Elena’s POV
"You think this plan is absurd?" Marcus’s voice carried that familiar edge of authority.
"I think you’re about to sign everyone’s death warrant," I replied, not backing down from his intense stare. "An empty town screams conspiracy. But people going about their daily routines? That looks normal. Just make damn sure nobody shifts where prying eyes can see. Save it for the forest cover."
His jaw tightened. "Nobody asked for your strategic input."
"Marcus." I stepped closer, my voice dropping to a deadly calm. "You can destroy this entire pack for all I care. There’s exactly one person here who matters to . Everyone else? They an nothing."
The words hit their mark. Marcus’s eyes flashed with sothing between rage and hurt as he moved toward with predatory grace. Damien’s warning growl rumbled through the room, but I pressed my hand against his arm, silently telling him to stand down. Marcus might be many things, but he wouldn’t physically harm . Not with Damien watching.
Marcus’s fingers moved with deliberate slowness, brushing my hair back from both sides of my neck. His touch was gentle, almost reverent, until his eyes found what he was looking for. The mating mark. Then his gaze shifted to Damien’s neck, finding the matching symbol there.
"So, you two are mates," Marcus said, his voice hollow with realization.
"We’re second chance mates," Damien stepped forward, his presence commanding. "We were drawn to each other from that first night. Even while she was still bound to you. The sa night you struck her for simply speaking with ."
"She belonged to ," Marcus’s defense sounded weak even to his own ears. "You were moving in on my territory."
"We had a conversation," Damien’s tone turned dangerous. "Nothing more."
I could feel the testosterone building between them like a brewing storm. "Damien," I interrupted before things escalated. "You need to contact Ryder imdiately. This army threat isn’t so distant possibility anymore. Your pack needs to understand the danger they’re facing. No shifting unless absolutely necessary."
Damien’s expression softened when he looked at . "Can I leave you alone with him for a while?"
"I’ll manage just fine," I assured him.
He pressed a lingering kiss to my lips, a clear ssage to Marcus about where my loyalties lay, then left to make the crucial call.
I settled onto the couch, my gaze drifting to the window where moonlight filtered through the trees beyond the packhouse grounds. Every instinct scread at to run, to lose myself in the freedom of the forest. But duty anchored here. My mother lay unconscious sowhere in this building, and I had no idea when she might wake.
The sun had disappeared earlier, yet construction workers still moved around the property like busy ants. I watched them with growing irritation. In any reasonable workplace, these people would have gone ho to their families by now. But apparently this was standard operating procedure under Marcus’s leadership.
Just like his father. All power, no consideration for the people serving under him.
Marcus remained in the room, his stare boring into with an intensity that would have intimidated in the past. Now I simply ignored him, letting my thoughts wander to the ss his life had beco. His wife’s infidelity was pack knowledge at this point, leaving him isolated in his own ho.
Part of felt a flicker of sympathy. There had been monts, brief glimpses of the man he could have been, when kindness would shine through his arrogant exterior. But those monts were always followed by cruelty that erased any progress we might have made.
I refused to waste energy on regret. Every choice I’d made, every painful step away from this place, had led to my daughter. That precious little girl made every sacrifice worthwhile. My new life, built from nothing but determination and hope, surpassed anything I could have achieved by staying here.
Marcus could claim to care about all he wanted. The truth was simpler and sadder than he’d ever admit. He had never learned how to love anyone, including himself. That wasn’t sothing I could fix, and it certainly wasn’t my responsibility anymore.
The workers outside continued their endless tasks, oblivious to the tension crackling inside these walls. I settled deeper into the couch, preparing myself for whatever confrontation would co next, knowing that my happiness lay far beyond these packhouse walls.
Reviews
All reviews (0)