15. Marcus
MARCUS
I stretch my legs from my position at the corner of our massive sectional, trying to find a comfortable spot that doesn't exist. This fight is absolute shit. These guys are dancing around like they're afraid to actually hit each other, and I'm starting to think I've wasted my Friday night.
"This fight is garbage," I announce, gesturing at the screen where two fighters circle each other with all the urgency of people waiting for coffee to brew. "What happened to boxers who actually wanted to fight?"
Theo grunts from his armchair, not bothering to look away from the screen. "Used to be about skill and heart. Now it's all about image and pay-per-view numbers."
Felix glances up from whatever architectural detail he's sketching. "Everything's performance now. No one knows how to be real anymore."
He's not wrong. Our house feels more authentic than most of the bullshit I deal with during business hours. Real brick, real steel, real leather furniture that doesn't apologize for taking up space. We built this place to be exactly what we needed with no facade, just us.
"Fuck this," I say, pushing off the couch. "I'm making popcorn. At least then this waste of time will involve snacks."
I head to the kitchen and pull out the heavy pot, measure oil with the kind of precision that drives my business partners crazy, and set everything up properly.
My phone buzzes while I'm waiting for the oil to heat up.
Lady Inkwell's gossip column, and normally I would ignore it, but the headline catches my attention: "Masquerade Ball Mysteries and Midnight Confessions.
" I thought she was only posting weekly, but now with the ball happening in two days, it's as if she's posting every day. Or maybe it's just my imagination.
Most of it's the usual crap about gowns and speculation about who's attending our annual ball. But then I hit a paragraph that makes me stop cold:
"The very thought sent ripples through our literary circles, darlings.
What earthly purpose could such a formidable gentleman have among card catalogs and reading nooks?
Sources suggest that Miss Belle Hartwell, that perpetually cheerful head librarian, appeared rather.
.. discombobulated during his unexpected visit.
One can only speculate about what depths might lie beneath her usual professional demeanor that would attract such masculine attention. "
I read it twice, my jaw tightening. Lady Inkwell usually fishes for information rather than actually having it, but something about this feels different.
The first kernels start popping, but my attention's completely focused on the implications of what I'm reading.
"Theo," I call out. "You need to see this."
He's up and moving toward me before I finish speaking, that military alertness never really leaving him. "What's wrong?"
"Lady Inkwell's latest column." I hand him the phone. "Tell me this is just her usual bullshit speculation."
I watch his face as he reads, cataloguing every micro-expression. The way his shoulders shift, the slight tightening around his eyes, and his expression tells me that this isn’t gossip, this really did happen.
"Well?" I prompt when he doesn't immediately respond.
He hands back the phone, his expression carefully neutral in that way that means he's processing information he doesn't want to share. "What exactly are you asking me?"
"I'm asking if there's any truth to what she's implying about Belle.” My voice gets that edge it takes on during difficult negotiations. “What happened last night? You was out late? Were you really at the library?”
We're a pack, meaning we live together and share everything. Finances, decisions, our lives. It's closer than most marriages, really. But secrets? Nah, this is a whole different ball game. Just like this shit boxing match.
The popcorn's going crazy in the pot, but I'm entirely focused on my packmate. His silence is answer enough, but there's a satisfied smugness that's practically radiating off him.
"She's an omega," Theo says finally, moving to lean against the counter with a grin that tells me he's been dying to share this. "Late presentation, been suppressing for a year, and she had an emergency heat yesterday at the library."
"And?" I ask, though I already know where this is heading.
"And I helped her through it." Theo's trying to sound casual. "We connected."
I turn back to the stove, shaking the pot while trying not to grin. "You mean you didn't want to admit that I was right all along."
Theo chuckles, pushing off from the counter and starting to pace. "Typical Marcus, with an ego as big as his biceps."
"Maybe a little bigger than that," I say, dumping popcorn into the bowl and spilling half of it in my distraction.
