Mark stared at him, wondering which question to answer first and how much he could tell him. “Oh fuck it.” It was all going to come out soon, anyway. It wasn’t as though they could hide the fact they were being investigated by the bloody alpha council. Will was his best friend. He trusted him with his life. But… “I want to tell you, but Jason said it was for your own safety that I didn’t. I’m trying not to think about why that is, but I think the less you know, the better.”
Will came to a stop in front of him. “Now you’re starting to worry me.”
Sighing, Mark ran a hand through his hair. “The rumours are true. Alpha Harley reported Newell to the alpha council. It’s something to do with the attack on Seb. That’s all I can tell you, so please don’t ask me anymore.”
“Fucking hell.” Will resumed pacing, pausing every so often to glance at Mark. “What could he have accused him of? Don’t feel the need to answer that, I’m just thinking aloud.” He finally stopped and collapsed onto the sofa. “And what’s it got to do with those bloody jackets?”
Mark was desperate to tell him everything, but Jason’s warning kept the words in. He might not know exactly why Jason had said that—unless everything Alpha Harley said was true—but since Jason wasn’t one to say things for the sake of it, Mark was going to do as he was told. If it turned out Harley was right and Newell had done what he was accused of… what the fuck would happen to the pack, then?
One thing at a time.
First he had to stop smelling like Alec and sex before the meeting tomorrow.
“Any better?” Mark stood in the bathroom doorway, towel wrapped around his waist, while Will tentatively sniffed him.
“Yeah. I mean I can still smell him if I get in real close, but you should be okay as long as no one scents you.”
“Good.” That was the best he could hope for.
Will followed him into his bedroom and shut the door. “Hey, do you reckon Alec told anyone? I can’t imagine he’d get away with hiding out in his flat all day.”
“No idea.” Mark hadn’t given it that much thought. Too concerned with his own pack’s problems. Had Alec got into any trouble? Mark hoped not. But then he couldn’t picture Cam Harley as the type to punish his pack over a sexual encounter. Whereas his own alpha…. Best not to put that to the test.
“Better get a move on, Jason’ll be here in fifteen.”
Mark grabbed his watch, checking the time as he slipped it on. “Shit.” What the fuck was the dress code for this type of meeting? He had no fucking idea. If Jason had wanted him smart, surely he’d have said so? Mark pulled on dark blue jeans and a long-sleeved, heather-grey T-shirt. Smart-ish.
Will trailed after him as Mark walked down the hallway. He was just pulling on his shoes when Jason knocked on the door. Straightening, Mark turned and pulled Will into a tight hug. “Thanks for keeping me company yesterday. I’d have been bored out of my mind otherwise.”
“No problem.”
“Lock up when you leave, and be careful today.” Mark sensed the sudden tension in Will’s body, but all he did was hold him tighter.
“You too.”
Mark opened the door and slipped out before Jason knocked again.
Jason greeted him by stepping close and inhaling. “Better.”
They walked along the hall to the stairwell in silence. Mark wasn’t sure whether he was allowed to ask anything yet or not. His curiosity got the better of him as soon as they started down the stairs. “Soooo….”
Jason stopped, tilted his head, and listened for a couple of seconds before sitting down on the step. Mark did the same. “Okay, I’ll give you a quick rundown of what’s going to happen, and then we need to go; the others are waiting.” Others? “We’re going to a meeting with the alpha council.”
Mark swallowed past the sudden lump in his throat. He so wasn’t prepared for that. “Oh.”
“It’s just how they do things. Nothing will happen there, except we’ll know the extent of Alpha Harley’s accusations and what, if anything, Newell has accused him of in return.”
“Don’t you already know?” As one of Newell’s betas, surely Jason should be in the loop.
His laugh was bitter. “No. If there’s been meetings about it, I’ve not been privy to them.”
Oh.
Mark said nothing.
“I also wanted to warn you that R-pack will be there, too. Which will almost certainly mean Alec.”
