I turned to Marcus “Both are upstairs in my office.I had one of my PR people come up with responses.I know you wouldn’t normally get a PR person involved in this, but she’s very good at managing these kinds of situations, and she has experience in helping clients who had to deal with stalkers.She and I both agree that downplaying it will serve you best.”
Marcus straightened in his chair.“You want me to downplay what that jerk did?He took a video of us—of me—and I had no fucking idea, and then he sends it to people I’ve done work for, to friends…to everyone!What’s there to downplay?”
Dom shuffled his chair over to Marcus and put his arm around his shoulders in a show of support.
“I take what he did absolutely seriously, believe me.Like I said, whatever we can do to drive home to your ex just how seriously we take this, we will do.When I say downplay, I’m referring to how best to present yourself and your side of this to the recipients of Steven’s email.Does that make sense?”
I didn’t love the idea, but it would be best for Marcus in the long run.The truth was, I thought the video was very serious, possibly more so than Marcus himself did.Primarily, I was concerned with the lengths Steven seemed to be willing to go through just to get Marcus back or get back at him.
In my opinion, Steven’s email had been designed to push Marcus away from his friends and increase pressure on him to come back to Steven, tail between his legs.That kind of manipulation was a dark pattern and didn’t lead to good places.
Marcus was pissed, very understandably.He clenched his jaw and looked at his lap.“Yeah.I guess.”His moonstone eyes found mine.“I didn’t mean to snap at you, Lincoln.Sorry.Also, you don’t have to get involved in this beyond this point.You’ve already done plenty.”
“Call me Linc.And don’t worry about it.As Dom said yesterday, this is the kind of thing I enjoy doing, and I won’t leave my mate to deal with it by himself.”
“I’m still up for nibbling on your ex for you.Just say the word.”Dom winked, showing his teeth.
Marcus looked from one of us to the other, and Dom pulled back reluctantly to give our human some space.
Marcus ran a hand through his hair, flinching when he came too close to the stitches.“Look, this mate thing… I’m not sure what to do with it.”He crossed his arms in front of his chest and hunched in his chair.“I don’t think I can be what you want me to be.I don’t want to be your chew toy.I just came out here for a vacation, because fucking Steven never wanted to go on one.I’m not looking to jump straight into a new relationship right now.It’s what all the advice says, you know?That you should be single for a while after a breakup.”
Hearing that hurt.It was difficult not to take Marcus’s words personally.Dom whined quietly, and Marcus gave him a look somewhere between hurt and regret before hesitantly patting his arm.
“How long is your vacation?”I asked.
“Booked the B&B for three weeks.”
I nodded.“How about this: You spend the rest of those three weeks here instead.Get to know us.Enjoy the scenery.Heck, let Dom take you on a hike, because if you know where you’re going, it’s actually really pretty out there.”I tried to remain calm and composed, but it wasn’t easy.The thought of losing our mate, of him leaving…it made me want to curl up into a ball and cry.“No one will bite you without your consent.Marcus, here with us, no one wants you to be anyone but who you are.”
I let that sink in and hoped our mate would approve.Honestly, I had no idea what I’d do—what any of us would do—if he didn’t.All of our instincts told us to show our mate that we were willing and able to take care of him, and it seemed as if we were failing, as if he wanted to reject us.Stepping back and seeing the situation through the human lens made understanding it easier, but it did nothing to change the fact that it hurt.
Dom was as tense as me, and Marcus was clearly skeptical.“Could’ve sworn there was some getting to know you happening last night,” he mumbled.
I nodded.“There was.”
Our mate had enjoyed himself in our arms, and the memory soothed me.If I looked cocky, I wasn’t sorry for it.
Dom had the good sense not to say anything, but I could practically feel how much he wanted to.
After what felt like half a lifetime, Marcus said, “Fine, but you’re not washing my hair again.That’s just too much.”
Dom being Dom, he leaned forward and brushed a kiss over Marcus’s cheek.“Thank you.”He used his vulnerable, earnest voice.
Gods, I loved Dom.If Marcus rejected us, it would crush him.I swore to myself then and there that I’d move heaven and earth not to let that happen.I looked at Marcus.What really needed moving was that cute human’s heart.
13
Having Marcus around and in a more ambulatory state was the best of things, and it was also the fucking worst of things.He was incredibly distracting.
When Linc took Marcus up to his office after breakfast to help our mate with that fucking email from the asshole ex, I went out to finish the deck, but I still listened for any movement from inside in case Marcus needed a hug or a cup of tea or, hell, if he wanted another blowjob, I was so there for that.
The waiting was anxiety inducing, and a half hour in, I was jumpy and ready to slip out of my human skin and into wolf, but I wasn’t willing to leave our mate.Plus, the deck had to get done.I didn’t want Marcus to go outside and fall because half of it was missing.
Lucky for me, just after I got all the boards neatly in place, Marcus walked down the stairs.I decided it was time for a break, so I put my hammer down and went inside.I could paint everything later.
Marcus gave me the briefest of glances.He looked sort of tired.That bright-eyed spark he’d had when he’d seen the den I’d built was gone.Made me want to bite someone.
I wanted to walk right up to him and wrap him in my arms, kiss it all better, but we’d talked about this last night when Marcus had been asleep.Fuck, even Vi had decided to give me the glorious nugget of advice not to push our boy too hard.She was Ell’s family, but fucking Vi.The fact that she was right was the fucking worst.
