Hanna waited outside the room with Connor as Cade went in first.
“Come in,” he called back.
Sure enough, Marcus stood inside their small living area looking as uncomfortable as she’d ever seen him. Hanna came to a sudden stop, jolting as Connor placed his hands around her waist and shifted her to the side so he could enter.
A low, menacing growl filled the room. Marcus stared at Connor, his eyes glowing.
The door slammed shut and Hanna turned, flabbergasted as Connor glared back at Marcus, his own eyes turning amber, both of their wolves so close to the surface they stirred Hanna’s wolf.
She took a deep breath. The air in the room thickened with tension.
“You want to challenge me?” Connor snarled. “What are you going to do? Go around fighting everyone until you get rid of that fury riding you? Think that will work? Come on then, if you’re going to do it, do it.”
“No!” she cried, stepping in front of Connor as Marcus took a step toward him. “No fighting. Marcus, what is wrong with you? You’re about to face a challenge with Ryder, why are you here picking a fight with Connor?”
She didn’t understand his behavior—so irrational, so unlike him that she couldn’t get her head around it.
“He’s jealous,” Cade said.
“What?” Hanna gaped at Cade who sat back in the armchair, watching them all calmly.
“He’s jealous. He doesn’t like when we touch you; makes him act like an idiot.”
Marcus snarled, but Cade didn’t look the least bit fazed.
“But why would he be jealous?” Hanna asked, ignoring Marcus, who still looked enraged. “We don’t, I mean, he doesn’t…” She trailed off, embarrassed.
“Oh I’d say he definitely has feelings for you,” Cade told her. “Connor, touch her.”
Hanna barely held back her flinch as Connor wrapped an arm around her waist. Immediately Marcus took another step forward, his hands clenching, chest heaving.
Jesus, could Cade be right?
“Why are you acting like this?” she asked. “You’re being crazy.”
“His hold on his wolf is tenuous, probably due to the challenge and the shock of seeing us with you this afternoon,” Cade replied.
Connor still held her loosely, but even that small hold felt irritating. Wrong.
She’d never felt that way when Marcus held her.
Marcus drew back, the glow in his eyes dimming. “I came here to apologize for that. I should never have looked at you that way, Hanna. I would never want you to think that I thought you were—”
“A whore? A slut?” she asked. “Because that’s how you made me feel.” To her disgust, tears welled.
“Hanna.” He held out his hand. She stepped back, falling against Connor, who steadied her.
Marcus turned to Connor, glaring at him. “Let go of her.”
“I’m her boyfriend; I have every right to touch her,” Connor taunted.
Dear Lord.
“Her pretend boyfriend. You have no reason to touch her in private. There’s no one around to see.”
“Do you have any idea how hard these last few days have been on Hanna? While you’ve been here, fucking things up with this pack, she’s been working her butt off trying to conquer her fears. We had a very short amount of time to get her used to us. And that meant touching her constantly. Schooling her on everything about us, our trip, our lives. You think this sort of acting is easy when she doesn’t know us, doesn’t trust us, and the one person she does trust is acting like a prick?”
“Connor,” Hanna said uneasily. But Connor ignored her, stepping to her side to take her hand.
“I, for one, am really proud of how far she has come. Three days ago, she couldn’t even look me in the eye. Now she doesn’t flinch when I touch her. Well, not on the outside anyway. You have no fucking idea how hard this is on her and then you go and look at her like she’s shit on your shoe. Well done. No wonder you’re having trouble holding this pack together,” Connor scorned.
“Connor,” she reprimanded.
But to her surprise, Marcus nodded and eased back. “You’re right. I was totally in the wrong this morning just like I’m out of order right now.”
Hanna’s tightly coiled trepidation loosened.
“Tink, I’m so sorry. I was so out of line this morning. I had no right to judge. I just… Shit, I didn’t know I was going to react that way when I saw all of you together.”
“I was really looking forward to seeing you again,” she whispered. “I missed you.”
His face softened. “I missed you too, sweetheart. Forgive me for being an asshole?”
