woods
He didn’t know what he was expecting from her anyway—she wasn’t part of his pack; she didn’t come from the city; she probably was some poor little rich girl who ran away from her daddy and stumbled into the wrong part of town. He would let her go back to her life, and he would go back to his.
And he would take care of his pack like an alpha should.
His scans of the shelter weren’t coming up with any sign of Isabel, and he could tell he was setting the pack on edge with his stomping and storming around. What he needed was to talk to Stefan—he could help Marco get his head on straight, plus he probably knew where Isabel was. Marco tried not to stomp as he strode toward Stefan’s room. Back when the shelter was a mega grocery store, the line of rooms along the back had been offices and storage. Now, one served as Marco’s private room, another further down belonged to Stefan, the healer had her own room which doubled as a hospital, and the rest were filled with the meager supplies and few weapons the pack owned.
Marco strode past his room and several storage rooms, but he could already see that Stefan’s door was closed. He was probably out on patrol somewhere—if he weren't in, Marco would just get him on the phone and track down Isabel that way.
He swung open the door and froze.
Isabel was there… in Stefan’s arms.
The noise of him barging in made Stefan’s head whip in his direction—but Marco was dead certain he had just been kissing Isabel. And not a peck on the cheek.
“What the fuck?” Marco gaped at him, completely locked up and unable to understand what he was seeing. Stefan and Isabel. What the—
Stefan leaped away from Isabel like he had been electrocuted. The two of them stood staring at Marco with horrified looks. Even if Marco hadn’t just caught them in the act, he would still know—the guilt was written all over their faces.
Stefan recovered first, stepping in front of Isabel and clenching his fists at his side. “I’m responsible for this,” he said, a look of dull pain on his face.
Marco just gaped at him. Then he wrenched his gaze past Stefan’s tormented expression to the pain that was on Isabel’s face.
He spoke to her. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
She didn’t say anything, just shook her head, looking even more pained and horrified.
Stefan moved to block Marco’s view of her. “This isn’t her fault,” he ground out, fists flexing at his side. “Leave her alone.”
Marco snarled and carefully stepped into the room, closing the door behind him. Then he jabbed his finger at his best friend and beta, still keeping his distance, because frankly, right now, he wanted to strangle the shit out of Stefan. “And you… you should have fucking told me!”
Stefan winced, and Marco could feel it through their submission bond—the pain his best friend was feeling at this betrayal. The guilt, the agony, the regret—all of the emotions were so strong that he could feel them plucking on the magical strings that bound them together. Stefan and Isabel. They both had pledged submission to him. Stefan was his beta. She was his intended mate.
It was the ultimate betrayal.
“I’m your beta,” Stefan said. “I would never… we never… I swear to God, Marco, I wanted to. Badly. We never did.” Then his claws came out by his side. “But I promise you, if you hurt her, I will kill you.”
Stefan’s words were like fists pummeling into him. Marco actually stepped back and stumbled into the door. “You love her.” It was a whisper.
Stefan’s fists still flexed. “I have since the moment I laid eyes on her, but she…” He dropped his gaze.
Marco looked to Isabel, whose hands were tormenting each other. “Do you love him?” he asked her.
Stefan’s shoulders twitched. He twisted his head back to look at her, and when their eyes met, there was a whole conversation that happened, wordlessly, that Marco didn’t have to hear to understand.
His beta and his intended mate were in love with each other… and they had been for some time.
“There’s no sense in hiding it anymore,” Stefan said quietly to her.
She bit her lip, and the look in her eyes as she faced Marco held oceans of hurt. “I was sworn to you,” she said softly. “We both were. We would never have betrayed you. And you needed…” He could see the blush running up her cheeks even from across the small room. “You needed someone. You were our alpha, and you needed someone to comfort you while you did the hard work of building our pack. I couldn’t say no to that.”
A very familiar guilt stabbed Marco through the chest. “You could’ve said no. You should have said no.”
