“I know, but I wanted to give Nathan some time alone with you. Sorry.”
“Sure you are.” He didn’t look the least bit sorry. Not that Alec blamed him. Looking out for the members of his unit was Gareth’s priority. Alec would have done the same. “I hate all this waiting around.”
“Me too, but the council won’t be rushed.” Gareth stood, then glanced back at Alec as though he’d forgotten something. “Cam wants you to bring the jacket to his flat. The council members want to get a look, or should I say a smell of it before they meet with Felix.”
Alec stood and collected their mugs. “I’ll go do that now then.” Gareth nodded and turned towards the door. He’d gone two steps before Alec felt the urge to say something. “Gareth?”
“Yeah?”
What the hell did he want to say? He’d let Nathan go without saying a word in response, and it was starting to eat at him. But he couldn’t ask Gareth to pass on a message if he didn’t know what that message should be. And if Nathan had the balls to apologise in person, whatever Alec had to tell him, he should do it to his face. “Doesn’t matter.” Ahh, fuck it. “You might want to go check on Nathan. He seemed pretty down and worried when he left here.”
“I was on my way there now.” Gareth gave him a small smile. “Deliver the jacket and take the rest of the day off, Alec. It’s been an eventful day for you, I’m sure.”
Yes, it has.
With that, he left through the double doors.
After putting the mugs with the other used ones, Alec went back to his flat and retrieved the jacket. The scent of alpha filled the hallway leading to Cam’s flat and Alec wrinkled his nose. Although logically he knew they weren’t a threat, it still raised his hackles. Especially so close to his alpha.
He knocked on the door and waited.
A few seconds later Cam appeared. “Alec. Everything okay?” He searched Alec’s face, probably looking for an indicator of how his talk with Nathan had gone. Neither of them would bring it up with the council close by, so Alec offered him as reassuring a smile as he could manage.
“I’m good.”
Cam looked at him a second longer, then nodded, clearly satisfied. “Thank you for bringing this. The council members would like to speak to Felix alone, so can you let your unit know?”
“I’ll go tell them now.”
Alec walked into the flat where they held Felix and immediately heard Felix’s loud laughter. He raised an eyebrow at Callum but got a shrug in return. As soon as Alec entered the living area, Felix grinned at him, shaking his head.
“Well, well, well. I thought I smelled him on you yesterday, but it was too faint to be sure.”
Alec stopped dead. “What do you mean?”
“A member of Newell’s pack? Surely that’s fraternising with the enemy?”
Ignoring him, Alec took up position in the kitchen, leaning against one of the worktops. “The council’ll be here soon. They want to talk to you alone.”
Felix laughed. “That must irritate the shit out of you—not being able to hear what I tell them?”
Alec sighed. “It’s inconvenient.”
That made Felix laugh more. “Don’t worry, Alec. I intend to tell the truth. I’m not stupid enough to lie to the alpha council.”
“Let’s just hope it’s the same truth you told us. For everyone’s sakes.”
The room fell silent until a knock on the door signalled the arrival of the council. Before Alec could go to answer it, Felix beckoned him over.
“What?” He motioned for Callum to get the door.
“Newell’s crazy, and Wes isn’t much better.”
Alec glanced towards the door. “What’s your point?”
“If you’re messing around with one of his pack, he’s going to be pissed. And he’s going to take it out on him.”
“Why do you care?” Alec hissed, aware that the others would come in any second.
“An alpha’s supposed to look out for their pack above all else. I learned that the hard way.”
The scent of alpha filled the room, and that was the end of that conversation.
Alec gestured for Callum and Zac to follow him, and he led them both outside, where Cam waited. They closed the door on Felix and the council members, and he waited for his unit to go before addressing Cam. “Do you think he told us the truth?”
Cam sighed and glanced at the closed door. “I hope so.”
So do I.
Alec’s phone buzzed in his pocket, and he slipped it out to check who it was from.
Mark.
Meeting Cam’s gaze, he said, “Sorry, I just want to check this.”
He opened the message.
Can you meet tonight? It might be the last chance I get for a while.
