Bitten By Desire (Regent's Park Pack Book 3)

by Annabelle Jacobs

  He pulled out his phone, then stopped. Will wasn’t answering anymore, Jason had disappeared off the face of the earth, and he couldn’t call Alec. Without his best friend, his beta, or his potential mate, Mark had never felt more alone.

  As if to taunt him, his phone buzzed with an incoming call.

  Alec.

  He sent it straight to voicemail and stared at the screen.

  I’m sorry. He wanted to type the words, but he didn’t.

  The meeting room was heavily soundproofed, and Mark had no warning when the door suddenly burst open and Wes sauntered in, smug smile in place. Closing it behind him, he regarded Mark with amusement. “Lying to the alpha council. Imagine what would happen if they ever found out?” He pulled out a chair and sat where the council had been moments before.

  A thought occurred to Mark. “You and Newell must have lied too.”

  “Alpha Newell, show some fucking respect.”

  Like he deserved any.

  Mark sat up straight. “You’re in the same boat as me.”

  “Hardly.” Wes scoffed.

  “I could take us all down.”

  “You could try. But when you admit that you lied for the second time, who’s going to believe a word you say when Steven and I have maintained the same story all along. And your cousin will still be dead.” He said it so matter-of-fact, Mark felt sick listening to him.

  “How can you sit there and act like it’s no big deal? He’s only eighteen! You’re his beta. Your job is to look out for him, not lure him to his fucking death.”

  Wes shrugged. “Sometimes we have to do unsavoury things for the good of the pack.”

  Mark shook his head. “No. That’s not how it’s supposed to be.”

  Slamming his fist down on the table in front of him, Wes’s eyes narrowed. “How dare you talk about ‘how it’s supposed to be’ when for the last week you’ve been fucking a member of an enemy pack, divulging who knows how many secrets. You have no loyalty to this pack.” He sneered, and Mark tensed at the tip of a fang that peeked out. There was no public space to protect him here, no alpha council anymore, either. “If it were up to me, we’d have killed you outright and not bothered with your useless cousin. But Steven seems to think we need you, at least until the investigation is over. But after that….” He grinned, fangs fully out now.

  “Jason won’t let you—”

  “Jason’s gone.”

  Mark gaped at him. “What do you mean, gone?”

  “As in not around anymore.”

  “Did you make him lie to the council too? Did he threaten to tell them the truth and so you kidnapped him as well?”

  Wes’s smile turned sly. “Oh, Jason hasn’t talked to the council yet.”

  “But you said—”

  “I lied. And after you changed your story, they didn’t want to talk to him, after all. Problem solved.”

  Fucker. How long had Jason been gone? “Is he dead?”

  “I informed the rest of your unit that he’s had a family emergency to deal with. We all know his mother never fully recovered from the pack war.”

  A shifter body could heal from horrific injury, but the mind couldn’t. “How convenient.”

  “Isn’t it?”

  A wave of guilt hit him for ever thinking Jason was involved in this fucking mess. “Will he be coming back?” He already knew the answer.

  “Mmmm… no. I suspect an unfortunate accident is on the cards in the next day or so.”

  He was probably already dead. Mark curled his fingers around the edge of the chair and bit the inside of his cheek. He would not break down in front of this bastard. “Someone is bound to notice and add all the pieces up.”

  “Who? When the council is done with us, Cam won’t dare involve them again. And no one in this pack will go up against Newell.”

  Mark strongly disagreed but kept his mouth shut. They couldn’t get away with this. Even if it meant his own death. As soon as he got Harry back, he was going to have to do something. Unless…. “Is Harry even alive?”

  Wes stood, gaze never leaving Mark’s. “For now.”

  Another horrible thought occurred to him. The day was just full of them. “With Jason gone—” The words stuck in his throat, and he had to swallow before continuing. “—who’s my beta now?” Please don’t let it be you.

  “Don’t worry about that. Steven has it all planned out.” He laughed at Mark’s confused expression and added. “Go home, and don’t think about leaving your building.” Then he left.

