At half past five the following morning, Alec’s phone buzzed wildly on the bedside table. He snatched it up and answered with a curt, “Yes?”
“Jason’s awake.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Bleary-eyed, Mark leant against the headboard and glanced at the text on his phone. “Fuck.” They’d finally fallen asleep on Will’s bed in the early hours after finishing the bottle of vodka. He wasn’t hungover, thanks to his shifter genes, but he was knackered.
Will stirred beside him. “What is it?”
“Text from Wes.”
Sitting up next to him, Will peered over his shoulder to read.
Council meeting at 1pm. Be ready to leave at 8.30.
Will’s phone chimed a second later. They both looked over at it to see Wes’s name flash up with the exact same message.
“Why do I have to go this time?”
Mark shrugged. “You spoke to the council, maybe everyone who did is going.”
“Or maybe they want to keep an eye on us to make sure we don’t tell anyone.”
“Maybe.” That was more like it. Mark let his head fall back against the wall. “Nothing’s going to happen to Newell, is it?”
Will shuffled closer until they were touching, his warmth a welcome comfort. “No. I don’t think so.”
“And it’ll be our fault. Our lies will keep him in his position as alpha to do fuck knows what else to this pack.”
“We had no choice, Mark. You know that.”
He did know that, but that didn’t change anything or make him feel better. “No one else’ll know, though. They’ll think we’re as bad as Newell and Wes.”
Will was quiet for a moment, and then asked, “You mean Alec?”
“Among others.” What would the rest of their unit think? Their pack? Well, the ones that weren’t working with Wes. But Alec…. He’d sent two more texts and phoned twice. Mark had ignored them all. He couldn’t tell him the truth, but he refused to lie. “He’s going to hate me.” Will’s fingers curled around his. “We could have bonded, even though he liked to deny he’d ever want something like that, but Ifeltit, Will. The connection was there, waiting for us to accept it and… and now I’ve fucking thrown all that away. Alec will think I’m a liar, and whatever trust was building between us is gone.” A sob tore at his throat, and he closed his eyes, struggling to swallow it down. “Fucking Newell, fucking Wes. If they didn’t have Harry, I’d—”
“I know.” Will shushed him and pulled him into a hug. He didn’t offer any words of comfort. They both knew there weren’t any. “The council might not find him guilty this time, but he’s not going to stop. Sooner or later he’ll make a mistake that he can’t cover up.”
Mark shuddered. “But at what cost?”
Silence settled between them, the thought of the upcoming meeting sitting like lead in Mark’s belly. A glance at his phone showed him they had an hour before they needed to be downstairs. It was the last thing he wanted to do, but he gently disentangled himself from Will’s arm. “Come on. We need to get ready. I’m going to go back to my flat, but I’ll come get you. We can go down together?”
Will’s laugh was bitter. “Safety in numbers?”
“Something like that.”
“See you in a bit.” He saw Mark to the door, a heaviness to his shoulders. Mark felt much the same; liketheywere waiting for sentencing, not Newell.
At eight fifteen, he was back at Will’s door. It opened before he could knock, and Will greeted him with a grim smile. “Ready?”
Mark shook his head. “Nope.”
“Me neither.” He stepped out and locked up, slipping his keys into his jeans pocket. “Let’s get this over with. With any luck, Newell will do something to piss off the council and they’ll be forced to kill him this afternoon. And Wes too, for interfering.”
Nudging him in the side, Mark said. “I admire your optimism.”
“I need something to hope for. This day is going to be so shit.”