She gave him a sad smile. “I didn’t want to. You had sacrificed so much for the pack… for me… I wouldn’t even be alive, if it weren’t for you, Marco. As long as you still needed me, there was no way I wouldn’t be there for you—in whatever way you needed me most.”
Marco squeezed his eyes shut, not wanting to believe this, not wanting to hear this. How had he not seen this all along?
He forced his eyes open and stared at her, holding her gaze for a long moment. “I wish you would have told me.”
Isabel looked like she might cry. Damn, he had messed this up so badly.
“She did what she thought was best for the pack,” Stefan said, anger rising in his voice. “Don’t you dare be angry at her for what she’s done.” That was familiar, too—Stefan had always had Isabel’s back.
How had Marco never seen there was more to it?
He held his best friend’s angry stare, feeling the pain of it dance across the magic that bound them together. “I’m not angry with her. Or you.” And that was the truth—anger wasn’t the feeling that was flushing through him right now. More like an unmooring from reality, with everything that he thought he understood turned upside down.
Stefan’s expression went back to being pained. “We didn’t want you to find out this way. We thought that maybe…” He glanced back over his shoulder at Isabel.
She nodded. “We thought maybe this new girl, Julia, might’ve been the one for you. That’s all we were…” She exchanged another guilty look with Stefan, then she looked back to Marco. “That was mostly what we were talking about. That maybe if you had Julia, then you wouldn’t need me anymore.”
Marco dropped his head, shaking it at the floor. “No. That’s not going to work out.” Then he looked up at the two of them. “But you two have my blessing, regardless.”
Stefan said something else to him, but Marco didn’t hear it over the buzz in his ears. He reached back to open the door, slowly and calmly, almost in slow motion, pulling it open and closing it behind him.
He slowly marched down the line of closed doors, heading for his own room. His head was thick with confusion and a dizzying sort of feeling like he was losing his grip on reality. What else did he not know that was going on in his own pack? Under his own damn nose?
He stumbled to a stop outside his room, staring at his closed bedroom door. He needed some time alone to think this through, before he had to face his pack, or even Stefan and Isabel, again.
His beta was going to claim the woman who was supposed to be Marco’s mate. It wasn’t like he was jealous—a distant, deeply buried part of him was actually happy for them. Maybe even a little jealous of what they had. He would still have to claim a mate of some kind, one of the other unmated females in his pack, but he was in no condition to make that decision now. Especially not when that was a lifelong decision for her, whoever she might end up being.
He must’ve been standing there for a long time, his hand on the doorknob, but he was brought out of his haze by Ethan running up to him, breathless.
“Marco! Marco!” he gasped, grabbing onto Marco’s arm.
“Hang on, buddy, where’s the fire?” He frowned down at the kid, who was really worked up about something. Marco tried to pull his shit together inside his own head—if there was something really wrong, he needed to be there, mentally, to take care of it.
“It’s Ms. Julia!” E
than rushed out. “She said goodbye to me!”
What? “Did she leave already?” Marco scowled down at the kid. He had told Julia she could stick around as long as she needed to—hell, it was almost dusk outside. If she thought she was leaving now—
“Yes! She’s gone! I saw her going out the front. You’ve got to stop her, Marco.”
Marco’s wolf surged up inside him. “Damn straight, I do,” he growled. “What is she thinking, leaving at this time of night?” He started running toward the front, but then he heard fast, quick steps behind him. He turned, and Ethan was following him. Marco jabbed a finger at him. “You stay here, little man. I’ll go get her and make sure she’s safe.”
Ethan stopped dead in his tracks and nodded quickly.
Marco turned and ran full speed.
When he tore out the front door and scanned the street, he didn’t see her—and his heart lurched like he was having a heart attack. Again. The same feeling he had when he knew she was in danger with Cruz’s beta. His boots pounded across the broken pavement littered with weeds and out into the street… and then he saw her. Only two blocks down, but dammit, she was heading straight for Cruz’s territory. Was she insane?