  What was that supposed to mean? Paul had been conspicuous by his absence the last couple of days, but Mark refused to think he was involved with this too. He liked Paul. Rather him than Wes any day. Or maybe Newell had someone else in mind? There were a couple of older guys in Mark’s unit who would be up for it. In his opinion, either of them would make a far better job of it than Wes.

  Thinking about replacing Jason hurt his heart and he rubbed at his chest with the heel of his hand. What had they done to him? Whether Will wanted to or not, Mark had to talk to him.

  Mind made up, he headed to the stairs and down until he was outside and could breathe again. The short walk to his and Will’s building gave him little respite, though, and he climbed to the first floor where Will’s flat was.

  Alec called again as he walked along the corridor, and though desperate to hear his voice, Mark ignored it. Alec would be so angry and disappointed with him by now. It might be Mark’s imagination, but with each refusal to speak to him, he felt their fragile connection slipping away.

  Alec would never be his after what he’d done.

  The text, when it came, was like a vice around his heart.

  Whatever they threatened you with to make you lie, I can help. Please call me

  If only it was that easy.

  For a second he imagined calling Alec back and telling him everything, asking him to help. If he tried hard enough, he could remember how Alec smelled the last time they were together. His scent mixed with Mark’s, wrapping around them both in the cocoon of Alec’s sheets.

  Achingly familiar.

  Safe.

  A door closed on the stairwell above, and the illusion slipped away like smoke, leaving Mark all alone in the hallway.

  Alec couldn’t help him now.

  No one could.

  But at least he knew someone who understood what he was going through.

  No one answered when he knocked on Will’s door. Could he be out? Unlikely with everything that was going on. He’d be in no fit state to work, and no doubt Wes had given Will the same warning about leaving. He knocked again to no avail, then pulled out his phone.

  Not bothering with a phone call, he sent a text.

  I’m not going away until you answer.

  Nothing.

  Come on, let me in. We need to talk about this.

  Nothing.

  Fuck it. He hadn’t wanted to tell him like this, but Will left him no choice. He needed to get in there. He typed, Jason is dead and waited.

  Two seconds later the door flew open, and Will dragged him inside, bolting it shut behind him. “That’s a fucked-up thing to say just to get me to open the door.” Mark met his gaze, expression sombre, and Will’s face crumpled.

  “Ahh shit, you’re not lying, are you?”

  “No.” Mark’s breath caught and he squeezed Will’s shoulder.” I’m pretty sure Wes killed him or had him killed on Newell’s orders.”

  Will stared at him, mouth open, then shut it with a snap of teeth. “Fucking bastards.” He rubbed his eyes, and Mark noticed how tired he looked.

  “You look like shit.”

  “Funnily enough, I feel like shit.” Will raised an eyebrow and deadpanned, “Having one’s sister kidnapped and lying to the alpha council will do that to a guy. Who knew?” He sighed, all the air leaving him in a rush, and his shoulders slumped. “Let’s go sit down.” He led Mark through to the living area, then veered off into the kitchen. “I think I need a drink.�
� Glancing over his shoulder, he gestured at the fridge. “You?”

  “Yeah, go on then.” Mark could do with a shot of something.

  Retrieving a bottle of vodka from the freezer, Will held it up between them—three-quarters full. “Think that’ll be enough?”

  “For starters.”

  Will took a long swig and then passed it over to Mark, who did the same. He welcomed the burn, closing his eyes and savouring the brief buzz it gave him. They traded the bottle back and forth until only a quarter was left. For a short while it would take the edge off, and Mark needed that right now. They both did.

  After setting the vodka on the worktop, Will bit his lip and met Mark’s gaze. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about my sister or warn you that you were next, but they said they’d kill her if I did, and I just couldn’t take that chance—

  “It’s okay. I understand.” Yeah, he’d been angry at first, but they were in an impossible situation.

  “Do you think they’re still alive?”

