Cold, dark eyes bore into him, and Mark fought a shudder. “You’re a disgrace to your pack,” he hissed. “After everything I said yesterday, you still went to see him.”
Mark clenched his fist but refused to be cowed. “You said it might be the last time. Thought I’d make the most of it.” For a second he thought Wes was going to jump across the counter, but he stayed put, quietly seething.
A quick glance around showed that no one was really paying them attention, except maybe Carole, who was working extra hard not to look their way.
A slow smile spread across Wes’s face, which was somehow worse than the anger. “I told Steven about you and Knight.” Mark tensed, waiting for it, and tried not to grimace at the familiar way Wes said their alpha’s name. Unlike R-pack, they never called their alpha by his first name. “It seems he’s more lenient than I would be in the same position.”Wait, what?“After the council members have finished with you, you’re free to see Knight whenever you choose, as long as it’s not on pack property. But he’ll tell you all about that this morning. You’re seeing him first.”
An unpleasant feeling settled in the pit of Mark’s stomach. This was too easy. Wes should be far more pissed off that Mark wasn’t going to be punished, or reprimanded, at the very least. Shouldn’t he? “I have to work,” he hedged. “Can’t leave them in the lurch. The lunchtime rush is a bitch.”
Wes’s smile grew, and he glanced over his shoulder just as a member of his unit came into view. Mark sighed.Fuck.“As you can see, that won’t be a problem.”
The shifter coming into the shop wasn’t one of Mark’s friends, but he knew him well enough. They exchanged greetings, and although he had to have smelled Alec all over Mark, he didn’t acknowledge it in front of Wes.
Thank fuck I’m not in Wes’s unit.
With nothing else for it, Mark handed over his apron and turned to Wes. “Now?”
“Might as well, seeing as your replacement’s here.” Without waiting for Mark, Wes walked out of the shop.
After a hasty goodbye to Carole, Mark hurried after him, cursing under his breath.
They marched in silence to the pack-owned car park, where Wes had left his car, and Wes motioned for Mark to get in. The thought of being in an enclosed space together held no appeal whatsoever. Gritting his teeth, Mark opened the door and climbed inside.
He’d expected Wes to yell at him now they were in a semi-private space, but he didn’t say a word, just calmly indicated and pulled out into the busy London traffic.
The silence weighed so heavily on Mark, he’d have preferred the yelling. Wes oozed smugness, and for the life of him, Mark couldn’t fathom why. Unless he’d lied earlier? But what would be the point in that? Mark would find out for himself soon enough.
When the pack buildings finally came into view, Mark wanted to cheer with relief. That had to be the most uncomfortable car ride he’d experienced. As soon as Wes parked on the street in front, Mark unclasped his seatbelt. “I thought I’d try to find Will and Jason first. I need to check in with them. It won’t take me long.”
Shaking his head, Wes turned to face him. “No. Newell’s waiting. Besides, they’re both busy.”
Busy? Too busy to return a text message?Before Mark could protest further, Wes got out of the car and waited on the pavement for him to do the same.
As soon as he was done with Newell, Mark was going to do his damnedest to track down one, preferably both of them. This was ridiculous.
“Come on.” Wes gestured for Mark to go first.
Out of time, he opened the door and went in. This wasn’t Mark’s building, he only came here for pack meetings, but it had never seemed this foreboding before. He headed for the stairwell, Wes hot on his heels. When he paused on the third floor, where the pack meeting room was, Wes pointed up the stairs.
“Top floor. The council have taken over the meeting room.”
Fuck, they were going to Newell’s flat. Mark had never been inside it and was in no hurry to change that now.
When they left the stairwell, the corridor seemed endless, like a scene in one of the horror films Will watched. Newell’s door faced them from the end of it: dark wood and not at all inviting. Mark didn’t drag his feet exactly, but he didn’t hurry either.
They reached it, and Wes crowded up behind him, leaving him no escape.
Mark knocked.
A few seconds later the door opened, and Alpha Steven Newell greeted him with a smile that showed far too many teeth to be welcoming. He glanced over Mark’s shoulder at Wes, and his smile turned sly. For the first time since this whole thing started, Mark was truly frightened of his alpha. Reaching into his pocket, his hand closed around his phone, and he seriously thought about trying to text Alec.
Wes’s hand grasped his biceps, grip bordering on painful, and propelled him forward into the flat.
“Come on through,” Newell spoke, as though they were enjoying a friendly visit and Mark wasn’t being forcefully herded into Newell’s office by Wes.
Once all three were in the room, Wes closed the door and locked it.
Shit.
