Marcus heard the rustling of Logan dressing a few moments before he joined him. Logan was a classic example of a pack enforcer. He had the black eyes and stony face of a man that said, I could kill you without a second thought.
Logan wasn’t that cold hearted of a killer, but Marcus knew the man had killed when it was needed.
Logan met him and looked him over before saying, “You look like someone killed your best friend.”
Marcus nodded. “Derek and I met the woman that calls to our fur and skin, but she’s human.”
“The human from that fight with Devon’s coven? What’s her name?”
“Anna,” Marcus supplied. “Yeah, her. She was at The Underground last week, and I couldn’t resist. I thought if Derek and I took her and mated a few times it would be enough, and we could get on with our lives, but it’s stronger than ever now.”
“I saw you’d found her when I was there. You and Derek were having a lot of fun with her. So you didn’t get her out of your system then?”
Marcus shook his head. “No. Derek and I tried, though. We fucked so much, I’m surprised we could walk the next day.”
Logan leaned his elbows on the edge of Marcus’s truck. “I know how that feels. It sucks.”
Marcus looked over at a bird hunting for some food. “Instead of having that feeling satisfied, it felt like I left a piece of myself back at her house.” Part of Marcus’s wolf was still snarling and angrily demanding that they go back to Tennessee and claim their mate.
Logan lifted a little. “Don’t let duty to the pack ruin your chance at happiness, Marcus. I know some lycans don’t care for human females, but you know I like them. Hell, I let a pretty human lady go last year, and I regret it every day.” Logan ran his hands through his blonde hair.
Marcus paused as he regarded Logan. Marcus didn’t know a lot about the human that had captured Logan, but she had to be something to get that dedicated bachelor to try to find her. “So, you never found Emily?”
Logan shook his head no. “Nope. Her brother thought she was in New York, but her grandmother said the west coast somewhere. She hasn’t talked to anyone in her family, or me.” Logan raised his face to the sun. Marcus and Logan had always enjoyed how they could sit in silence without having to say anything. They could get whatever connection they needed by sharing a beer and watching the television. After a few moments, Logan met his gaze. “Don’t be like me, Marcus. Don’t let the one that calls to you get away. I was a coward and got scared. I let the best thing that ever happened to me get away.”
Marcus wished it was that easy. He may end up pining after Anna like Logan did with Emily. “If it was just Derek, her, and me, then yes, I would get in my truck and beg her to accept me. It’s not that easy, though. She has a life back in Chattanooga. She runs a small bookstore, and her parents live there. You know how females are about staying close to their parents.”
Logan nodded silently.
“Then there is the coyote problem. They are preparing to start a war with us. I can feel it.”
Logan gave him a grim look and hesitated before looking into the canopy of the dormant trees. “You’re right about that, Marcus. The coyotes crave dominance, and if they can take us out, they will. That doesn’t mean you should put your life on hold, though. Coyotes have been a problem for far longer than you’ve been Alpha.”
Marcus knew he was right, and he could go and get Anna. He had enough just cause, but it felt selfish. If she knew about them, or had broken one of their laws, then he would have claimed her. “I have a responsibility, Logan. I can’t just turn my back on that.”
Logan’s eyes lit up slightly. “Did she recognize you at all? Marcus, you know the laws better than anyone does. Even if you suspect she knows, you can go and get her. I can help if you want. I love the kidnapping runs. Humans are so much fun to abduct.”
Marcus laughed and shook his head. “No, I have no justification to take her. To make it worse, Mortef showed interest in her. I left a couple of enforcers to make sure he follows the law and leaves her alone.”
Logan cocked his head to the side. “She is one human female. If she calls to you that strongly, go shift in front of her and then claim her.” Logan’s face turned serious. “I wish I would have with Emily.”
Marcus didn’t want to admit how tempting that was to him, but he didn’t want to bend the law. “No, I have gone to the council and fought for humans to be released. It wouldn’t be that simple for me. But for the record, I also wish you would have told Emily. She was good for you, Logan.”