He hauled ass down the street after her, his lungs ready to explode. She finally heard him coming when he was half a block away. At least, she didn’t try to run from him, even though he was barreling toward her.
“What the hell are you doing?” he shouted, breathless as he trotted to a stop in front of her.
She caved in her shoulders, wincing away from him, holding some kind of backpack that looked like it had been rummaged out of storage. Her hands were working the strap, and it took a moment for him to realize—she was trembling.
He forced his voice to calm. “You can’t be out here alone, Julia. Cruz will take you and claim you before you can scream for help. Or the Wolf Hunter’s men could be prowling here any moment.” He swallowed down his labored breathing. “Why are you… what are you doing?” He felt like such an idiot—it was obvious she was leaving because he had stomped away, stung by her rejection. But Jesus Christ he didn’t want her running out into the street and getting herself killed… or worse, mated to a wolf like Cruz.
She straightened her shoulders, putting on a brave face even though he could see her trembling. “You’re a good man, Marco. You’re doing good things here. Anyone could see that. But I’m just… I don’t belong here. And I’m just distracting you. I figured if I was gone—”
He closed the distance between them and took her shoulders in his hands. She flinched a little like she thought he might hurt her. That cut through him like poison running to his heart.
“You’re not supposed to worry about me. I’m the alpha. I worry about you. That’s how this works.” He squeezed her shoulders and peered into her eyes. She’d better not fight him on this. “It’s not safe for you out here. So, the first thing I’m going to do is get you inside. Then we’ll talk about where you belong. And where you don’t.” But even as the words were out of his mouth, he knew exactly where she belonged—next to his side, wrapped in his arms, moaning under his touch. Every instinct was telling him this was true. The way his beast calmed the moment he touched her, the way she was responding to his command with a relieved look and a slight lean into his hold on her—there was no question in his mind.
Julia Holloway belonged with him.
And he would do anything to prove that to her.
He slid his arm around her shoulders, holding her tight to his side, and they walked quickly away from Cruz’s territory. Marco didn’t want to go back to the shelter—too many eyes there, not to mention he was in no shape to face Stefan and Isabel—but the gym should be shut down for the day. He steered her that way, and as they walked, the shaking in her shoulders subsided. She was warm and willing in his arms, at least for the moment, even if only in this simple thing of walking to safety… but he knew her wolf was singing for him, just as his wolf was singing for her. She just didn’t understand what her wolf was telling her. She barely had control of her beast—he was sure she wouldn’t understand all the signals her wolf could give. She didn’t know how to listen to her beast for reassurance that she was doing the right thing, the way he was listening to his wolf hum with pleasure as he took her literally under his arm and kept her safe. Kept her close.
Brought her back.
His wolf knew he was the right thing for her. Marco just had to convince her of it.
When they reached the gym, it was locked up for the night. Fortunately, he carried the master key with him and quickly got it open. The inside was stale with the leftover musk of a ton of kids running and playing, but it was the smell of his pack. Of his home.
He closed the door behind them and flipped on only half the lights, so it wouldn’t be harsh. She had her arms wrapped tight across her chest, the backpack still clinging over one shoulder. He stepped up to her and ran a finger along her cheek. He could see her trying not to react, but the tells were there—her lips parted just a little, a hitch in her breath, the dilation of her beautiful eyes. He slid a finger under the strap of her backpack and lifted it from her shoulder, dropping it on the wooden floor next to them.
Then he took her cheeks in both hands and held them gently, tipping her head up so she would have to look him in the eyes. “I’m so glad I found you.”
She blinked and smiled a little. “I didn’t get very far, did I?”
He moved closer, sliding one hand to the back of her head, the other trailing a line down her jawline. “That’s not what I meant,” he whispered.
