He held back the growl of need, his hands clenching at his sides to stop himself from reaching for her. Marcus pointed at her. “Stay in bed tonight. Get some sleep.”
He stalked from the room, slamming the door. Panting, nearly shaking with need, he returned to the bathroom and turned the shower on once more.
Fuck.
Chapter Three
Hanna regarded Marcus as they waited for Cooper and Rye to arrive. He’d barely said two words to her since he’d walked in on her half-naked last night
She blushed at the memory. What he must think. She knew she wasn’t attractive. Thin to the point of bony, she looked almost boyish with her small hips and breasts. Was that why he’d snapped at her? He’d acted as if he couldn’t wait to get away from her.
Am I really that repulsive?
“Stop worrying,” he growled, not looking up from his tablet.
“Who said I was worrying?” Hell, she never stopped worrying. She’d spent all of last night awake, wondering what she’d done wrong.
Maybe that was it. He was grumpy because she’d woken him up the other night. Had she awoken him up other nights too? Maybe he needed more sleep. He was like a cranky toddler in need of a nap. Her lips twitched at the thought.
“I can feel you thinking. Give it a rest, there’s no point to it.”
She sighed in frustration. “Sorry for thinking, I can’t help it.” Sheesh! What did he want from her? “I’ll go do something else.” She rose, obviously her presence was adding to his grouchiness.
He finally looked up. “Sit down. Relax. Rest.”
“I can’t relax. I’m annoying you. I’ll take my thinking somewhere else. I’m sorry I kept you up the other night. Guess it’s a good thing we won’t be together much longer, huh? You can finally get away from my irritating presence.”
His eyes narrowed. She averted her gaze but stood her ground, surprising herself. Normally confrontation had her running for the hills.
“Hanna—”
His wristwatch beeped, indicating someone was at the gate. Even though they were expecting Cooper and Rye, she still tensed, glancing over to the panel by the door.
Marcus turned on the camera. She looked around him to get a better view. Cooper and Rye. She let out a sigh of relief.
“I’ll start the coffee.”
*
Marcus stared at his brother and Cooper. Hanna tinkered around, setting out some cups and a freshly baked carrot cake. She was nervous and they all knew it. Even if it hadn’t been obvious in her shaky movements and fast, shallow breaths, the scent of her fear and worry filled the room.
It made him decidedly grouchy.
Hanna backed away and watched them, tapping her fingers on her leg. Marcus had deliberately reclaimed the sofa so she would have to sit next to him. Rye and Cooper sat in the only other chairs.
“Please sit, Hanna,” Cooper urged her, his face solemn.
Shit. This wasn’t going to be good.
Hanna perched on the sofa beside him, stiff as a board. Marcus fought the urge to pull her against him.
“Please, help yourselves.” She gestured to the cake and coffee but didn’t take any herself. Marcus poured some brew into his favorite cup. She always made sure it was clean and ready for him. Hanna was a caretaker, a nurturer. She shouldn’t have to worry and stress over where she was going to live, how she was going to look after herself. Someone else should be worrying about that—the bigger picture—so she could do what she did best. Take care of those around her.
Rye and Cooper sat back with coffee in their hands.
Hanna relaxed a little, scooting back.
“Hanna. I’ve been thinking about your situation,” Cooper began. He leaned forward, resting his forearms on his knees. “You can’t go back to your pack, that much is obvious. I want to set you up where you will be happy. I’m sorry we can’t bring you to Shadowpeak, but most members of the pack are furious that Dan nearly killed Laney. Bringing you there would just ignite their tempers.”
“Don’t tell them who she is,” Marcus said, leaning forward.
Cooper sighed. “They wouldn’t buy it. Many of them know you’re protecting her. If I just turn up with a strange woman, well, I’m pretty sure they’ll put two and two together.”
“It’s okay,” Hanna whispered. “I understand.”