Felix appears in the doorway, abandoning his sketch. "Wait, what?" Felix settles onto a bar stool, grinning. "So what happened? Start from the beginning. How did you find her?"
Theo sets the glasses down and moves back to the island, his expression growing more serious but still holding that satisfied edge. "I went to the library for research. It was supposed to be closed, but I could smell distress from the parking lot."
"Belle was in heat," I say, pulling the pot off heat.
"Full breakdown," Theo confirms, gripping the edge of the counter. "Scared, confused, fighting her own biology. She'd missed her suppressant dose for the first time in a year, and her body was making up for lost time."
Felix leans forward. "What did you do?"
"Found her in the back, practically hyperventilating." Theo starts pacing again, restless energy radiating off him. “I got her water, and I talked her through the panic, by making sure she wasn't going to hurt herself. But guys, the moment I touched her shoulder to comfort her, everything changed."
I move around the island, drawn by the intensity in his voice. "How?"
"Her scent shifted, became richer, more complex. She calmed for me in a way that shouldn't be possible with a stranger." Theo stops pacing, facing both of us. "But she was terrified. She kept pulling away, then gravitating back toward me like she couldn't help herself."
"Mate recognition," I say, feeling something tight in my chest finally loosen.
"Immediate and undeniable," Theo confirms, moving to the window and back. "She felt it too. She had this look on her face like the world had just shifted under her feet."
"Because it had," Felix says quietly, spinning on his stool to follow Theo's movement.
"But she fought it," Theo continues, his voice growing rougher. “She kept apologizing, trying to convince me to leave. Said she could handle it alone, that she didn't need help from an alpha."
I abandon the popcorn cleanup, moving closer. "Why? What was she afraid of?"
Theo's expression darkens, and he stops pacing to grip the back of Felix's stool. "She had a friend in high school. Another omega named Sarah who went off suppressants to bond with an alpha she met through a dating app, because she thought that she'd found her perfect match."
The kitchen grows quiet except for Felix shifting on his stool.
"The alpha lost control during her heat," Theo continues, his knuckles white where he's gripping the chair. "Became aggressive when her scent triggered his rut. Sarah died from an unmatched claiming because he couldn't control himself."
"Jesus," Felix breathes.
"So Belle decided it was safer to suppress completely," I say, understanding flooding through me. "No heats, no dating, no relationships."
"For a whole year," Theo confirms, releasing the chair and moving toward the living room doorway. "Just suppressants and careful control and absolute self-reliance."
Felix stands up from his stool. "But she let you help her."
"Eventually." Theo turns back toward us. "But not easily. She kept pushing me away even while her body was begging for alpha comfort. She told me she couldn't trust her judgment during heat."
I move to the island, bracing my hands on the granite. "How did you convince her?"
"I didn't try to convince her," Theo says, walking back into the kitchen. "I just stayed, but I kept my distance physically but stayed close enough that she could feel safe. Used every security protocol I know from clear communication, no sudden movements, constant verbal reassurance."
"Smart," Felix says, moving around the island.
"She was burning up," Theo continues, his voice getting that rough edge again. "Fevering and shaking, and every instinct I had was screaming at me to claim her, to make her mine right there in the library."
I straighten, watching him carefully. "But you didn't."
"I couldn't." Theo stops in the middle of the kitchen, running both hands through his hair. "Not with her friend's story, not with her terror of losing control. She needed protection, not possession."
"What happened next?" Felix asks, leaning against the island.
"I got her to her car, drove her home." Theo starts pacing again, more agitated now.
"Twenty minutes of pure torture with her scent filling my car, her heat calling to everything alpha in me.
I was knotting just from being near her, trying to drive while my body was convinced I needed to pull over and mate her. "
I feel my own alpha response kick in at the description, protective and possessive all at once.
"Getting her into her apartment nearly broke me," Theo admits, moving between the kitchen and living room doorway. "She was clinging to me, begging me not to leave, and I had to carry her to her heat room because she could barely walk."
