Chapter Nineteen
Marcus
I’m shook. I’ll be honest, this wasn’t the ending I had expected. I mean, I don’t know what I expected, really. Some werewolf action. People waving guns around. Vampires doing what vampires do.
A little theft. A little treachery. The usual when supernaturals get together.
I did not expect my old alpha to hand me over to a new one, and I did not expect my new alpha and his friends to all fall into a pit of despair because one of their merry gang has apparently joined forces with the Big Bad.
And while I don’t share several hundred years of history with them, I know enough about Leander de Lisle in the twenty-first century to understand some of what they’re feeling.
Anyone who shifted is naked—so me, John, and Nasir—but none of the rest of them seem to care.
Rob’s SUV seats six, and as the shortest, me and Will are consigned to the rear jump seats.
Which is actually okay. I’m feeling pretty raw, and Will is uncharacteristically quiet.
He pulls his phone out of the black case that he somehow didn’t lose, and from the speed his thumbs are moving, he’s having a heated conversation with someone.
As long as he’s not bothering me, he can do whatever.
The drive to South Pasadena gives me plenty of time to second-guess my own choices. I stare out the window like the crowded surface streets are going to show me the way, angry red brake lights fighting with the overwhelming stink of naked male sweat for my attention.
Quite possibly, I should have stayed at the house. For sure, John could have fought off that cat creature without my help. All I did was give David another reason to be mad at me.
John and Rob are talking in the front seat, their voices too low for me to make out the words. John’s rough growl, though, is soothing, like lotion over sunburn. It makes it easier when I remember how I left things with David at the end of the whole debacle.
“You are still a Collins,” he’d said, standing by the passenger door of Connor’s Hyundai, “and you are welcome any time, as is”—he shot a glance at John and smirked—“your alpha.”
So we’re going to let bygones go, I guess. David wasn’t mad about John, and maybe this was a change we both had to make. Maybe we’ll actually rebuild our friendship if he’s not my alpha.
Maybe I’m finally grown up enough to make my own damn choices.
At the house, there are a couple of guys sitting on the porch. One’s a burly ginger and the other looks like a heroin-chic Chris Cornell. Will climbs over me to get to the door and would have hit the ground running before the car’s even stopped, except Sonny grabs hold of him and doesn’t let go.
Once the car does stop, though, Sonny opens the door and gets out of the way. Will runs up the steps and leaps at the ginger dude, who catches him and holds on tight. Their urgency makes me blink, because so far this whole crew has given off solid coworker energy.
The way Will wraps his legs around Ginger’s hips is very much more-than-friends.
Sonny follows Will more slowly, coming to a stop in front of Heroin Chris. They don’t say anything, don’t shake hands, sure as heck don’t grope each other, yet somehow the energy between them is as strong as that around Will and his new friend.
Vampires are weird.
Nasir and I climb out, leaving John and Rob alone in the car.
They’re still talking, voices pitched low, but there’s more anger in John’s growl.
I’m on the porch when Rob slams the car door and strides past me, hollering at Nasir to dismiss the Securitas guards.
If it was possible for a human to shoot sparks, he would have.
Except he’s not altogether human, so maybe he is shooting sparks.
Whatever he’s giving off keeps me on the porch so he has time to clear the room before I go in.
Well, that and knowing that John’s still in the car.
We haven’t spoken since I told him I wanted to come with him.
Even so, the heaviness in his spirit weighs on mine.
I want to go to him, and since I don’t know if I should, I stand there like an asshole.
No, not an asshole. A man who’s made a choice to wait for his lover so he’ll be in a position to comfort him if he needs comforting.
The door of the SUV slams. I turn—I don’t have much choice.
John’s leaning against the car, elbows on the roof, head in his hands.
My feet start to move on autopilot. If a pack member is in pain, they need physical contact.
I have no idea what kind of reception I’m going to get, but I cross the small front lawn, heart thudding so hard I can hear it.
John’s so lost in whatever he’s feeling that he doesn’t react when I reach him.
I get up close enough to feel the warmth of his body and, after about a nanosecond’s hesitation, I put a hand on his back.
His body is hard, tension putting him on lockdown.
I’m tempted to back away and find the safety of the house until he sighs and drapes an arm over my shoulders.
If it’s possible to die of relief, then I’m dead. I snuggle in closer. He just feels so damn good.