“Trouble is, finding you a pack you’ll be happy with will take time. The one thing I really don’t have at the moment.” He smiled. There was tiredness in his eyes, a slight slump to his shoulders. The sooner they got Silverton stable, the better. After all, Cooper and Laney had a baby to get ready for. They’d need all the energy they could muster for their little one.
“I did think of something, however. Two of my brothers are coming to help me so my enforcers are not stretched so thinly. My old pack is a good one. My oldest brother is the Alpha. He’s a fair man, a good Alpha. Now, I don’t want to force you into anything you don’t want, or to go off to a pack where you know no one. So I thought you could get to know my brothers while they were here, see what you thought of them. Then maybe you could go back with them.”
Hanna bit her lip, looking pensive. But she nodded.
Marcus folded his arms over his chest to stop himself from reaching for her, holding her close. “How is she supposed to get to know them if they’re at Shadowpeak?” he asked.
“They won’t be,” Rye answered, slouching back. He looked relaxed, but Marcus saw the calculation in his eyes. “They’ll be at Silverton.”
“No fucking way.” Marcus glowered at them all. “She is not going to Silverton.”
“Hanna, there’s no denying this idea carries some risk,” Cooper warned.
“Risk?” Marcus spat. “You’re sending her into enemy territory.”
“They’re not the enemy, Marcus,” Rye reprimanded. “They surrendered to us.”
“But did they mean it? Or are some of them waiting to get revenge on us because Cooper killed their Alpha? And we’re going to deliver Hanna to them, the woman who signed Leonard’s death warrant.”
Hanna flinched, growing so white Marcus thought she might faint. Or vomit.
He gave in to the urge and, reaching one arm over her shoulders, dragged her against him. Rye’s eyes narrowed, hardened.
Fuck him. I’ll do what I feel is right.
“You want me to go to Silverton.” Hanna was pale, her hands clasped together tightly in her lap. “The pack you just took over.”
“Yes, the unstable pack. Where some members are probably still loyal to Leonard and out for blood,” Marcus growled.
She frowned. “You think if they know who I am, they might hurt me?”
“He’s exaggerating, dreaming up conspiracies where there may be none,” Rye scoffed. “You don’t know that it’s unsafe.”
“You don’t know that it isn’t,” Marcus shot back.
Cooper cleared his throat and Marcus sat back quietly. Rye glared at him before turning his attention back to Cooper.
“Hanna,” Cooper spoke quietly, waiting until she looked at him.
She trembled against Marcus’ side, spiking his anger and protectiveness. Damn it, he would not let them endanger her.
Not his mate.
Fuck.
Marcus deliberately didn’t look at either his brother or his Alpha as the truth hit him square in the face.
His.
And he couldn’t fucking claim her. Even if he wanted to.
The idea of his mate being in danger wasn’t something he could countenance. If he claimed her, then he claimed the right to protect her. And yet, wouldn’t he be putting her in more danger? Trackers had a dangerous job. They chased the most dangerous, most unstable werewolves. And that threat could extend to his mate.
He couldn’t do that to innocent, sweet Hanna. She’d been controlled by people all her life—she deserved to live, to experience life. He couldn’t take her life before she’d even lived. Because he knew that if she were his then he’
d smother her in protection.
And even if they could get past all that, there was the fact that she couldn’t live at the estate. Not now, anyway. Maybe not ever. Laney was deeply loved. There could be some who would blame Hanna for Dan’s transgressions.
“We would do everything we could to protect you,” Cooper reassured. “We wouldn’t tell anyone who you really were—”
“Then how will you explain her presence?” Marcus interrupted harshly.
“Marcus!” Rye rebuked, sitting forward. The power in the room surged and then faded. Marcus slumped back, dropping his gaze.
“Sorry, Alpha,” he said to Cooper, even as it galled him to do so.
Cooper nodded, acknowledging Marcus’ apology. “Hanna, I thought we might introduce you as a friend of the family.”
“Why would your brothers bring a friend of the family into unstable territory?” Marcus queried.
“Well, I thought she could pretend to be their girlfriend.”