Logan shrugged. “There isn’t anything I can do about it now. She’s gone, and I get to die a lonely old man because no other female does it for me.”
“It does seem unfair at times, but it is the price of responsibility.” Marcus closed the door with a thud. He stared down at his booted feet for a moment. It would be so easy to take Anna and claim she knew too much, but then he’d be no better than the others who’d done that very thing, and he’d gone to the council to object. His enemies would use that against him for many years to come when they took humans for mating or more nefarious purposes.
He’d been able to get a few humans returned to their lives after going to the council, and if he started down that path, it could harm innocent humans and supernaturals later on. What if there was a truly innocent human that needed his protection and he ruined that by taking Anna when he had no right? As much as he wanted Anna, he couldn’t have her. He was just going to have to find a way to forget her.
Just because supernaturals were stronger was not an excuse to take any human they wanted. Because they could was not a good enough reason. No, he had to do this right, even if he left a piece of his soul behind.
Logan crossed his arms over his chest and laughed. “Well, good luck. I really hope things work out for you. It’s a lonely life to meet your soulmate and then lose her.”
Marcus wasn’t sure what to say to Logan. He’d been quite the ladies’ man before Emily, but since meeting her, she was all he thought about. When he looked up, he asked, “Why did you push Emily away? You had to know she was the one for you.”
Logan shook his head. “Stupidity, cowardice, and stubbornness. It scared me how much I wanted her, so I pushed her away. Then when she was gone, I realized what the fuck I’d just done. I broke her heart, and even if I find her, I’m not sure she’ll ever forgive me.”
Marcus quickly dressed in his jeans and flannel shirt while Logan read a text.
“Hey, Marcus, I’ll catch you later. It turns out I have a date for breakfast.” Logan’s eyes lit up as he typed.
“With you sister?” Marcus asked.
“Naw, my little niece made pancakes and wants me to come over and help eat them.”
Marcus waved Logan off. “Go on, Logan. Don’t overeat.”
Logan shook his head as he backed away, “Not possible with those females.”
Marcus turned and walked toward his truck. He had to get to his job site before his work crew arrived to make sure breakfast and coffee were ready. He may be the owner of his construction firm, but he believed that true leaders took care of the needs of those under him. One of those needs was making sure his men had food and drink before heading off to the job site.
Marcus’s truck bounced on the ruts of the new road. They’d just had another rainstorm that washed out the freshly grated road. Marcus cussed under his breath. “If I didn’t need all these damn tools I’d change into fur and run in.” The idea was appealing, but it wasn’t possible. If he left the tools here, thieves would take them, and there was no way he could get them there without a truck. The sun was rising over the trees when he pulled into the gated area where the basement had already been dug out.
After parking the truck, Marcus walked into the construction trailer and stopped to see Melanie standing there. Her long blonde hair had been brushed to a luminous sheen, and her slender figure was what a lot of men desired. Marcus saw a cold bitch who only wanted power, a
nd if he could, he’d throw Melanie out of the pack.
“What do you want, Melanie?” Marcus asked as he set the supplies on the counter. One side was an office, and the other had a kitchen and bathroom. It was efficient, but small, and felt even smaller with Melanie in there.
“I’ve been looking for you. You were out all night with Derek.”
“Yeah, Gavin was here to watch the pack while I was in the city. You know that, Melanie.” Marcus backed away as Melanie tried to ease her way closer to him. He knew she would have her hands all over him if he let her.
“I was just concerned because you turn to those humans when I am here waiting for you to see me.”
Ignoring her, he moved into the kitchen area, got the coffee going, and pulled the pastries out of the refrigerator. Marcus knew Melanie’s feelings about humans. She was one of the lycans that hated human women. Not because she feared them, but because she was jealous after the last lycan Alpha she’d tried to snare in another pack chose a human woman to bond with. Marcus was just starting the coffee maker when Walter walked in.