"You carried her?" Felix asks.
"She collapsed in her hallway," Theo says, stopping to grip the doorframe. "Just completely gave out. So I picked her up, and she melted into me like she belonged there. Started nuzzling my neck, scenting me, completely trusting."
"But you still didn't claim her," I observe.
"I wanted to." Theo's voice is barely controlled now. "God, I wanted to. She was perfect in my arms, soft and warm and smelling like everything I've ever wanted. But she was also vulnerable and scared and trusting me to keep her safe."
Felix moves closer. "So what did you do?"
"I got her settled in her room, which, by the way, is set up like a military bunker.
Emergency supplies, reinforced door, everything she'd need to survive heat completely alone.
" Theo turns back toward us, expression dark.
“I made sure that she had water, food, blankets, and I sat with her until the worst wave passed. "
"How long?" I ask.
"Three hours," Theo says, moving back to the island. "Three hours of her holding my hand, telling me about her friend, explaining why she couldn't trust alphas during heat. Three hours of wanting to promise her everything while forcing myself to stay in control."
"That's going to change," I say, my voice carrying more authority than I intended.
"Damn right it is," Theo agrees, and there's steel in his voice now. "She's not going through another heat alone, not if I have anything to say about it."
Felix nods firmly. "Not if any of us have anything to say about it."
I grab the bowl of popcorn and head toward the living room, my packmates following. "She's going to the ball."
"She is," Theo confirms, settling into his chair with obvious satisfaction. "With Adam Chen as her date."
"I don't think those two are really together," Felix corrects, claiming his usual spot. "Sounds like they're going just as friends, even if Lady Inkwell says otherwise."
"Exactly," I say, taking my corner of the sectional. "Which means she'll be there, all dressed up, finally ready to be seen."
Felix pauses, his head tilting slightly as he catches something in the air. "Wait." His eyes sharpen, focusing on Theo. "Is that...?"
"Her scent," I confirm. "I caught it earlier but didn't want to say anything."
Theo shifts in his chair, suddenly looking less comfortable. "I showered twice and changed clothes. Thought I'd gotten it all."
"Not all," Felix says, his voice growing rougher. "Jesus, Theo. Even a day later, even faded..." He runs a hand through his hair. "That's what mate scent smells like."
"How did other alphas not pick up on it?" I ask, genuinely curious. "Emergency heat scent from an unmated omega should have drawn every alpha in a five-mile radius."
"She wasn't fully in heat when I found her," Theo explains. "It was building, but the suppressants were still partially working. Plus she had on that thick cardigan, scarf. And I got her out of there before it peaked."
"Smart," Felix says. "If other alphas had caught full heat scent..."
"They would have come running," I finish. "Half the alphas in town would have shown up at the library."
"That's exactly what she was terrified of," Theo says, his expression growing protective again. "Why she was trying so hard to get home before anyone noticed."
Felix leans forward. "Good thing it was you who found her and not someone else."
"No kidding," I agree. "Anyone else might not have had your self-control."
"Or your security training," Felix adds. "Most alphas would have lost it completely once her heat fully hit."
"God, I wish the ball was tomorrow," Felix says suddenly, shaking off the serious moment. "I can't wait to see her reaction when she realizes who we are."
"Two more days," I say, but I feel the same restless anticipation.
"Think she'll figure out the connection before then?" Felix asks.
"She's smart enough," Theo says. "Question is, will she run or will she trust us?"
"She'll trust us," I say with certainty. "She already started to with you. Once she realizes we're not going anywhere, that we'd never hurt her..."
"She'll be ours," Theo finishes, and the satisfaction in his voice matches what I'm feeling.
"Can't wait," Felix says fervently.
"Neither can I," I admit. "For the first time in years, everything feels exactly right."
Even if those possibilities involve a hell of a lot more talking than we're used to.