Girlfriend? Like fuck!
“How will you explain her lack of knowledge about them? Hell, Hanna doesn’t like strangers, how do you expect her to act like their girlfriend? And what do you mean their?”
“My brothers like to share,” Cooper stated, smiling at Hanna apologetically. “They’re due tomorrow. I thought they could stay here with Hanna a few days. They could all get to know each other before they arrived at Silverton. I know this is going to be hard on you, Hanna. But it’s the best plan I can come up with and it will give you a real chance at getting to know them. I trust them. I know they’ll look out for you. I want to make sure that wherever you end up you’re happy and safe.”
“Okay,” Hanna said quietly.
Seriously, she couldn’t be considering this, could she?
“I’m not a very good liar.” Hanna bit her lower lip. Werewolves could sometimes discern lies from certain cues, like faster heartbeats and dilating eyes.
Cooper nodded. “Let my brothers do most of the talking. They’re excellent liars.”
Marcus growled. Rye sent him a sharp look.
“It won’t work. No one will believe that Hanna is your brothers’ girlfriend. It took at least a week before she could stand my touch without flinching.”
“I guess that’s up to Hanna, isn’t it?” Rye drawled.
Marcus snarled at him. “This plan sucks. Why don’t you just paint a target on her back and let them take potshots at her?”
“Things at Silverton aren’t that bad.”
Any danger was unacceptable.
Hanna placed her hand on his knee and instantly he calmed, his wolf drawing back.
“Marcus, hush.” Marcus gaped at her, lost for words. Aware of Rye’s and Cooper’s looks of disbelief, he simply shook his head.
“What about the members of your pack who are at Silverton?” she asked. “Will they know who I am?”
“Hanna—”
She squeezed his knee, a clear warning for him to be quiet.
Damn, she was in for a spanking for this little show of spunk. About time she stood up for herself, but this was not the time and the place. Not when he was looking out for her best interests.
“No one will know,” Rye replied. “Except for us and Cooper’s brothers.”
“Where will Marcus be?” she asked, surprising him.
“At Silverton,” Cooper said. “It’s where I need him most. In fact, I’m hoping he’ll take charge so I can spend more time at home.”
Marcus sat up sharply. “Me? Not Rye?”
“You,” Cooper answered, looking at him steadily. “Rye and I have spoken about this. He’s not interested in being in charge and we both agree that his temperament isn’t suited to being an Alpha. Will you do it?”
He’d never considered himself leader material. He was more of a loner.
“What about Jay? He’s more sociable.”
“They don’t need sociable. They need their heads knocked together,” Rye growled.
“Cain, then.”
“With Cain go Dusty and Brynn,” Cooper said. “And Dusty doesn’t have the patience to stay there long.”
“And you think I do?”
“You have more than you realize,” Cooper told him. “Plus, who knows what trouble Brynn would get up to?”
Brynn was a demon mated to Cain and Dusty. He was devoted to Cain and Dusty, and had been made a friend of the pack, but Cooper was right not to trust him near Silverton.
If Marcus were in charge, he could watch over Hanna more easily. The wolf pushed at him, wanting him to accept. Much as he really didn’t want the job, it would give him the authority to look out for her.
“Yes,” he replied firmly. A flash of relief crossed Cooper’s features.
“Good. That’s settled. Now, Hanna, how do you feel about all this?”
Hanna clasped her hands again. “I can’t guarantee that I can pull this off. I have to meet your brothers first to know.”
“I understand.” Cooper watched her calmly.
Marcus could smell her terror. It coated his skin like tar, thick and heavy and totally repugnant.
“Hanna, you don’t have to do this,” he told her.
Her big, violet eyes were sad but resigned. “But I do. It’s a good solution. I need a pack. This way, I can get to know Cooper’s brothers first. What alternative do I have?”
“We can find something else.” Marcus felt almost desperate.
Hanna smiled sadly.