“Bollocks.”
Jason’s laugh was more natural this time. “Quite.” He patted Mark on the thigh as he stood. “For fuck’s sake, just keep quiet and try not to draw any attention to yourself. All we need to do is go in, listen to the accusations, and wait for the council to explain what comes next. We should be done in an hour, at most.” He gestured for Mark to start walking down the steps again.
“Is it wise to have both packs in the meeting? Considering.” Mark glanced over his shoulder to see Jason’s wry smile.
“The whole point of the council is to prevent pack disputes from escalating. If we can’t behave civilly in front of them, then there’s no fucking hope.”
Good point. Mark hoped he could face Alec without giving himself away to the rest of his pack. Fingers crossed they’d be too focused on other things to notice him.
Three black Nissan Qashqais waited at the kerb outside Mark’s building. The back windows were tinted, but Mark easily picked out the people in the front. Wes sat in the passenger seat of the first car, with Newell’s other beta, Paul, in the second. The front of the third car was empty, the indicators blinking as Jason unlocked it.
“Get in.” Jason went round to the driver’s side and climbed in behind the wheel.
Guess he was driving then. Mark got in beside him and fastened his seat belt. “Are we the only ones in this car?”
“Yep.” He pulled out onto the road, and they set off in convoy. “Wes and two of his unit are in the first one with Newell. Paul and two of his unit are in the second. And we’re in this one.”
Mark sensed a pattern there. “Shouldn’t we have another member of our unit?”
Jason’s mouth set in a grim line. “Alpha Newell thinks otherwise. The rest of our unit, apart from Will, are patrolling the main pack buildings.”
“What’s Will doing?”
“Working at the club later, as usual.”
Mark had so many questions. They didn’t do building patrol, for one, and why not Will?
Jason glanced at him and shook his head. “Believe me, I know. But I don’t have any answers for you. I’m just doing what I’m told.”
Okay then.
Giving up on finding out anything more on that topic, Mark spent the next twenty minutes looking out the window as they passed familiar streets and landmarks. “Are we heading out of the city?”
“Yep. You didn’t expect the council to come to us, did you?”
Yes, I had, actually.
Jason snorted at Mark’s expression. “They only leave their place at Ashcombe if they have to. I reckon most of them hate the city with a passion and would rather never set foot in it, if at all possible.”
The council were like mythical beings, as far as Mark was concerned. He’d never seen them before, only heard stories. Jason was only nine years older than him, the youngest of Wes’s betas, but he must know more. “What are they like?”
“The council members?”
“Yeah. Have you seen them before?”
“Once.” Jason paused, concentrating as he joined the motorway. “When it was first formed, but that was a long time ago. Thankfully our pack’s had no need of them before.”
Settling back in his seat, Mark yawned. “Are we going to their headquarters?”
“Kind of. They don’t live there, but nearby, I think. No one outside the council knows for sure, for security reasons.”
“I guess that makes sense.”
“Yep. Can’t have the peacekeepers being attacked.”
The rest of the journey
passed relatively quickly, which was typical when Mark wanted it to never end. Being in a room with the alpha and betas of R-pack, along with his own alpha, wasn’t something he was looking forward to after last time. At least Jason was with him.
Wherever Mark expected the meeting to be held, it wasn’t this. Wes’s car indicated and turned off onto a road leading into the middle of a forest. At least that was how it appeared. Jason followed.
Mark sat forward in his seat, trying to see the end of the road. “Is this the right place?”
“I doubt they gave us the wrong directions.”
The road opened up into a wide driveway in front of what Mark would describe as a stately home. The type of thing they used on period dramas. He let out a low whistle, and Jason laughed.
“What did you expect?”
Mark peered back over his shoulder as Jason parked next to the two other cars. “Not this, that’s for sure.”
“They’re the alpha council. It was always going to be impressive.”
