Chapter 10 Marcus #2
Peeling off his gloves and tucking them into his suit pocket, Marcus hung the jacket in the closet. He stepped out of his shoes, not wanting to drag the sleet from the street into the room, and froze when part of what Max had said really registered. He turned to the younger wolf.
“What do you mean, we?”
“What?” Max was looking out at the city view, but at Marcus’s question, he turned toward him with a quizzical look.
“You said that we slept with Warren. You mean just me and you, right?”
Not sensing the danger he was in, Max shook his head. “No, I meant me and you and Harland.”
Marcus saw red. That some creepy old vampire was feeding on his mate was already bad enough – that he was putting his cock anywhere near him was an intolerable affront that Marcus could not let stand.
“Your vampire slept with my mate?”
Max froze, finally picking up on Marcus’s anger. He took a step back.
“You said that once you’d established dominance you weren’t going to hurt me again.”
“I’m not going to,” Marcus said, clenching his fists. Beating Max up would make him feel better, but Marcus was determined not to be like his father.
Max relaxed, but then he glanced down and suddenly froze again.
“What?” Marcus asked, his hackles rising.
“I didn’t realize I was supposed to take my shoes off.” Max lifted his feet one by one and pulled his running shoes off his feet. “I’m sorry about that.”
“It’s fine.” Marcus relaxed his shoulders. “There’s a bathroom through there. Go shower and I’ll bring you some clothes.”
Max walked back to the door and put his shoes down next to Marcus’s dress shoes, and with a glance at Marcus, walked over to the bathroom. He paused at the door, looking like he wanted to say something.
“What?”
“So, you believe in mates, but not omegas?”
There was a defiant tilt to Max’s jaw as he asked the question.
“I believe in omegas. I just don’t believe that we’re turning Warren into one.”
Max visibly steeled his nerves before he continued, and Marcus wondered what nonsense he was going to come up with now.
“We have to warn Warren about the possibility before we sleep with him again.”
Marcus blinked, wondering if maybe there was more to Max’s cluelessness than not being socialized as a child. Maybe he actually was brain damaged.
“Again,” Marcus spoke slowly, refusing to let his wolf get riled up. “There is no we. I’ve claimed Warren for myself. He’s mine. The only person who will be sleeping with him going forward is me.”
Max twitched his nose, looking at Marcus as though he had said something archaically offensive.
“I’m pretty sure Warren gets to decide for himself who he does and does not sleep with.” He crossed his arms. “And you’re not the only one who’s claimed him. Harland did that, too.”
Marcus didn’t give two figs what claim a vampire thought he had on his human. This Harland person might have been a werewolf at some point – though Marcus doubted it – but that was in the past.
A vampire’s claim could never compete with that of an alpha.
“He’s mine.”
Max huffed out a frustrated breath. “It doesn’t work like-”
“We are werewolves,” Marcus interrupted, his voice sharp. “That is exactly how it works. Warren is free to ditch me and go off with any human he wants, but for other werewolves, he’s off limits.”
After a tense silence, Max said, “By that logic Warren is free to pick Harland. He’s not a werewolf, remember?”
It was like Max wanted Marcus to rip out his guts.
“No.”
“Yes.” Before Marcus could let out a growled “no,” Max announced, “I’m going to shower.”
He walked into the bathroom and closed the door in Marcus’s face.
Marcus was left standing alone, the tips of his fingers itching to burst into claws so that he could teach Max some respect.
Reining himself in, he walked into the bedroom and found some jeans and a t-shirt that Max could borrow. They were about the same height, and though Marcus was bulkier, they should fit well enough.
When he came back to the living room, he was just in time to greet William as he made his way inside.
“Are you okay?” William asked before the door had finished closing behind him. He looked toward the bathroom and lifted his nose, sniffing. “We have a guest?”
“Yes, to both questions,” Marcus said.
It was a relief to have William with him. It was so much easier to control himself when he had his pack around him.
“Bruce is outside and freaking out,” William said, taking off his shoes and jacket.
Marcus opened the door and peeked out into the hall. Sure enough, Bruce was standing there. He didn’t look like he was freaking out, but he was carrying an empty duffel bag under his arm and sporting a very determined expression.
“There’s no body,” Marcus said, realizing what conclusion Bruce had drawn when he smelled the blood of a strange alpha in the hallway. “Everything is fine. Take the rest of the night off.”
Bruce looked relieved. “Yes, alpha.”
He walked back the way he came and Marcus turned to William, letting the door swing closed.
“Did he really think that I’d killed someone and brought the body up here?”
William nodded, taking a seat on the couch and pulling his phone out of his pocket.
“Who are you texting?”
“The lawyers,” William said. “Letting them know to stand down.” He put the phone down. “So, tell me what’s going on. Who’s our mystery guest?”
Taking a seat in the chair across from William, Marcus ran through everything that had happened since Max had tackled him on the sidewalk while he was on his way home from dinner. When he was done explaining, William gave him a weird look.