  “Yes.” Mark refused to think otherwise.

  Will looked less than certain. “How can you be so sure?”

  “Because we haven’t lied to the alpha council and risked our lives for nothing. If we believe they’re already dead, then there’s no point to any of this.”

  “Fuck it, you’re right. Of course, you are.” Will ran a hand through his hair and tugged on the ends. “But not Jason.”

  Mark closed his eyes and sighed. “No. Wes as good as admitted it.”

  “Why would they kill him? Why not just get him to lie too?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe he refused, or—” His voice broke. Jason had been their beta since they turned eighteen. He was more like an older a brother, and to think they were never going to see him again hurt deep inside him. “I miss him already.”

  “Fuck, me too.”

  Reaching into the cupboard behind him, Will grabbed two shot glasses and filled them with vodka. Mark had a good idea what he was up to and watched in silence. He handed a glass to Mark.

  “To Jason.”

  “To Jason,” Mark echoed.

  They clinked glasses and downed their shot.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Alec wanted nothing more than to gather his unit and go get Mark. He wouldn’t have lied to Seb and then Cam about that fucking jacket. Alec refused to believe it because that would mean he’d lied about everything else too, and Alec’s gut instinct was still to trust him.

  Cam caught him on the stairs before he had a chance to do anything. “Alec. Whatever you’re thinking, don’t do it.”

  “You know he didn’t lie first time round. Newell must have forced him.”

  Cam put a hand on his neck and squeezed, but this time it did little to help. “I know this is hard for you, but you need to calm down. The alpha council deal in facts, and unfortunately, the facts are that Mark and another member of his unit have both told the council that they bought the jackets themselves. There is no one else who can testify that Newell gave it to him.”

  Alec sighed and leaned against the wall. “But what about everything we’ve told them? The attack on Seb, his sister? What about all that?”

  “All our information comes from Felix. And like Curtis said, he isn’t exactly a trustworthy source.”

  “For fuck’s sake!” Alec smashed his fist against the wall, ignoring the flash of pain. He glanced at the bits of plaster tumbling to the floor. “I thought it was more or less a formality. The council would come in, see what a wanker Newell is, and send him somewhere preferably behind bars.”

  “I know. So did I.” He squeezed Alec’s neck again and pulled him in close. Alec let his head drop to Cam’s shoulder. “I let my personal feelings cloud my judgement. Of course they would hesitate to believe Felix over an alpha who’s been in charge for the past ten years. No official complaints have ever been made about Newell, so as far as they’re concerned, he has a good record as alpha.”

  Alec scoffed and straightened. “His pack doesn’t respect him. They’re frightened of him.”

  Cam sighed. “Not all of them. I’m sure there are a good number of his pack, certainly some of the older ones, who think like he does. And if none of the others will speak out against him, we have no proof that he did anything wrong. Just Felix’s word. And up until two weeks ago, I wouldn’t have believed a word he said either.”

  Fuck it all! Alec wanted to smash something, anything to take away the anger bubbling up inside of him. “What do I do about Mark? Please don’t ask me to sit by and do nothing because I can’t.”

  “He’ll be at the council meeting tomorrow. He needs to appear as Alpha Wallace has requested his presence.”

  “You have the list?”

  Cam nodded. “I do. Both he and Will Farley are on it. As is anyone who’s been integral to the investigation. So they have to be there. Newell can’t do anything to him until then.”

  “And after that?”

  “Let’s get that out of the way first. You never know, they still might rule in our favour.” His expression turned sad. “If they don’t, then the only way to help Mark will be to get him to admit that he lied to the council. And even if he has a damn good reason, they’re still within their rights to punish him.”

  Alec tugged at his hair, beyond frustrated. “So it’s a no-win situation.” Fuck, this was exactly why he never wanted to get close to anyone. It always hurt in the end.

  “I didn’t say that.”

  “But?” There was always a but.