“Yeah, I guess, but still….” Truth be told, he’d imagined some posh meeting room somewhere. Even though the house looked huge, Mark found it hard to picture a room large enough to comfortably hold both the council and the members of the two visiting packs. Surely it was in everyone’s interest to keep a fair bit of space between any packs who ended up there? “What now?” Mark noticed no one had got out of the other cars.
Jason opened his car door, then turned back to Mark. “Wait here for a second.” His shoes crunched over the gravel as he walked to Wes’s car. Mark lowered his window to hear their conversation better. Jason never said anything about not listening in. He heard the door being opened. “Do we go in or wait?”
Mark strained to hear the answer. “We wait. When both packs are here, someone from the council will come and collect us.”
From Newell’s tone alone, Max knew he was pissed off. His alpha wasn’t keen on being told what to do. Mark imagined it was killing him, having to take orders from someone after all this time of being the one to give them.
Obviously dismissed, Mark listened to Jason crunch his way back over. He got in the car and let out a sigh. “Fucking Wes, he’s such a wanker.” Surprised at his outburst, Mark immediately glanced over at the other cars, then back at Jason. “Cars are soundproofed enough, they can’t hear us.” Sighing again, he met Mark’s gaze. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have said that. Sometimes he winds me up and I… well never mind. We just need to wait for R-pack to arrive.”
Had Mark missed an exchange between Jason and Wes? He didn’t think so. “What did he say to piss you off?”
Jason hesitated, as though debating whether to answer or not. Finally he said. “He didn’t actually say anything. It’s just his attitude recently. He’s been so smug, like he knows something important I don’t. A beta is supposed to put the good of the pack first and foremost, especially the members of their own unit. He rubs me the wrong way lately, that’s all.”
The incident with Seb’s front door sprang to mind. Mark hadn’t been impressed with his cousin over that incident, but ultimately he blamed Wes for letting it happen. He might not have been Harry’s beta then, but he was still a dick for encouraging them to scare Seb like that. “Yeah. You’re not the only one.”
Instead of answering, Jason straightened in his seat, and then Mark saw them too.
His heart rate picked up as the four black SUVs came closer. Mark chuckled. Fuck, shifters were predictable. They parked on the opposite side of the drive, but no one got out.
If the reasons for being there weren’t so dire, Mark would’ve laughed at the whole standoff they had going on. Why didn’t someone get out already? He went to open his door, but Jason laid a hand on his arm.
“Wait.”
With a sigh, he let go of the door handle. “What for now? Don’t we need to get out?”
“Yes, but alphas first. And only when—”
The heavy wooden doors at the front of the building swung open, and two shifters walked out. Tall, well built, with long dark hair streaked with silver. They looked similar enough to be twins, sisters at least. They split after walking down the steps, one heading over to Wes’s car, the other to what Mark presumed was Harley’s car.
Even though Jason said the cars were soundproofed, Mark still whispered. “I didn’t expect it all to be so… formal.” He watched fascinated as Newell got out of the car and greeted the member of the council with a slight bow. “Wow.”
“Yep.” Jason laughed softly and nudged him. “That’s our cue, come on.” He opened the car door and Mark hurried to do the same. Of course, as they rounded the back of the car to join the rest of their pack, the wind changed, and Mark got a hefty dose of R-pack scent as they all got out of their vehicles.
One scent stood out, easy for Mark to separate as though it was stronger than all the rest put together.
Alec.
He inhaled, instinct taking over as his wolf urged him to breathe deep. Fuck, he’d forgotten how good Alec smelled.
Only when Jason bumped into him did Mark realise he’d stopped walking.
“Everything all right?” Jason pitched his voice low, but across the drive, Alec’s head snapped up, his gaze focused in their direction.
Even from sixty feet away, Mark felt the weight of that stare. It pierced his chest, spreading warmth outward and down towards his groin. His breath caught.
Shit.
Jason’s hand on his neck startled him. “Get it together.”