Her heart tripped, a feeling of peace stealing over her at his words. She nodded. “I guess things haven’t been that easy here either?”
Marcus smiled wryly. “You could say that. I have no idea why Cooper put me in charge. Look at how things ended tonight. Four days here and I already have a challenge to my authority.”
“It’s a good thing.” Everyone turned to look at Cade
“What do you mean?” Marcus asked.
Cade shrugged. “It had to come eventually, right? They don’t know you. They don’t know your strengths and weaknesses. They need to know you’re strong enough to lead. From what I learned about Leonard, any challengers to his leadership would have disappeared, so it’s a good thing that they feel safe enough to challenge you.”
Marcus stared at him in amazement. “Yeah, I feel real good about it,” he said sarcastically.
“Didn’t say it was going to be easy,” Cade said. “You need to beat him but not kill him. You kill him and they’ll instantly hate you. But beat him fairly and you may win some of them over. Of course it would help if you were friendlier. Your personality probably turns a lot of people off.”
Connor snorted. “You get used to him,” he offered to Marcus.
Cade nodded. “It’s the coyote’s fault.”
*
Marcus, in wolf form, jumped toward Ryder, snapping at the smaller wolf warningly. Why the fuck didn’t he stay down? Marcus pounced, bowling the other wolf over then grabbing his back leg, biting down, careful not to use his entire strength. He didn’t want to permanently harm the other wolf, just show him who was stronger. Who was in charge.
Him.
Ryder twisted, scrambling free only because Marcus didn’t want to tear his skin away. Limping, he turned with a snarl, eyes bright but filled with pain. Marcus met his challenge, baring his teeth, his low growl filling the quiet clearing. People crowded around, watching, some faces anxious, others filled with anticipation.
Ryder attacked, springing forth. But he was slowing down and Marcus twisted away at the last moment, letting the other wolf land heavily before pouncing on him, this time biting down on the other wolf’s vulnerable neck. He applied pressure as Ryder tried to move.
Time to end this.
Each time Ryder attempted to throw him off, Marcus applied more pressure until the other wolf gave in with a whimper, his whole body going lax.
Marcus stepped back, panting heavily. Somehow, victory wasn’t as sweet as he’d hoped it would be.
*
Marcus barely bit back a groan of pain as he sat on the sofa in his living area. He looked around at his opulent surroundings and made a mental note to have someone come in and clear the place out. Leonard had enjoyed surrounding himself in expensive things. But the guy had zero taste.
The effect was an overload of eclectic items that didn’t go together. A rug made from bear skin lay in front of an ornate marble fireplace. Rich red drapes with gold tassels covered the windows. On the walls there was a mix of art. At least all the sculptures followed a theme. They were all nudes, many in sexual poses.
“Nice place, isn’t it?” Josiah commented, sitting across from him. “I’ve always liked this piece, personally.” He nodded at a sculpture on the table next to him. A male nude sat on a bench while a female knelt between his legs, obviously sucking him off.
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Marcus grimaced, wincing as his lip throbbed. Seemed there wasn’t one inch of him that didn’t ache. His only comfort was that Ryder had to be feeling worse.
Well, physically anyway.
“What the hell am I doing?” he sighed. “I’m no leader. Look at how I’ve already fucked things up. Why the hell didn’t Cooper put Rye in charge?”
Josiah snorted. “Rye’s a good strategist and fighter, but there’s no way he could deal with all levels of a pack. The man has no softness in him, little empathy.”
“And I do?”
“You’re feeling like crap right now, aren’t you? And I’m not talking about your injuries.”
“Of course I’m feeling like crap. I just injured a man I barely know.”
“He challenged you.”
“He was sticking up for his pack. I’ve probably managed to alienate the whole fucking lot of them now.”
“You didn’t kill him. Others would have.”
Marcus rubbed his hand over his eyes.
Josiah stood and patted his shoulder. “You did the right thing. You couldn’t let the challenge go unanswered. We’re wolves, we respect strength and leadership. You showed both today. Don’t beat yourself up. You’ve already got enough bruises.”