Cooper stood, gesturing at Rye. “Think about it overnight. I’m sorry I can’t give you longer, but my brothers are due soon and I need Marcus at Silverton. They’re unsettled. They need someone to take charge. Come on, Rye, let’s go.”
They let themselves out. Marcus reset the alarm after they were gone and turned back to Hanna. She hadn’t moved.
“This is a fucking stupid plan.” She flinched under his harsh tone. “I can’t believe Cooper is even contemplating it. There are so many holes, so many ways it could fail.”
“So many ways I could fail, you mean,” she quietly replied.
“Hanna, you’re not doing this. It’s dangerous.”
She leaned back against the striped sofa. “So give me an alternative.”
“We wait, find you somewhere else.”
“We have no time. There is nowhere else. It can’t be that dangerous.”
“I will not let you risk yourself like this,” he told her.
She opened her eyes. “Funny, I don’t see it as that much of a risk.”
“Are you crazy? It’s a huge risk, how can you not see that?”
“Because I know you’ll be there. And I know you would never let anything harm me.”
Damn straight. Except what fucking right did he have to protect her? Sure, as a submissive member of the pack, she’d be afforded his protection just as any other would be. He’d be running the goddamn circus. That would grant him even more privileges.
But it wasn’t enough. Not nearly enough.
He couldn’t watch her all the time.
Especially not when she was pretending to be the girlfriend of someone else.
He snarled.
Hanna turned, her breath coming quickly, eyes widening as she stared at him. No doubt he looked as feral as he felt.
“I forbid you from doing this.”
She sighed, rolling her eyes.
Yep, so spanked.
“You can’t forbid me from doing anything, Marcus.”
“I’m in charge of you.”
“For the moment,” she told him. “That doesn’t mean I have to follow everything you say.”
“When it comes to your safety, it does.”
Hanna stood and paced. “Why are you doing this? Why are you trying to make this harder on me?”
The tears in her voice pushed back his anger and her emotions filtered through the haze of jealous fear he’d built up.
Worry. Nervousness. Sadness.
“Come here, Hanna.”
She turned t
o look at him suspiciously. Marcus opened his arms and simply waited.
Slowly, she moved toward him. Marcus grabbed her around the waist when she got close, pulling her onto his lap.
“Marcus!” she protested. Immediately, she tried to rise, struggling to get free, but he held her tight. Pressing her head to his chest, he simply held her there until she tired herself out.
Damn, they had to work on her endurance.
“Everything’s going to be all right, you know,” he whispered.
“How do you know?” she replied breathlessly.
“Because I won’t let it be otherwise.” He put his own emotions aside. She needed his reassurance right now.
“What if I don’t like them? What if they don’t like me? What if… What if I can’t pretend? What if I fuck up? What if—”
“Hush.” He placed his finger over her lips. “All these what-ifs are crazy, honey and you’re going to make yourself sick with all this worry.”
“But what if I can’t do it? It took days to even speak to you and another week before I’d let you near me,” she cried pitifully. “And that’s doing well for me!”
He almost chuckled. But she was serious.
“Hanna, it will be okay. You’re stronger now than you were before. You don’t have to touch anyone you don’t want to.”
“But I have to pretend to be their girlfriend. I don’t even know how to be a girlfriend. I was a terrible mate. I could barely stand physical contact with Dan. How am I meant to put up with strangers touching me?”
Marcus ran his hand down her arm. “You don’t mind me touching me though, do you?” he asked.
She shivered and shifted slightly, brushing up against his hard cock. Marcus bit the inside of his cheek, holding in his groan. She must have sensed his discomfort.
“You okay? Am I too heavy?”
Marcus took a deep breath and tightened his hold when she tried to move again. “Stay still, honey. I’m fine. And in no universe could you ever be considered too heavy.”
She smiled at him, a weak attempt at best.
“You could pretend to be my girlfriend,” he blurted out.
She gaped at him. “What?”
“Think about it. We’ve been living together for nearly a month now. You’re used to me, it’s the perfect solution. We’ll say you’re mine.”
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