That didn’t sound ominous at all.
“Something wrong?” Cam’s question made him realise he was frowning at his phone.
“I don’t know.” Instinct told him he needed to go see Mark, and Alec had never been one to ignore his gut feeling.
Cam’s expression was far too knowing for Alec’s liking. “If that’s Mark and you need to go, then go.”
Alec glanced at the door behind them. “But—”
“Go, Alec.”
The alpha command in Cam’s voice was the final push he needed, and Alec set off down the corridor towards the stairwell.
Twenty-five minutes later he’d parked in the warehouse car park and realised he’d neither replied to Mark’s text or arranged where to meet him. For fuck’s sake, what was wrong with him?
Still on for tonight? I’m at the warehouse. Where shall I meet you?
Mark’s reply came back after a few minutes. I’m in the flat above the coffee shop. Want to come here?
Alec read the message twice. That had to be a pack-owned building. Really?
I have an empty flat close to where you are.
Fucking hell. What had happened to make Mark so reckless? Alec’s shared flat wasn’t exactly neutral territory, but it wasn’t pack-owned. Newell wouldn’t be happy about Alec setting foot on one of his properties. In the current climate, he’d probably want to kill him. Something wasn’t right. Alec’s hands tightened on the steering wheel. Do you think that’s a good idea? Why don’t I meet you and we can go back to my place like before?
No. It’s fine. Trust me. Come here.
Alec stared at his phone. Reckless and ill-advised though it was, he had a sneaking suspicion Mark wasn’t going to back down. I’ll be there in fifteen.
Door on the right in the alley behind the coffee shop.
It sounded so clandestine. Alec ignored the inappropriate thrill that caused. On my way.
It took him just under fifteen minutes to get to the coffee shop. The scent of P-pack shifters heavy in the air and he rolled his shoulders, his wolf unsettled. The door to the flat was locked as Alec expected, and he hit the buzzer, hoping Mark hurried to answer before someone downstairs caught his scent.
He heard nothing to indicate Mark’s arrival, but the door opened seconds later.
“Soundproofed?” Alec eyed the heavy wooden door. Seemed odd to fit soundproofing to a flat outside the normal pack buildings.
Mark sighed, not looking Alec in the eye, and shrugged. “I guess.” He stepped back and out of the way, leaving room for Alec to come inside. “Go on up. I’ll lock the door.”
Alec stopped at the foot of the stairs and breathed in deep. The scent of P-pack shifters was so thick outside, it was hard to pick out individuals. But in here, one scent stood out all too clearly. He turned to Mark. “Wes was here?”
Shoulders slumping, Mark leant against the wall. “Yeah.” He kept his head down, gaze focused on the floor.
What was he hiding? “Does he know about us?”
“Yes.”
Alec’s heart rate picked up, and he took a step closer. “Mark?” Placing a finger under his chin, he tilted Mark’s head up and to the side. “Motherfucker.” The wounds had clearly healed, but Alec saw the
faint bruising under the skin.
Four long marks across Mark’s neck.
Claws.
He leaned in close and inhaled. Citrus shower gel went some way to masking it, but there was no hiding Wes’s scent on Mark’s neck.
A wave of possessiveness grabbed hold of him, tightening his chest and making it hard to breathe. How fucking dare he? Alec’s teeth slid out of their own accord, claws too, and a low angry growl escaped, echoing around the hallway. “What else did he do?” He scanned Mark for other signs, but with his skin covered, it was impossible to tell.
Mark met his gaze, blue-green eyes full of fire. “Come upstairs. I don’t want to do this here.”
Reluctantly Alec nodded, but not before he made sure Mark went first.
Every step up those stairs fuelled his anger, images flashing through his mind of Wes with his claws in Mark’s skin. When they reached the landing the scent was thicker, overpowering almost, sticking to the back of Alec’s throat and making him want to gag.
Mark turned to him. “There’s some damage in there.” He gestured to the door to the living area, then pointedly looked at Alec’s teeth and claws. “You seem a little on edge, so I thought I’d warn you.”