“Ha ha,” Marcus replied.
“Go get some ice for that face,” Josiah said as he left.
Marcus sat there for a while longer before he gathered up enough energy to move. His face throbbed, telling him he’d better take Josiah’s advice if he wanted to see out of his eye tomorrow. Werewolves healed fast if they changed. But he didn’t trust himself to let the wolf free right now. He was feeling territorial and aggressive, especially knowing Hanna was in the house.
Damn, I have to get a better hold of myself.
Stiffly he walked down the stairs toward the kitchen. The scent of chocolate and cinnamon wafted through the air.
“Alpha, there you are.”
Marcus came to an abrupt stop as a tall, thin female stepped in front of him. Olivia. He only remembered because she’d made a point of introducing herself on the first day. And had made it very clear that he was welcome in her bed anytime.
He barely repressed a shudder as she stepped too close, running her finger down his chest.
“I’m not the Alpha.” Marcus grabbed her hand, pulling it away from his body.
Temper flashed through her eyes then was quickly snuffed as she pressed closer. He had to fight the urge to scamper backwards. Instead he stood his ground, staring down at Olivia sternly.
“Oh, but you soon will be. You’re so strong, so masterful. You certainly showed that idiot Ryder who is in charge. I really do appreciate an Alpha male.” She licked her lips.
Marcus frowned. “Excuse me. I was on my way to the kitchen.”
Olivia glanced up at him. “Oh, there’s nothing worthy of your attention in the kitchen. If you’re hungry, send one of the others to get you food. I was thinking about taking a walk in the woods. Won’t you join me?”
“No thanks.” He stepped around her, ignoring her surprised squeal and muffled curses. He had tried to be polite, but it wasn’t him.
And she was keeping away from the one person he really wanted to see. He stepped into the kitchen as Hanna placed some chocolate brownies on a plate.
“Who are those for?” he asked.
Turning, she gaped at him in surprise. “Ahh, hi, I didn’t think anyone else would be down here.” Her eyes widened as she took him all in. “Oh no, look at your poor eye. Do you want some ice?”
Marcus knew he should try to keep some distance between them, instead he found himself sitting at the table, relishing the attention as she bustled around, fussing over him.
“Here you go.” She wrapped some ice in a clean towel and held it up to his face. “Shouldn’t you change?”
“No, can’t risk it.”
Frowning, she stood back and looked at him.
“You didn’t come to watch,” he said suddenly, surprising himself.
Hanna busied herself with the brownies. “No. I didn’t. I decided to do some baking instead. I heard that you won though.”
“I did.”
“You don’t sound too happy about it.” She placed the last of the brownies on the plate. Then, almost as an afterthought, she got another plate and placed one brownie on it, putting it on the table before him.
“Yeah, well, I’m not sure it was the right move.” How the hell did other Alphas do this?
“And that’s exactly why you’re the right person for this job.” She placed a soft hand on his shoulder. Immediately a surge of arousal overcame him. “Because you think of others. You think their old Alpha ever worried about how his actions affected others? No. Because he didn’t care. You care and they will see that. Now, I have to go deliver these brownies.”
Marcus frowned, jealous over whoever she’d been baking for while he’d been out defending himself.
“Who are they for? Connor and Cade? Surely they can wait.”
“Umm, no, they’re for Ryder.”
Shock was swiftly chased by anger. “Ryder? Why the hell are you baking for him?”
Hanna stared at him, biting her lip, a look he hadn’t seen from her in a long while. It instantly made him feel like shit and he reeled back his temper, knowing he was mostly angry at himself.
“Don’t you think it’s a bit late to go visiting?” he asked abruptly.
Ryder and Blair lived in a cabin on the grounds, along with a few of the others. Only Leonard’s favorites had been allowed to live in the mansion with him, while everyone else lived in badly built cabins in the woods.
“I want to see him before he leaves,” she explained.