“I got everything in place for the girl you wanted watched.” Walter held some papers in his hand and his mouth was set in a way Marcus knew all too well.
He noticed Melanie backing off, which made talking to Walter easier. The last thing he wanted was Melanie knowing about Anna. He lowered his voice and asked, “What’s wrong?” Marcus felt dread coiling in his gut. If anyone had harmed Anna, he would rip them to shreds. He would bathe in their blood and do everything in his power to make their deaths agonizingly slow.
“It seems Anna remembers a lot of details about our kind.” Walter handed him the stack of papers. Marcus read over them and shook his head. His little kitten was quite the actress according to the pages Walter printed off from the stories she’d posted online. Marcus sat down and read several chapters of the story she’d recently posted. He and Derek were described in vivid detail, and he had no doubt she remembered quite a bit about the fight she saw. He couldn’t help but smile at how she’d written him and Derek. No wonder she’d been so quick to accept his domination over her.
Walter stood against the counter with his arms crossed. “There’s more, Alpha.”
“More?” Marcus couldn’t believe there could be more. She didn’t see much, and he doubted she’d had a chance to write anything from last night and get it published. He also knew she’d never betray them. Everything she’d written had been for fiction. It was no different than any other book or movie about wolves and vampires. She had not betrayed them, even though she knew about them. Marcus couldn’t help but smile. She didn’t run away when he approached her at The Underground. She knows what Derek and I are, and yet she welcomed us into her home and her bed.
Walter’s eyes hardened. “I’ve already increased the number of enforcers watching her, Alpha—”
“Why?” Marcus asked as he crumpled the papers in his fist. Walter dared to contradict his orders? If one of those enforcers touched Anna, he would brutally remind them why he was Alpha. He may have a soft voice and be the voice of reason among the enforcer’s hotheaded tempers, but he could and would rip the arms and legs out of anyone who hurt his Anna. She’d not harmed any of them. She’d been sweet and submissive to him and Derek. If she’d broken any lycan law, she had not done so in malice, and he’d kill anyone who tried to harm her. As he plotted the ways he would show the enforcers how savage he could be and the violence he was capable of, he said, “I told you she was not a danger to us.”
Walter lowered his head and held a hand up. “Yes, Alpha. Please let me finish before you rip me apart.”
Marcus took a calming breath and crossed his arms. “Okay, why are you sending enforcers after Anna.” My Anna, his wolf added. Marcus again felt the pull to claim her. She was his soulmate, and he would never feel complete until he had her safely in his arms.
Walter nodded his head. “You’re right, she is no danger to us, but Mortef sent some of his ghouls after Anna.”
Marcus snarled and felt the heat rising, which meant he was sprouting fur and his gums tingled from his teeth growing. Ghouls were human slaves that had a vampire’s strength and an extended lifespan, but they could go out into daylight without being burned.
There was only one reason for Mortef to send his ghouls after Anna—he was going to try to take her. Marcus glanced around the office trailer and saw Melanie had left, which made giving orders easier. “Get Derek and as many enforcers as you can. We are going after Anna. As of this moment, she is mine. Mine! She is under my protection, and I swear if she is harmed, those bloodsuckers will regret it. I swear I will spend my last days making sure they know they messed with the wrong female.”
Chapter Six
Anna closed and locked the door of her bookstore. The wind that blew sent a chill through her. It had been warm when she left the house, but a cold front moved in bringing rain and colder temperatures. She thought of a lovely bowl of soup and grilled cheese sandwich for dinner.
“Excuse me.”
Anna gasped and turned around. A young, slender blonde woman stood behind her. “Yes?” she asked while trying to calm her heart rate.
“They know you remember and are coming for you. If you value your life, run. They will kill or enslave you to keep you quiet.”
Anna’s heart started to pound in fear. She didn’t have to guess what this woman meant. Marcus and Derek were coming for her, and all she could picture were the websites that told stories of people disappearing. Perhaps this woman was with them, and it was a trap. “I don’t know what you are talking about.”