“On edge?” Alec backed him against the door frame, his wolf beyond agitated. “I can smell him everywhere. In here, on you—” The urge to shift hit him hard at that thought, and Alec closed his eyes, concentrating to regain control.
Oh no.
“Alec?”
He felt Mark watching him, heard the concern in his voice tinged with a question. Breathing in slowly did nothing to soothe his wolf; too many scents that were wrong. Mark smelled wrong and it was driving him crazy. Fuck, how had he let this happen?
Ignoring everything else, Alec opened his eyes and met Mark’s gaze. “I can’t stay here.”
“But—”
Alec pressed a thumb to Mark’s lips, shushing him. “It’s bad enough out here, having to breathe in his scent knowing he hurt you. If I go in there….” He nodded towards the living room and caught the faintest trace of blood in the air.
Mark’s blood.
Oh fuck.
His wolf took over, bursting to the surface as Alec half-shifted, his enraged roar deafening in the confines of the hallway. He couldn’t think straight, a red haze clouded his vision, the need to protect blotted out everything else because Mark was his.
“Alec.” Mark’s voice was softer this time. He put a hand on the side of Alec’s distorted face, thumb stroking back and forth. “Look at me.” Powerless to do anything else, Alec met his gaze. “That’s it.” Mark kept eye contact, both his thumbs now on Alec’s jaw, their slow repetitive motion calming him down enough to shift back. Ever so gently he coaxed Alec’s head down towards the crook of his neck.
“No—” Alec protested, not wanting to smell how close Wes had got to him, but Mark didn’t let go.
“This side. He didn’t touch me here.”
Alec gave up, letting Mark guide him the rest of the way in. Wes’s scent was still there, clinging to him, but underneath it all, Mark’s was stronger, and Alec focused on that. “I want to bite you.”
Mark sighed. “I know.”
It was painfully obvious what was happening between them. The way Mark tipped his head to the side, unconsciously or not, told Alec it wasn’t all one-sided either. Not that he’d thought otherwise. He was stubborn, not stupid. “We can’t.”
“I know that too.” He sounded sad and disappointed, and for a second, all Alec wanted to do was to take that away, sink his teeth into Mark’s neck, and join them together.
Instead he tore himself away and stepped back until his shoulders brushed the far wall. His wolf howled in protest, every instinct telling him it was wrong to be that far away, but Alec finally had himself under control. If barely.
Mark rubbed at his neck, the side where Wes had hurt him, and Alec growled.
“It’s done. You need to get over it.”
Alec huffed out a harsh laugh. “I want to kill him.” He wanted to rip Wes’s throat out for ever laying a hand on Mark.
“The alpha council would probably have something to say about that.” Mark smiled, but it soon faded. “We’re fucked, aren’t we?”
“Pretty much.”
The signs were there, but Alec had chosen to ignore them. Too caught up in the way Mark made him feel—truly alive for the first time in years. He wasn’t stupid, but he was selfish. Ignoring what was happening between them had put Mark’s life in danger and triggered Alec’s wolf’s reactions. Before he might have been able to walk away without too much effort. It would have hurt for a while, but that would have faded.
Now though?
Now it would be almost unbearable.
Alec covered his face with his hands and tried to clear his head enough to think. “Fuck it, I can’t concentrate here. We need to leave or there’s every chance I’m going to pin you against that wall again and bite you.” Just saying the words made his cock fill and his teeth slide out.
Mark’s eyes darkened, and he reached down to adjust himself. “That’s not much of an incentive to leave.”
“Mark,” Alec growled. “We need to go. Now.” The hard set to Mark’s jaw told Alec that ordering him around wasn’t going to work. He tried again, softer this time. “Please. Being here is driving me crazy, and I don’t want to do something that we’ll both regret.”
Straightening his shoulders, Mark’s gaze hardened, the challenge obvious. “I’m not sure I’d regret it.”