“What?” Marcus asked.
“You don’t recognize the name, Harland Hill?”
Marcus shook his head, thinking hard.
“Am I supposed to?”
William huffed out a laugh. “Yes. He used to be the alpha of our pack – back in seventeen-hundred, something.”
Marcus jolted upright, remembering. It hadn’t occurred to him to connect something from that long ago with a person in this day and age.
“Fuck, you’re right.”
Harland Hill had been turned into a vampire in seventeen ninety-two as an act of revenge for clearing out a vampire coven from their territory.
He’d killed the vampire who made him and come back to the pack, but they had rejected him.
In revenge, Harland had killed all but one of his younger step-brothers, along with a good third of the pack, and driven the survivors to escape north.
“He’s our great, great – I don’t know how many greats – half-uncle.”
Marcus shook his head.
“No. Step-uncle. His mother was mated to our ancestor after he was born. We’re not related to him.”
“That’s a weird thing to be concerned about.” William gave him a considering look. “Are you worried that Max might be right?”
“Right about what?”
William looked at him like he was being stupid. “The three of you all think that this Warren person smells like the best thing since sliced bread, you’re all alphas… remind you of someone?”
Marcus bared his teeth and growled. “This is nothing like Steve’s situation.”
“If you say so.”
“I do say so!” Marcus didn’t know how he’d ever thought that having William around would calm him down. The guy was a shit-stirrer of the worst sort.
Before William could make a snarky comment, the door to the bathroom opened and Max emerged in a cloud of steam with a towel wrapped around his waist. Marcus looked at him, his gaze catching on a drop of water running down his abs, and felt a stirring in his cock that had him feeling furiously betrayed by his own genitalia.
“Who’s Steve?” Max asked, looking between them with a curious expression.
“He’s our brother,” William said, standing up and walking over to the half-naked alpha.
He grabbed the jeans and shirt Marcus had brought from the bedroom on the way and handed them to him.
“He met a human who smelled so good that he had a hard time controlling himself, and now that human is his and two other alphas’ omega. ”
Max glared at Marcus with fury.
“You said it was super rare!”
“It is. That’s why it’s not likely to happen twice in the same family.”
“Actually, the whole lightning doesn’t strike twice argument is a logical fallacy,” William said. He held out his hand to Max. “I’m William. Are you really in a relationship with Harland Hill?”
“I’m Max,” Max said, shaking William’s hand warily. “And yes. We’ve been together for about two years.”
“Fascinating.” William looked at Max like he was a specimen in a zoo.
“I’m going to go put these on,” Max said, making an escape back into the bathroom. He reemerged a few seconds later, feet bare and shirt sticking to his torso, and hesitated. “What happens now?”
“Yeah, what happens now?” William echoed.
Marcus shot him an annoyed glare. The truth was, he wasn’t entirely sure what he was going to do.
“Max and I are going to go for a run.”
Max looked confused. “We are? But I just showered.”
“We are,” Marcus said, deciding the matter as he spoke. “You can't go on like this. A vampire is no substitute for an alpha. You need a real pack.”
Max took a step back, his hackles raised.
“That’s none of your business.”
Marcus rose up from his seat, his mind set. “It is. I’m making it my business. You’re going to join my pack.”
Max’s denial was immediate. “I am not joining your pack.”
“You are. I’m going to deal with Harland Hill, and then you and Warren will come to Fairbanks with me.”
“That’s one possibility,” William said, jumping in and drawing Marcus’s attention. “Why don’t you both sleep on it?”
“What do you mean, ‘deal with’?” Max growled, ignoring William entirely.
“I’m going to end him.”
Marcus really should have expected the following attack. It didn’t matter that he’d established dominance, Max was not operating by the usual rules.
William jumped back in shock, letting out a yelp of surprise when Max lunged past him, while Marcus managed to brace himself and deflect Max’s claws just in time. After that, it was child’s play to put Max on the ground.
“Are you done?” he asked, pinning Max to the floor.
Max bucked, trying to throw Marcus off, before he finally admitted defeat and went lax.
“I won't let you kill my boyfriend. He hasn’t done anything to you.”
“He claimed my mate,” Marcus growled.
“So?” Max spit out, twisting his neck to glare up at him. “You’re such a little dictator. Warren is the only person who gets to decide who he wants to be mates with. Besides, we had him first.”
“Nobody is killing anybody,” William said, standing on the other side of the room and holding his hands up placatingly. “Right, Marcus?”
Marcus growled, his wolf baying at him that he needed to deal with Harland and the threat he represented, but he managed to push it down and nod.
“I will be civilized,” he said, his teeth clenched. He forced his jaw to relax and released Max from his hold, standing up.
Max shot to his feet and jumped back.
“Go put on your shoes and wait for me to get changed,” Marcus said, turning toward the bedroom.
“Why?” Max asked, still sounding wary.
Marcus turned in the doorway and gave him a wry look.
“We’re still going on our run.”