  “But we have to be realistic. He might not want our help. In which case there’s nothing we can do. And although I take no joy from saying this, Alec….” He hesitated, regret in his eyes. “If he sticks to what he told the council, then that means, as far as everyone else is concerned, he blatantly lied to me in my own building. In all good conscience, I can’t speak up for him, and I can’t endorse a bond between my beta and a shifter who has shown me such disrespect. It would reflect badly on me as alpha and on the pack. I can’t help him if he won’t help himself.”

  Alec closed his eyes, unable to stop the whimper from slipping out. His chest ached, the small Mark-shaped hole getting bigger the more desperate their situation became. “I understand.” As much as Alec wanted Mark—and he’d given up fooling himself that he didn’t—if Mark didn’t trust him enough to let him in, let him help, then a bond would never take between them.

  Without trust, they had nothing.

  Cam’s phone rang, startling them both. He pulled it out of his pocket and checked the screen before answering and putting it on speaker, since Alec would be able to hear the conversation anyway. “Gareth?”

  “Fucking hell, Cam, we’ve found Jason Black, and he’s in pretty bad shape.”

  “Where are you?”

  “On our way back to your building. We need Tim to meet us there.”

  “Bring Jason up to my flat and I’ll have Tim waiting.”

  Gareth hung up, and Cam swore under his breath. “What the hell’s going on now?”

  Alec swallowed, the hairs on the back of his neck standing to attention. “Jason is Mark and Will’s beta. Tell me that’s just a coincidence.” He watched as Cam glanced down at his phone, fingers hovering over the screen. “Are you going to report it to Newell?”

  “We’ve found one of his betas injured and are bringing him to our territory. Alpha etiquette dictates I inform Newell and request permission to treat Jason.”

  Holding his breath, Alec waited. As easy going as Cam was, he was Alec’s alpha first and foremost, and Alec knew when to hold his tongue.

  Cam raised an eyebrow at Alec’s silence. “You have no opinion on this?”

  “Oh I have an opinion, I’m just keeping it to myself.”

  The glimmer of a smile appeared on Cam’s face, then faded. “Now is not the time to develop manners, Alec. Tell me what you’re thinking.”

  “I think Newell is the last person we should tell, at least until we’ve spoken to Jason.
In fact, I think we should keep his presence here as secret as we possibly can until we know what’s going on.”

  Cam hummed but slipped his phone back in his pocket. “If this turns out to be nothing more than an unfortunate accident, then I could be in a lot of trouble.”

  “I’d say the odds of this being an accident are about zero.”

  “Yeah, agreed.” He opened the stairwell door and gestured for Alec to go through it. “Tim should be back from work now, I’ll call him on my way upstairs. Bring him to my flat and get anything else he needs. Tell him to expect the worst.”

  “See you upstairs.”

  They parted ways. Alec ran down the corridor, and by the time he reached Tim’s flat, the door was already opening.

  Seb stood aside to let him in. “He’s getting his stuff together.” He was bare-chested, wearing jeans that were still undone, and he smelled heavily of Tim and sex. Under other circumstances, Alec would have made a comment, but he couldn’t bring himself to joke about their bond.

  Instead, he walked into the living room and found Tim hurrying out of the bedroom, pulling a T-shirt over his head. “Do you need me to get anything for you?”

  Tim glanced up and stopped in his tracks. “Cam said it was bad. Do we know how bad?”

  Alec shook his head. “Gareth said he was in pretty bad shape. I’d assume the worst.”

  “If he’s lost too much blood, he’ll struggle to heal himself. We might need donors.”

  Alec curled his lip. The idea of giving blood, especially to a member of another pack, didn’t feel right.

  Frowning at him, Tim grabbed a pen and paper off the table. “Get over yourself, Alec. If you want me to save him, then he’s probably going to need help. Here.” He thrust a list of names at Alec. “Since we don’t know his blood type, these lot are all O negative. Bring them to Cam’s flat.”

  Alec scanned the list. Fucking hell, Jared was on it. Nathan wasn’t going to like that at all. “Does it have to be Jared?”