“Of course you don’t,” she said with a roll of her eyes and a sarcastic tone. “You know too much about lycans and now they will make you disappear. You’ll be dead or a slave.” The woman shrugged as she backed up toward a taxi.
“Wait. How did you know?”
The blonde didn’t answer but got into the car.
Anna spun around and looked up and down the street. She felt like there were eyes everywhere, and they were just waiting for a chance to grab her. She couldn’t even laugh that woman off as a nut. She knew too much to be some crazy woman.
Visions of the violence she saw that dreadful night filled her mind. Would they come for her that way now, even after she welcomed them into her home? A part of Anna had hoped that she could ease the ache in her heart since meeting them with a relationship, but now she knew that was impossible.
Would Marcus and Derek really hurt me? Anna couldn’t take that chance—she had to run. She should run right now, but she had no choice but to return home and grab her credit cards. She didn’t have enough money in her account to go on the run. As much as she hated to, she had to put gas and motel stays on the credit card she kept locked in her desk.
Anna parked a block away from her house at a local market, and as the streetlights came on, she slipped into the alley that ran behind her house. It was still early in the fall season, but this year seemed colder than usual. Anna put her hands under her arms as she walked to her house. The leaves had begun to fall, but the rain kept them from making noise as she walked through the narrow alley.
She approached her house and didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. Someone could easily be watching it for any sign she’d returned home. She walked to the steps leading into the basement of her house and slowly opened the storm door. After several tries, she got the right key and opened the old wooden door. Her basement was silent and musty as usual, and she pulled out her cell phone to make enough light for her to see by.
The wooden stairs that led up to the main floor of her house were fairly new and didn’t squeak. She moved slowly and watched for any sign someone had been in her house. Maybe I should have called the police, she thought to herself.
Yeah, right. She laughed at that thought. “Hello, this is Anna Mason, and I believe I am being stalked by a pack of werewolves.” Yep, I’d be locked up for sure.
The staircase led into her kitchen, and she
used the light from her cell phone to look around. Everything was just as she’d left it, which made her heartbeat slow. At least no one seemed to be waiting for her in the dark, but it didn’t mean they weren’t waiting outside for her to drive up.
Well, they’d be waiting for a long time for her to come home. She was grabbing her card and going to be hard to find for a while.
At least she could go to work still. Her bookstore wasn’t very busy, but there was a steady stream of customers. Anything the werewolves tried would be noticed, and she knew that they didn’t want attention.
Anna walked up the stairs, no longer caring the old wooden stairs squeaked as she went to the hall and her office. She walked to her desk and pulled open the drawer she kept her bills and credit cards in and grabbed the entire pile.
She turned and walked into a solid body. Terror blasted through her seeing the dark shape in her home office, and she screamed before she backed up a step and stared into a pair of reddish-hued eyes. A vampire was here in her home. Anna opened her mouth, but her throat felt as if it had closed off, cutting off her ability to make a sound.
“Hello, Anna. We meet again.”
Anna felt herself calm down. The vampire’s eyes were beautiful. She’d never thought about red eyes before, but now that she was close to him, she decided they were the most stunning eyes she’d ever seen. She stared into them and noticed the brown of his eyes, as well. It was warm like milk chocolate, and she smiled as she thought about how sweet it would be for him to kiss her.
A car backfired outside, and they both jumped. The moment was broken, and Anna backed up, horrified at what she had almost done. She’d almost leaned in to kiss a vampire. She wiped her mouth in revulsion since the very thought of kissing this freak made her shiver in disgust.
Anna opened her mouth intending to scream, but the vampire moved incredibly fast and wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close to his body. His other hand covered her mouth and moved her head to the side, giving him access to her neck. “That dog thinks he can claim you first. He should have bitten you while he had the chance. Now you will be my slave and that dog will pay for messing with my coven.”
Lycans Embrace [Southern Supernatural Alphas] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) Page 9