Chapter 15 #3
I nodded. “Yes. See… I was practicing.” Which sounded significantly less impressive now that I said it out loud.
“Practicing your portal magic?”
“Yes. Portal mojo. Portal abilities. Whatever. I was basically trying to do what my father suggested I could.” Which, in hindsight, may have been the magical equivalent of receiving your learner’s permit and entering a demolition derby.
At the time it had seemed perfectly reasonable. Or at least reasonably unreasonable.
Marcus’s gaze darkened. “And you saw Addison.” His expression hardened, all traces of warmth disappearing beneath something colder. Protective. Dangerous. The same look I’d seen right before he launched himself at things that threatened his family. Which, admittedly, was a growing list.
“I did.” I quickly gave him a recap of me ending up in her lab, seeing all the questionable lab equipment and what she said about Darian.
Then when I tried to grab her, my portal grabbed me instead and pulled me back.
Even saying it out loud sounded ridiculous.
A portal kidnapping its own creator felt like one of those warning labels nobody thought they’d ever need.
Do not anger interdimensional doorway. Doorway may become emotionally attached and develop opinions.
I described the tables, the equipment, the syringes, and Addison standing there looking entirely too composed for someone who deserved to be launched into the sun.
The more I talked, the angrier I became all over again.
My wereape was quiet for a moment. The silence stretched—not awkward but thinking silence. Marcus had several kinds. This was the one where his brain was putting pieces together and deciding whether they needed to be punched.
“So it was her. She did this to Darian.” His voice remained level, but his jaw flexed once. I saw the muscle tic again a second later. Tiny signs that generally preceded very large consequences.
“Yes. And the way she was talking, it’s like this is not over.
Whatever she did to him, it’s not over. I’m not saying that Dolores is wrong.
I’m sure there’s no more magical residue or whatever Addison used on Darian.
But it’s not finished.” I started pacing again because apparently walking in circles was now my primary coping mechanism.
“She wasn’t acting like someone whose plan failed.
She was acting like someone waiting. Like she’d already set something in motion and now she was sitting back to see what happened.
” My stomach tightened. “And I hate people who wait. It’s creepy.
Either be openly evil or don’t. Pick a lane. ”
“I believe you,” said Marcus. “And you don’t know where the lab is?”
I shrugged. “Could be anywhere. I don’t know.” I rubbed the back of my neck. “The portal took me there, but it’s not like there were signs. No welcome banner. No Addison’s Secret Evil Laboratory, Exit Three. I barely had enough time to look around before everything went sideways.”
I thought back to the room. The equipment.
The sterile smell. The syringes. The things she hadn’t said.
Sometimes that felt more important than the things people said.
“But I know one thing. Whatever she’s doing, she’s still working on it.
And if she’s still working on it, she’s not done.
Which means neither am I.” My fingers curled into fists at my sides.
“Because if she thinks she gets to experiment on my kid and walk away, she’s about to have the worst surprise of her life. ”
“We need to find that lab,” said Marcus. “You think you can find it again? With your portal magic?”
I thought about it. “Yes. I can. I just have to figure out how to not make my portal not kidnap me again.”
“Good.” His expression softened, and he pulled me into his arms, pressing a kiss to my forehead. “But for tonight… I think it’s enough portal talking.”
I shifted closer and rested against him. His familiar scent surrounded me, warm and steady, instantly taking some of the tension out of my shoulders. “You do seem to enjoy telling me what to do.”
That earned a genuine smile. The kind that softened his entire face and reached his eyes. “You’re mine.”
“Such a caveman,” I muttered. “I like it.”
“You’re wound up,” he murmured near my ear. “I know exactly what you need right now.”
I glanced at him. “Oh? And what would that be?”
A slow smile tugged at his mouth. “I’ve got a few ideas. All of them involve no clothing.” His voice dipped low, rumbling with that deep, confident alpha grit that made my lady bits pound.
Despite myself, I felt some of the tension ease from my shoulders. “That’s your expert diagnosis?”
“Absolutely.” His arm tightened around me. “You’ve been carrying the weight of the world all day. I think you’ve earned a few hours of doing absolutely nothing.”
I laughed softly. “You mean avoiding my responsibilities.”
“I mean recharging before you tackle them again.”
“That’s a much nicer way of saying it.”
“I try.”
Before I could come up with a response, Marcus closed the distance between us. The kiss was gentle and familiar, carrying all the things neither of us needed to say out loud. His hands settled at my waist, grounding me and reminding me that whatever happened next, we would face it together.
For a few precious seconds, everything else faded into the background.
No lab. No Addison. No dangerous portal magic.
Just Marcus and me, wrapped in a moment of quiet certainty.
And somehow, that was enough.