“I’m not sure either,” Alec answered without thinking, too on edge to manage anything but the raw truth. “But if I was ever going to bite you, to claim you as my mate—” Mark’s breath hitched, and Alec clenched his fists at the flood of desire rolling off him. “—it wouldn’t be a rush job in the hallway of a random P-pack flat.”
Mark swallowed, and Alec watched the bob of his throat, wanting more than anything to get his mouth on it. “Besides, I don’t think we need any added complications right now.”
“That’s true, but….” His gaze dipped to Alec’s neck, and Alec shivered, imagining Mark’s teeth there.
“But?”
“I want to bite you, too. So bad.”
Alec had to get them out of there. “Your wolf is reacting to mine, making everything harder to control. Trust me, Mark, we need to get out of here.”
He stared at Alec’s throat for another second, then snapped his gaze away. “Yeah, okay. Go wait downstairs, and I’ll get my things.”
“I’m not going without you.”
Mark snorted. “I can’t function with you so close and smelling like that. If you don’t go down near the door, we’ll never get out of here.”
Reluctantly Alec stomped down the stairs and waited by the door. Mark joined him five minutes later, a pair of trousers slung over his arm. At Alec’s raised eyebrow, he said. “I’m in the coffee shop tomorrow.” He plucked at his T-shirt. “Wes ruined my other one.” Ignoring Alec’s low growl, he added. “This is my spare shirt, so remind me to take it off when we get to your flat. I’m assuming that’s where we’re headed.”
Alec nodded. Thank fuck none of the others needed it tonight. “I’m sure I can help you with that.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Mark spent the whole car ride to Alec’s flat with one hand gripping the grab-handle above his window and the other clinging to the seat. Tension filled the car, so thick Mark could taste it.
But neither of them spoke.
Judging by the way Alec slammed through the gears, he felt much the same.
What happened at the flat felt surreal. Mark could kick himself for not realising Alec would react that way. His need to stick it to Wes and Newell had clouded his judgement and almost—
Fuck. He closed his eyes at the memory.
I want to bite you. Alec’s voice, low and rough, had almost tempted Mark to bare his throat and beg him to just do it. He didn’t think he’d ever been so turned on in h
is life before that moment.
Of course Alec’s instincts would kick in. He might fool himself that they were just fucking around, but Mark had known where they’d been heading. It didn’t matter that he’d only seen Alec a handful of times—shifters didn’t need time, they needed a connection. And theirs was off the charts.
He should have known better.
But I wanted it.
A small part of him wondered if he’d done it on purpose, however subconsciously. Not that any of it made a difference now.
Alec parked the car and Mark followed him to the door and inside.
As soon as the door shut behind them, Alec relaxed.
When Mark inhaled too, he immediately realised why.
None of the other R-pack betas had been there in the last few days because the flat smelled like Alec.
And Mark.
It was faint, but under everything else, the scent of sex lingered, and Mark wanted to follow it to the bedroom where it was bound to be stronger. He started towards it, but Alec’s hand on his arm stopped him.
“We should talk.”
“Talk?” Mark stared at him open-mouthed. “You never usually want to.” At Alec’s raised eyebrows, he conceded. “Well, not until after.” Because last time Alec had talked for hours. Mark was just used to getting naked first. And right then he needed it. “Can’t it wait?” He started to lift his T-shirt.
Alec didn’t make a move to stop him, so Mark carried on, finally slipping it off and hanging it over the back of a chair. He squared his shoulders, knowing Alec would notice where else Wes had hurt him. The wounds had long healed, but with shifter senses, a few hours weren’t enough to remove all traces.
It took two long strides for Alec to be in front of him. Slowly and carefully he traced the pads of his fingers over Mark’s skin, spreading them wide and setting them in the exact spots Wes’s claws had sunk in. “Why did he attack you?” The words were slightly slurred, and it was no surprise to see his teeth slide out.
Mark shivered. Alec’s possessiveness set his nerves on edge, made him want to push him into the bedroom and bite.
“Mark?”
Fuck, he was staring at Alec’s neck. Snapping his gaze up, he smiled wryly. “I thought you said it would be better?”
Bitten By Desire (Regent's Park Pack Book 3) Page 14