“Leaves? He’s not going anywhere.”
Hanna looked dumbfounded. “But he has to. You defeated him.”
“Tink, I know they did things differently in your pack. But just because I defeated him doesn’t mean he’s kicked out of the pack.”
She stared at him with those amazing violet eyes that seemed to see so much. “I know my pack did things differently, but from what I’ve heard, the way this pack operated was pretty similar to my own, right?”
Her words hit him in the gut. Shit, I’m an idiot.
“I’ll escort you,” he told her.
Nibbling at her lip, she stared at his chest.
“Hanna, look at me.”
“No.”
“I know I was an asshole earlier, but please, don’t be afraid of me. Look at me.”
She raised her gaze and looked at him with some trepidation.
“Just say it,” he urged.
“Do you think it’s a good idea? I mean, you are the reason he’s leaving.”
Marcus sighed and moved to the door. “Come on.”
He had to refrain from touching her as they walked toward the small cluster of cabins where Ryder lived.
“Maybe I should go first,” she suggested as they got closer to Ryder’s cabin. It went against his protective nature, but he nodded and Hanna walked up the steps to knock on the door.
Blair opened it. Her face was mottled, her eyes bloodshot from crying.
“Anna! What are you doing here?” she asked in a friendly voice. Then she glanced over Hanna’s shoulder, spied him and froze.
“Umm, I baked some brownies for Ryder. Marcus met me on the way here. May we come in?”
“Sure,” she said somewhat reluctantly. But, reaching out, she grabbed Hanna’s hand. Marcus expected Hanna to flinch, knowing she didn’t like anyone touching her. Well, except him and those asshole twins.
He bit back the growl forming on his lips.
But Hanna didn’t flinch. Instead she smiled at the other woman and handed over the plate of goodies.
“You baked these?” Blair asked with surprise.
“Yes, is Ryder around?”
“He’s packing.” Blair glared at Marcus. “I need to do the same.”
Hanna bit her lip in worry. “You’re
both leaving.”
“Yes.” They carried on their conversation as though he weren’t there and for the moment he let them, surprised by how much he could learn. They chatted away as though they’d known each other for years. Funny, he’d figured he’d have to help Hanna adjust. Yeah, she didn’t need any help at all. Meanwhile, he was floundering.
And the damn woman had been here only two seconds.
“I have to. He’s my brother, my only family. I think Rafe and Honey will come with us. We’ll find another pack. We’ll be fine.”
Marcus heard the trepidation in her voice and inwardly cursed himself. A noise came from the porch and then Ryder stood there, battered and bruised. But his eyes were bright, aware and centered on Marcus.
“Can we talk?” Marcus asked.
Chapter Eight
Marcus stepped into the woods, Ryder walking beside him. “We’ll be out as soon as we can pack our stuff. Don’t worry. We won’t take anything we haven’t paid for ourselves.”
Marcus ran his hand over his head. “I seem to be fucking things up left, right and center. You don’t need to leave. None of you. In fact, I insist you stay.”
Ryder stared at him suspiciously, as though trying to figure out his angle.
“Look, I’m not one for big speeches. I prefer action. But I know this. I need men like you here, working with me. Helping me. You may not trust me, but I am speaking the truth. Stay. Cooper is a fair and good Alpha. I know you hate me, but your pack needs you. This is your home. Don’t let this run you off.”
Ryder snorted. “For someone who doesn’t like to talk, you sure do say a lot. Why should I trust you?”
“You have no reason to. But you seem like someone who cares for his pack. Are you prepared to just up and leave them?”
Ryder looked away, clearly undecided. Then he turned back. “If I’d challenged Leonard, he’d have killed me before I even got a chance to fight him. You have more honor than him.”
“Thanks,” Marcus said drily. “I think. I’m guessing Leonard didn’t train anyone other than his enforcers to fight, am I right?” Marcus asked.
Surprised at the question, Ryder nodded.
“Given some training, you’d make a formidable foe. I’d like you to be one of my enforcers, if you can stand being around me.”
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