Chapter Sixteen
Marcus
For the first time in twenty-two years, my wolf remained quiet all morning. I felt hollow, its silence carving a hole in my soul that opened into nothing but darkness. Hatred grew rampant in the dark, its vines clinging to anything in their path and choking the life out of it.
Happiness, hope? Gone.
Love…?
Well… You can’t take from nothing.
I leaned my head back against the office chair as I continued to stroke myself.
She rejected you.
I tightened my grasp on my length.
She doesn’t care about you; and be honest with yourself—you just love stuffing her, you pathetic fuck.
I squeezed my eyes shut, the memory of Joanna on her knees pulling a low moan from my lips. My hand slid to the head of my cock to mimic the way her mouth moved.
“I don’t need her,” I whispered. I rested my left forearm against the desk, flexing my fingers as the sensation built. Air hissed through my clenched teeth.
It hadn’t been long since the hunter was last in this room.
Sat on this desk.
Allowed my tongue to thrust into her.
I pumped faster, licking my lips, the thought of her taste leaving me panting.
“Just like that, Marcus.”
I released another moan, shifting in the chair. Every muscle in my body tensed until it became impossible to take more.
“Do you believe in second chances, Blackwood?”
A guttural groan tore from deep in my throat as pressure exploded from my core. Streams of cum shot onto my shirt. I grabbed the armrests of the office chair, pulling in shallow breaths as my cock twitched between my unbuttoned jeans.
I carefully pulled the shirt from over my head and used it to clean off before throwing it in the trashcan by my desk. A pitiful chuckle escaped my lips as I eased myself back into my pants.
I’d just proven my wolf wrong: We’d do just fine without her.
A soft rap sounded at the door.
At least he gave me a few minutes to catch my breath.
“It’s open,” I called out, resting my head in my hand and closing my eyes.
I listened as Lucas crept into my office. His aura vibrated with uncertainty and shame. He stopped in the middle of the room, and I waited for him to speak.
When he failed to, I opened my eyes and lifted my head to glower at him. He stood there wringing the bottom of his flannel button-up.
“Are you going to say something?” I growled. “Or is your plan to waste my time this morning?”
Lucas straightened, dropping his hands at his sides. “Alpha, I didn’t mean to interrupt—I mean, I’m sorry I bothered you while…” His cheeks turned beet red, but I was all out of shame at this point.
I rubbed my brow. “What do you want, Lucas?”
He avoided my gaze. “Joey’s outside.”
I sat up in the chair, my hand shooting up to my chest. My wolf had yelped at the sound of her name, the cry a stab of silver to the heart.
“Alpha, are you okay?”
“How long has she been here?” I snapped.
He jerked his head back and forth. “I don’t know,” he stammered. “But I saw her talking to Maya and Jerome. I assumed you were waiting for her. So, I came to tell you—”
“Get out.”
The young shifter turned on his heels and sprinted out the door.
I spun in the chair, facing the window where the sun poured into the room. Its warmth touched my skin, but its light would never reach the darkness now inside me.
Only Joanna could stir my wolf. Only her aura could light the void.
But it would take both of us to completely sever the mating bond. Maybe if she hadn’t left me to die, I would’ve mentioned that little detail.
The wolf and I didn’t need her. But I sure as hell wanted her.
And I was an alpha. I always got what I wanted.
By the time I collected myself well enough to leave my office, Lucas stood outside my door with his head down and a clean t-shirt in his hands. He lifted his arm, allowing me to snatch it from his grasp and throw it on.
He followed a few steps behind me as I made my way through the building to the main floor. I loved the smell of fear on my enemies, but on one of my wolves, the scent made my stomach churn.
Control yourself.
We soon reached the double doors. Through its glass panels, I found Joanna’s car parked off to the side by the old fire hydrant. But the hunter and my gamma were nowhere to be found.
Lucas gasped from behind me. “Alpha, I—”
I held up my hand to silence him. I took a deep breath and waited for the cock-hardening scent to fill my lungs and reel me in. It didn’t take long. Maya had taken my hunter west, to the meeting hall, away from the prying eyes of our pack.
Was she trying to keep word of Joanna’s arrival away from me?
I turned to face the skittish shapeshifter behind me. “You did good, Lucas.” I dismissed him and hurried to the hall.
They hadn’t realized when I arrived. I kept my presence unknown, watching them from afar.
Joanna leaned against a pillar with her arms crossed. Her bow and quiver of arrows lay by her feet. She’d closed her eyes and began shaking her head.
Jerome reached out to her, placing a hand on her shoulder. He began stroking her arm, and my body tensed.
My wolf released a low warning growl.
The three of them jumped like I’d caught them doing something they shouldn’t have been… like how Jerome’s fucking hands shouldn’t have been on my mate.
“See,” Joanna said with vigor in her voice, “your alpha is crazy.”
I sauntered toward them, not bothering to address my wolves. “So, are we monsters or aren’t we, hunter?” When she didn’t answer, I smirked. “I’m surprised to see you here.”
“You wouldn’t have been if you hadn’t forbidden Maya from answering my calls.”
The corners of my mouth fell. “It seems too many of my wolves like you now. I’ve never had to use the alpha command on my gamma before. But for you, she has no issue disobeying orders.”
Maya shifted uncomfortably. “Alpha—”
“Were you going to tell me she was here?” When she hesitated, I looked to Jerome for an answer. “Or were you both going to lie to me?”
