“I texted you that I was okay.” What good would come from telling Marcus the whole truth prematurely? I had more questions than I had answers… not to mention an intoxicated alpha werewolf in my living room as a bonus. “I was with James,” I added, using basic hunter techniques to keep my heartbeat steady. “We went dark to avoid distractions.”
Marcus’s eyes softened. He allowed himself to sink into the couch. “We’re in the middle of a war, Joanna. That’s no longer an option for either of you.”
Marcus took his time as he explained what Maya learned from an alpha named Garreth. Most of it checked out with the information me and James had received from the Bureau.
I pulled my robe tighter across my body after a chill ran up my spine. “…Do you think rogues have something to do with the attack on Club Luna?” I asked.
Marcus pressed both palms into his eyes before dragging his hands down his pale face. “I wouldn’t put it past them. The only werewolves still attending the club were the ones who refused the uprising, or the ones ignorant of the whole thing. So, it could’ve been a warning.”
My frown deepened. “That you’re either with them or against them.”
“…Or human, and therefore insignificant.”
I sighed. Everything Marcus said was plausible. And yet, I wasn’t sure if I believed it… or if I simplywantedto believe it. Killing humans to prove a point sounded right up the Bureau’s alley too.
Marcus suddenly sprang to his feet.
“Are you—”
He dashed for the bathroom, halting my question. I heard the toilet bowl lid hit the tank before Marcus emptied the contents of his stomach.
“But he’s not drunk,” I mumbled with a smug grin on my face as I followed him, stopping by the fridge for a bottle of water.
Second only to my bed, the bathroom was my favorite part of the loft. Like the floor, the walls and the sink were made of smooth concrete. The copper sink faucet matched the exposed piping that ran along the walls and ceiling. The walk-in shower had both a handheld sprayer for a downpour to scrub away blood and death—and dual rain showerheads for when I needed to be caressed. And finally, my clawfoot tub, to drown my fucking tears before they drowned me first.
It was a strange sight, seeing the powerful alpha werewolf on his knees, hunched over my toilet. He was gripping the sides of the bowl so tight I feared it would shatter in his hands.
I sat beside him and handed him the bottle of water.
Marcus threw up once more before he spat into the bowl. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, his head still hanging over the toilet seat in defeat. “It seems I interrupted something,” he uttered under his breath, causing me to glance at the tub.
He fumbled for the flush lever and sent the proof of his vulnerability down the drain. The nail of his index finger shifted into a sharp claw. With a flick, the top half of the bottle cap flew off, landing mere inches from where my hand rested on the floor.
Marcus raised his head, drinking the entire bottle of water in a single breath. Once he removed the empty bottle from his lips, he took a couple deep breaths before hesitantly resting a hand on my knee. “How long were you going to pretend you didn’t know?” he finally asked.
“That you were stalking me?” I demanded, swatting the bottle top away. “I was wondering if you’d have the balls to bring it up.”
Marcus rolled his eyes. “I was making sure you were safe,” he grumbled. “And I won’t apologize for that.”
I opened my mouth to protest, but his thumb grazed the bit of skin that peeked through the opening of my robe, and like an idiot, I lost all my words. The warmth of his touch slid to the pit of my stomach, pooling in my core.
“Iamsorry for not being sorry… and for knowing that if given the chance, I’d do it again.” Those amber eyes focused on my parted lips. “I can’t help it.” His rough voice rang with a determination that was sure as death. “We’re bound to each other, Joanna.”
???
I traced the fading scar bisecting my palm with my finger. Even with the help of Marcus’s healer, the cut still itched for days. It was as if my hunter’s mark knew werewolf blood fed the other half of the pact… and wanted to punish me for it.
I lowered my hand beneath the bubbles in my bath, hiding the stain of self-betrayal. I’d convinced myself that making the blood pact with the Alpha was the right thing to do—I needed Marcus’s pack to trust me. And unless they considered me an ally, they would’ve never agreed to help me save innocenthumanlives.
Hell, to be honest, it took me getting mauled trying to save one oftheirlives during the ceremony for some of Marcus’s shifters to even forgo their fears of my having ulterior motives.
But now, Marcus and I were bound to each other with a promise to,“Stand together. Fight together. Fall together.”That apparently meant he would invade my privacy under the guise of protecting me, and I would make deals with sketchy government agencies that promised to keep him safe.
I closed my eyes, inhaling the calming fragrance from the lavender candles in the recessed wall niche.
Breathe, Joanna, I begged.
I could challenge creatures thrice my size, have them threaten to do depraved things to me while both alive and dead, slit their throats, watch the life fade from their eyes, and befine.