What the fuck was wrong with him? He took a deep breath, which was really fucking stupid, as all it did was give him another taste of Alec’s scent. Jason dug his fingers in, the barest hint of claws pressing into Mark’s skin.
“Mark.” More of a command than his name, low and rough. It had the desired effect, calming him down, and Mark nodded his thanks, his heart no longer racing. And more importantly, his traitorous cock under control. Hopefully no one had been close enough to smell anything.
He kept his eyes away from Alec and let Jason guide him over to their pack. As soon as they were all together, the council member addressed them.
“I’m Asha. For the time you’re here, any questions will be directed to me. Understood?”
Newell smiled and looked as genuine as Mark had ever seen. “Yes, Alpha.” He offered her the barest of bows, and she returned it.
“Follow me.”
Out of the corner of his eye, Mark saw R-pack going through the same process. He caught the name of their guide—Anna—but kept his gaze straight ahead. With his senses already attuned to Alec, he couldn’t afford to make eye contact now. Not with his own pack so close.
Asha led them towards the front of the building and inside.
The outside might look like a stately home, but as they stepped into the large, open entrance space, Mark realised they’d made a fair few alterations. Inside the place was far more modern. The oak floors stretched the length of the hallway and into a couple of rooms that had their doors open, white walls making the space seem bright and airy.
Mark had hardly any time to look around, though, because Asha didn’t stop once. She marched along the hallway, past closed off rooms on either side until they came to another set of double doors. They hadn’t turned at all, so presumably, the room they were about to enter must’ve run along the back of the house. But that would make it huge.
She pushed open both doors. Not even a creak of wood sounded as they swung wide, revealing a massive space that did indeed run across the whole back of the house. They must have knocked at least two rooms together to make a space that size because no normal house would be built that way. But then again, Mark had had no idea how old it was. Maybe that was the original design?
The room layout reminded him of a courtroom. Not that he’d ever been in one, thank fuck, but he’d watched enough on TV. At the far end of the room, on a raised platform, sat a long rectangular table. Mark counted twelve chairs: all empty. On the floor in front of them were several
rows of benches, separated by a large gap in the middle. Asha gestured to the benches on the right-hand side. “Alpha Newell, would you and your pack take your seats.”
Mark and Jason sat in the third row on their own, with Mark nearest to the aisle, which in hindsight was a bad move.
R-pack came in shortly after, and Mark braced himself. It still took him by surprise when he caught Alec’s scent again; just one night together and already he wanted to roll around in it. Being a shifter was a fucking curse sometimes. The feeling would wear off in a day or so, but in the meantime, it was torture. A shiver ran up his spine as he sensed Alec next to him, and against his better judgement, Mark glanced up.
His gaze landed on Alec’s broad chest, straining the material of his black shirt. He followed the line of buttons up to Alec’s throat, a faint trace of stubble already showing on his neck and chin that would feel oh-so good against Mark’s skin, and found Alec looking back at him.
The room around them seemed to disappear for a long, drawn-out second. A flash of heat in those dark brown eyes set Mark’s pulse racing, and the accompanying smirk had him smiling in return. If things were different, Mark would like nothing more than to grab Alec’s hand, drag him outside, and—
The moment was broken as Alec carried on walking to the front and sat next to his alpha. Flushing, Mark quickly glanced around to see if anyone had noticed. All his pack were watching the rest of R-pack file in behind their alpha. There were so many more of them, emphasising the difference in pack sizes, and Mark caught the sneer on Newell’s face as he glared at them.
The only one not focused on R-pack was Wes. He was looking directly at Mark, eyebrows drawn together, as though he was trying to work something out.
Mark looked away quickly and concentrated on his surroundings.
As soon as both packs were seated, two doors on either side of the room swung open. It must’ve been soundproofed because Mark hadn’t heard anyone approaching, and yet people began to filter in.
Bitten By Desire (Regent's Park Pack Book 3) Page 6