Page 4 of Only You, No One Else

“I can go get him. He said to… as soon as you woke up.”

Mark shook his head. “No. He wouldn’t understand. Not this. I need Dean first.”

“If Caster brought your wolf back, he might be the only one who can fight Zeke’s influence.” Mikey narrowed his eyes. “You’re afraid you’ll break his heart?”

That, and Mark was unsure how the vampires would handle another Alpha wolf with the same capabilities as the Prime Alpha. If he was right and Zeke had somehow gained the ability to control other wolves, the consequences could be disastrous for all of them. “You can’t tell anyone.”

Mikey’s brow furrowed further. “OK. But I don’t get it. Don’t you trust him?”

Mark held his eyes shut. His love for Caster was indescribable; even Zeke’s reappearance had done nothing to diminish that. But he couldn’t risk the safety of an entire species because he wanted to be with him. This was bigger than the two of them.

He would tell Caster everything, but he needed more information. Where was Edie? Perhaps magic could help him understand where logic had failed.

CHAPTER 3

Summons from his father, from the King, interrupted his latest sparring session with Damien, and Caster had retreated to his assigned room to clean up before appearing before his King. Marcus insisted they travel to his father’s house in England. It was a short trip, made even shorter by Riley’s teleportation spell, but Caster remained hesitant.

Blood, a consequence of an overzealous Damien, tinged the water collecting at his feet, but he didn’t register the effect of the shower. He needed to see Mark, but Marcus was not a patient man, and his father even less so. Was he still using his duty as an excuse?

He braced his hands against the wall, allowing the now warm water to trickle down his back, and he narrowed his senses, trying to find the unique beat of Mark’s heart. He’d memorized its signature in the short time they’d been together, and he doubted he would ever get away from it even if Mark chose Zeke.

The throb in his heart every time he thought of that particular wolf’s unexpected return interrupted his attempt to find Mark. He dropped his head, held his eyes shut, and fought past the loud throb of his own heart to zero in on Mark. A second, perhaps two, passed before he was able to filter through the myriad of noises and sensations in Damien’s house to find the signature beat.

He gasped. It was steady, strong, awake. He pushed away from the wall, all sense of duty lost as his senses grabbed hold of the steady rhythm, unwilling to let it slip past his senses or be infected by anything else. He was out of the bathroom, moving in the direction of that strong, steady beat before he could talk himself out of it, before he could come up with another excuse.

Mark was awake and moving. There was no other explanation for the strong rhythm of his heart. Was he coming here, to him?

Caster dried his body in quick movements as his mind worked through the sequence of events he’d been imagining every time he tried and failed to go to him. He stopped with his shirt halfway through his biceps, clinging to his still-damp skin. What could he say? Should he apologize for staying away for too long?

He was too busy trying to find the right words to explain his distance that he failed to notice the footsteps approaching his room until the door swung open.

He glared at Kyle, who was supposed to keep everyone out, but his bodyguard shrugged.

His mother walked in, looking every bit the regal queen she was. She tilted her head to the side, and he bristled, readying his mind for an admonishment that didn’t come.

Instead, she pointed at the shirt he was now trying his best to button, his connection to Mark’s heartbeat lost. “Your father will not wait.” She narrowed her eyes. “Honey, are you OK?”

He closed his eyes, nodding even though he wasn’t sure he would ever be, not with Zeke in the picture again. He’d hoped their “everything” day and the glorious way Mark had opened up to him had pushed the Alpha’s influence to the past, but now he didn’t know what he hoped for. It was a rare thing for him, not knowing what to do.

“He loves you.” His mother’s soft voice broke through his self-pity, and hope blossomed where pain persisted.

Caster nodded again, unable to find the words to communicate the confused position he found himself in. He took a breath and smoothed the sides of his shirt. “I thought you left with Edie and Adella.”

His mother smiled, and he thanked her for accepting the change of topic with all the grace of a loving mother. “Mark needed Edie for something…”

A gasp tore from his lips at his name, unsure he could hide his reaction if he tried. “He’s awake?” He didn’t wait for a response, already striding towards the door, his desire to confirm it almost unbearable.

His mother was faster; the admonishment she’d restrained earlier now apparent in her beautiful features as she blocked his path. “Yes, but you and I have to go to your father. Riley and Damien are waiting.”

He frowned, shaking his head.

She stood firm. “Listen to me.” She waited for him to draw his attention away from the door, away from Mark, to her face. “He needs time. Edie is helping him come to terms with some things.” She reached for his hand, and he released the breath he’d been holding on to for dear life. “He’ll come to you.”

Her confidence, her comfort, did nothing to ease the pain of a heart shattered by the news. Mark didn’t want to see him? Had he already chosen? He closed his eyes, gripping his mother’s hand tighter as he took a fortifying breath. Was it possible to survive a soulmate’s rejection?

“No. No, honey, don’t think that.”

His eyes popped open. He hadn’t lost control of the mental barrier protecting his thoughts since… He shook his head, unwilling to go back to the darkness that had almost consumed him, back to a time when he’d been sure he would never see Mark again.