Then he kissed her. Not like before—not a hesitant kiss to ask permission, and not a wild press into the wall—just an urgent need to show her, with his lips and his tongue and his touch, that he was on fire for her.
And he wanted to make her his own.
After a moment of shock, she responded—hands in his hair, clutching at his shirt—and his hold on her grew. He angled her mouth just right to claim it while his other hand pulled her sweet body against his. His cock was springing to life already—it had been ready for her ever since that first touch on the street. His hand skimmed her back, found the edge of her t-shirt, and slipped inside to find the soft skin there. He moaned into her mouth, his need for her ramping up so fast it felt like his body was in a vise, cranking tighter and tighter. His mouth left hers, and he nearly bit his way down to her neck. Someday, he vowed, he would sink his fangs into her for real, make her his forever, but for now… for now, he just needed to convince her to give one part of herself to him at a time.
First her kiss. Then her body. Then her wolf… and then, if he was damn lucky, her heart.
Her breathing was ragged as he nipped at her neck, and his hands were busy exploring the backside of her body—the smooth skin under her shirt, the tight curve of her ass, that gorgeous honey-brown hair twisting in his fist.
“Tell me you don’t feel this,” he whispered hoarsely into her ear. “Tell me I’m the only one who feels this need to have you, naked, sliding against me.”
Her whimper was her only answer, followed by another hitch in her breathing as he slid his hand to the front and grasped her breast, squeezing hard. He captured her mouth with his again, working her breasts free of her bra under her t-shirt as he walked her backward toward one of the couches against the wall. When he reached it, he stopped his pawing of her body, even though it was making her pant, and brought a hand back up to her face, holding her, demanding her half-lidded eyes meet his.
She was feeling it—the call of her wolf. He was sure of it.
“Let me show you everything you’re making me feel inside,” he whispered.
“But I’m not in your pack. I’m not your—”
He cut her off with a kiss, quick and sharp and demanding. He didn’t want her saying those words. “I want you. This is for me, not my pack. Not the cause. I want you as a man and a wolf.”
Her lips trembled, but she didn’t say anything.
&n
bsp; He pulled her hard against his body. “Say yes. I know you want this. Say yes, and I’ll make you scream my name, Julia Holloway.”
She let out a shuddering breath. “Yes.” It was a whisper filled with need.
He’d never heard anything so sweet in his life.
Holy fuck, Marco Wilding’s hotness was a force of nature.
And it was sweeping over Julia and consuming her.
The instant she said yes, he let out the most possessive, sexy growl she’d ever heard and lifted her shirt and bra clean off her body in one sweep. His shirt went fast, too, then he sat on the couch and pulled her close so that her chest was even with his face. His hands and mouth took turns with her breasts, tormenting and licking and making so much heat gush between her legs, it made her squirm with need for him there. She held tight onto the smooth-steel muscles of his shoulders, one of which was darkened with a large tattoo of a wolf that reached halfway down his arm. It was the tattoo of his pack, she was sure, and it added a rough sexiness on top of his gorgeous body. He was the strongest man she’d ever been with; in fact, it wasn’t even close. His muscles rippled under her palms, sending spasms of want through her. The tremendous ache building between her legs, the insanely hot need for him, was driving her mad… and they still had half their clothes on.
Marco soon got busy on that, too.
His mouth kept nipping at her breast, but his hands dropped to undo her jeans and slip them down her legs along with her panties. His groan of impatience was making her crazy… at least, her human body was ramping up, writhing with need for him. Her wolf, on the other hand, was purring like a kitten. Humming to herself, just blissed-out happy to be in the hands of this alpha wolf, this man who was so much more. There was no question this was exactly where her wolf wanted to be, and Julia’s body was dying to have him as well, but her head was holding back. Still feeling uncertain. But she was too far gone in this to stop—she wasn’t sure she would recover if they stopped—so she would just have to tell him later.
What she’d done.
What her life really was.
