Rolling onto his back, Mark stared up at the ceiling as Alec got out of bed. He traced his fingers through the mess on his stomach.
“After we’ve both showered, I’ll give you a lift back into town to get a taxi.”
Of course. As things stood between their two packs, neither one was welcome in the other’s territory, not close to the main pack buildings anyway. Especially not without prior permission. “Thank you.”
Alec nodded, then headed to the bathroom and closed the door.
Mark shut his eyes and tried not to let panic set in.
What the fuck have I done?
Alec pulled into the R-pack car park that he’d parked in earlier. The last vestiges of darkness clung to the sky, sunrise still over an hour away, but Mark glanced around warily. “Is this wise?”
“No-one’ll be in for another twenty minutes, at the earliest.” He turned in his seat to face Mark. “Not that it really matters. We weren’t exactly discreet when we left the club, and unless you plan on avoiding everyone today, someone from your pack will recognise my scent. Or at least that of my pack.”
Avoiding everyone sounded like an excellent plan. Mark wasn’t due in to work until tomorrow. Maybe he could hole up in his flat until then. Alec cleared his throat, and Mark’s face heated. Right, he needed to get out of the car. “Thanks for the lift.” He reached for the door handle, but Alec’s hand on his arm stopped him.
“Be careful.”
Mark should’ve protested that he had nothing to worry about, but the words wouldn’t come. Newell said Alpha Harley had lied, but…. “I will.” He opened the car door and got out without looking back. Only when he heard Alec drive away did he glance over his shoulder to see him disappear around the corner.
The taxi ride home didn’t last nearly as long as Mark wanted it to. Even after a thorough scrub in Alec’s shower, he could still smell him everywhere. And sex. What he needed was another day and a few more showers.
His building was in darkness when he arrived. No patrol kept guard like in the R-pack buildings. The buildings were secure enough as it was, according to Newell, and he didn’t believe in wasting resources on it. Usually Mark vehemently disagreed with this notion, even if only to Will, but not today. Today he was grateful that no one waited to meet him at the door.
Or anywhere else in the building.
He made it all the way to his flat without encountering a soul, the building remaining quiet apart from his footsteps. With most of his unit on nightclub duty, they’d all be asleep for a few more hours yet. Quietly letting himself into his flat and closing the door, Mark finally breathed a sigh of relief.
And abruptly groaned.
Why had he thought it a good idea to give him a bloody spare key?
Soft snores sounded from the living room, and Mark walked through to find Will, still fully-clothed, curled up asleep on his sofa with his phone loosely clutched in his fingers. When Mark plucked it out of them, it came to life, showing his texts. How many times had Mark told him to lock the bloody thing?
His name stood out on Will’s screen, and Mark cursed as he realised the last three messages had been to him. He pulled his own phone out of his pocket, only to be greeted with a black screen. Arse.When did that run out of charge?
After plugging it in, he picked up Will’s feet and sat down on the end of the sofa, settling them back in his lap. As expected, Will stirred with the movement and yawned, blinking a couple of times before focusing on Mark.
“Good. You’re not dead, then.”
Mark scoffed. “Obviously. Why would you even say that?”
Will sat up and scowled at him. “Oh, I don’t know… maybe because you left with a beta from another pack who has a reputation for being a cold-hearted arsehole. A pack, that rumour has it, brought in thefucking alpha councilto investigate us.” His voice dropped to a whisper on the last few words.
“Where did you hear that?
“If you’d charge your fucking phone, you’d see the message. Alpha Newell sent out a unit-wide text late last night.” He reached for his phone and scrolled through to find it. “‘Please be advised, over the next week, we will be visited by members of the alpha council. Please answer their questions honestly and courteously.’”
“Oh.” Mark was surprised the message had gone out already. He’d thought it’d be awhile before the council paid them a visit. “That doesn’t sound like a guy who’s got something to hide, does it?” Shit. He glanced quickly at Will.
Will said, “Has he got something to hide?”
Alpha Harley’s accusations rang in his mind, and Mark answered as honestly as he could. “I don’t know. I hope not.”
Seeming to accept that as the truth rather than a brush off, Will nodded, then leaned his head back on the sofa. He turned to face Mark and took a deep breath in. “Judging from the smell of you, a good time was had by all, I take it.”
“Yep.” The smile was immediate. Mark didn’t even try to stop it.