We stand like that for I don’t even know how long.
Minutes. Fifteen? Twenty? He’s so warm, and while I don’t know that I’m doing much for him, his physical presence is helping me shake off some of the ugliness from before.
I come up with a few opening lines—How are you feeling?
Can I do anything for you?—and toss them aside.
It’s better for me to wait until he’s ready.
Though I’m not sure what either of us needs to be ready for.
“You’ll stay with me, won’t you?” His voice is low and raw. “Tonight, I mean.”
“Yeah. Sure.” I almost manage to keep from squeaking in surprise.
His arm tightens, and I turn my head to press my face against his chest. So good. So right. I don’t even care what happens next.
“You saved my life.”
I use a quick headshake to get even closer to him, overwhelmed by his presence and his deep forest scent. Overwhelmed by sharing a bond unlike anything in my experience.
Overwhelmed that he’d even think something like that.
“You did. The cait sidhe would have ended me.”
“Then why did you let her live?” Because there’s a thin line between compassion and stupidity. “Also, did you say cait sidhe? I didn’t know those actually existed.”
He chuckles, a gentle vibration. “I did and they do, and if she does survive the wound I gave her, it will take years before she’s strong enough to fight again.”
I have to wonder how much he knows about modern medical science but decide this isn’t the time or place to update him.
There are practitioners who specialize in treating supernaturals, and it’s possible Prince has one on speed dial.
Based on his expression when the head of the Securitas team showed up, though, the only person he was going to speed-dial was his lawyer.
Guess we’ll find out. Either way, I promise myself I’ll be there to help him fight.
We need a subject change. “Ready to go inside?” I ask awkwardly.
He’s silent for long enough that I look up, expecting to find him resting his head on his forearm or something. Instead, he’s staring down at me. “I haven’t had a pack in hundreds of years,” he whispers.
“I wondered. They say lone wolves eventually go crazy, but—”
“I’m not alone.” He shakes his head. “These men, Rob and the rest, they hold me together.”
“Like David with Trajan and Connor. We cut him out of the Collins pack, so he made his own.” And fuck I can’t believe I just said that out loud.
John doesn’t seem to get the implications of my claim, and I sure as hell won’t explain it to him now. Maybe someday. I mean, he probably deserves to know. Just . . . not right now.
He inhales, his chest rising and falling against me, and straightens. “Let’s go. We need rest, and in the morning, we’ll have to meet with Rob to decide what our next steps are.”
“Sure.” We turn to the house, his arm still around my shoulders.
“The bed in my room is large enough for two.”
He sounds tentative, so I put my arm around his waist and pull him close. The move makes me stumble, because I really am that cool, and we both laugh as he keeps me upright.
“That would be great,” I say, with more enthusiasm than is really called for.
He clears his throat and says, “We would not . . . I mean, not tonight at any rate.”
The waves of embarrassment coming off him are so strong they’re making me dizzy. “We don’t have to do anything but sleep, dude.” I snuggle in closer without falling this time. “We’ve both had a night.”
I feel his nod, his chin brushing the top of my head.
No one is around when we get into the house, which is probably a good thing.
The logistics of getting cleaned up only take a minute or two, since we started out without clothes, and we lie down together in what is probably a queen but might be only a double bed.
For sure, his feet hang off the end unless he’s curled on his side.
Oh, and we’re both naked because werewolves.
Which is okay, really. Spooning with this much skin behind me feels unbelievably amazing, and his arm across my chest is heavy, a wonderful reminder of the bond between us.
For someone who spent a chunk of his life studying the way people behave, both in school and to survive in a pack, I never would have predicted my current situation.
So much for taking the path of least resistance.
I think about asking for a goodnight kiss.
I mean, I’m a guy in my twenties and it wouldn’t take much to get my dick interested in the situation.
I hold off, though. Tonight was a lot, and while we’re going to need to talk, like, seriously discuss what happened.
David hadn’t handed me over lightly, although—I close my eyes and take stock of my inner self—this right here feels inevitable.
For now, the things we’ve said are enough. We’re good.
“I like this,” I whisper, instead of anything more serious.
He rumbles something wordless and presses a kiss to the back of my head. “I do too.”
Exhaling, I melt against him. There’ll be time for more after we’ve had some sleep. For now, I just want to bask in an unexpected pool of peace. This here is closer to home than I’ve felt in a long, long time.