“Marcus, this isn’t you,” Maya barked. “It’s the mating—”
“The one Joanna tried to break? Even though I’m the father of her child?”
Maya didn’t react to that piece of information. She positioned herself between me and the hunter. “I mean the one you ignored, after I warned against it.”
Was she… scolding me?
She slumped her shoulders and heaved a heavy sigh before turning back to face Joanna. “Please don’t hold this against him. I swear, Marcus learned you were his fated mate, and he was worried about how it would affect you. The mating bond is angry, Joey, and it’s messing with his head.”
I scoffed. Messing with my head? “No, what’s messing with my head is that the two wolves I’m supposed to trust with my life are sneaking around behind my back with the woman who tried to kill me a few hours ago.”
“If I wanted you dead, you wouldn’t be here right now, Blackwood.”
“And she wouldn’t be here, Marcus.” Jerome gestured to the quiver. “Her team found out about the pregnancy. They’re not too happy about it, Alpha. They’re rallying to storm the compound.”
My eyes drifted over Maya’s shoulder until they landed on Joanna’s beautiful face. “And you’re here to what, beg for their lives?” I guessed with a scoff.
Joanna used her shoulder to propel herself off the pillar. She stormed around Maya until we were only inches away from one another.
Damn it, she smelled good. I wanted to shove her against the pillar and fuck her right in front of—
The sting of Joanna’s open palm across my face snapped the thought from my head.
Maya and Jerome stiffened.
“You don’t get to look at me like that, Blackwood,” Joanna declared. “And stop fucking growling at me.”
I massaged my cheek before turning my head to face her again. “I can’t help it,” I chuckled, my erection hardening. “You’re my mate, and tonight’s the full moon. My wolf and I can’t think of anything else but being inside you.”
I caught the hand that flew for my face for a second time.
“How about the fact that hunters are about to eliminate your pack?” she sneered, yanking her wrist free from my grasp.
“Didn’t you hear what I said? If my wolves shift tonight, they’ll be faster and stronger than they were in the warehouse. Joanna, they’ll rip your hunters to shreds.”
Maya sighed. “Her rejection still puts you at a disadvantage, Alpha. You aren’t whole—”
“What did he mean I’m his ‘mate’?” I’m surprised Joanna didn’t get whiplash the way she faced Maya.
Maya bit the inside of her cheek and glanced at Jerome.
“You said it yourself: I rejected the bond,” she continued, causing my wolf to whimper.
But I noticed something interesting; something that changed everything. As she spoke, Joanna’s body gave an almost imperceptible jolt.
It wasn’t merely a shift in her stance as she played it off to be. I knew the way her body occupied space better than I knew my own breath. Speaking of the rejection caused her pain. And that meant she felt it.
She felt the bond.
Maya shook her head. “It’s not that simple… He’s an alpha, Joey. And from what you’ve told us, he never accepted the rejection.”
“The fuck?” she exclaimed. She pulled her gun from its holster, aiming it at my head.
“Joey!” Maya exclaimed, darting to grab the gun.
My hand flew up, palm out. Maya froze at my silent order.
“Accept the rejection,” Joanna demanded. I remained quiet, infuriating her further. “Accept the damn rejection, Marcus!” Her hand shook with another jolt of pain.
My wolf howled, unable to bear her suffering.
But… she was doing this to herself.
She was doing this to us.
And even though I wanted to embrace her, to pull her forehead to my lips, to promise her we could make this right, I knew she wouldn’t let me.
I fought to keep my indifference, but it all melted away.
Why was she fighting this?
I managed fine when only I knew of fate’s promise to the both of us. It was easier then to pretend I didn’t want her with every part of my soul.
But now, the secret didn’t belong to me.
And it shoved me from the safety of the unknown into the hell of the unrequited.
I placed my hand over the gun and pulled it into my chest, right above my heart.
Joanna stumbled forward, but her grip on the weapon did not falter.
“Why?” I needed to understand. “Why are you pretending you don’t know…?” I lifted my gaze from her steady hand. “That I’m in love with you.”
Joanna’s breath hitched. I didn’t expect her to answer. How could I, when I’d pretended for so long as well?
I stared into her brown eyes, noticing how they slowly glazed with tears. “This is why the rules have to change, Joanna. Because I’m not satisfied with a complication anymore.”
I shook the gun against my chest, making her gasp.
“So, while you’re at it, tell me what I need to do to prove I’d protect you and our child until the day I die.
That I’ll continue to love you until the day I die.
Or…” I took another step closer. “End this suffering for the both of us right now. Because it’s only with a dying breath that I’d ever be able to let you go. ”
Overwhelming fear ruffled my senses. My ears twitched. My wolves were on high alert.
Something was coming.
Maya clocked the change in my stance. “Alpha—”
The scream from one of our pups followed the sound of breaking glass. More screams resonated through the hall. I felt the aura of a few shifters amplify as their wolves took over.
Maya and Jerome took off running to the entrance of the building.
Joanna yanked her hand away from my chest. As I turned to follow my warriors, she whispered, “Marcus, please.”
I thought about James and how he’d never liked or trusted me. How he deserted us at the warehouse. I thought about Malik and how he was probably the reason the hunters found the main building so quickly. How he’d been intimate with my mate and was still alive to tell the tale.
My frown deepened. “I love you, Joanna Sullivan,” I said, my voice not much more than a whisper. “But I’ll have no regrets killing your family to protect mine.”