Page 64 of Only You, No One Else

“The others won’t wait.”

Mark opened his eyes and then nodded, but neither moved. Instead, his hands rubbed at Caster’s forearms in an action that only intensified their arousal. “I fought him.” He raised his head, his brown eyes shining with the same realization Caster had arrived at. “I fought him for you.”

Caster had never been so proud as he was in that moment. Mark had seen through the evil intent Zeke did not try too hard to hide. It was clear the Alpha had never known Mark if he thought for a second he would betray his older brother. “I am going to kill him.” It was a foregone conclusion, but he needed Mark to understand it.

Mark shook his head. “Not you. Dean.”

Caster frowned. “Why?”

Mark placed a single kiss on his lips and stepped away from the embrace, moving further into the room. “It’s the reason I didn’t kill him. It needs to be Dean or…”

When Caster caught up with him, he was already in a fresh pair of underwear, battling to get a t-shirt over his head. “The revolt?”

Mark won the fight with the piece of clothing, his movements impatient as he dressed with renewed urgency. “It’s the only way for Dean to re-assert his authority.” He shook his head. “He thinks I don’t know, but that revolt is bigger than he wants to share.”

“I will admit, I don’t understand wolf politics, but your brother says he has it handled.”

Mark nodded. “Sure. No one betrays Dean and lives to tell about it. But…” He paused to button a pair of jeans he seemed uncomfortable in, and sighed at his bare feet like he was only now realizing he would need shoes as well. “…if his authority is to remain unchallenged, he needs to kill Zeke in full view of the whole pack.”

“You’re saying we need to capture him alive.”

Mark found shoes and shoved his feet into the new pair before meeting Caster’s gaze. “Yeah! Bastian knows where he is.”

“Marcus says he’s not talking. He seems to think he has the upper hand somehow.” Mark walked towards him, his momentum leading him out of the room, back into the fight, but Caster caught his arm. “Bastian is not going anywhere. First, let’s go see if there is a way to keep Zeke from accessing your wolf again.”

Mark nodded, but there was a bit of doubt apparent in a skip of his heartbeat.

Caster pulled him closer. “Hey!” He waited for his frantic energy to calm, and grant him his full attention. “We’re so close to our forever. I won’t let anything get in the way of that.”

Mark smiled. “I am so glad I chose to see that terrifying memory.”

“Why?”

“It was the undeniable proof that he never loved me or cared for me.” He reached for Caster’s hand, threading their fingers together. “And that even then, unsure as I was of what it all meant, I loved you enough to fight my way back to you.”

CHAPTER 41

Mark was engulfed in the Queen’s embrace as soon as he stepped into the kitchen where everyone had congregated. Their hushed tones, whose reverence could not be contained by distance, reached his ears even through the ever-present silence of the large house. Her scent overpowered both sides of him, and he held on a fraction longer than he should. It was in these moments that he longed for the comfort of a mother.

She gasped and drew away from the embrace to look at him, but her shock paled in comparison to his mortification when he caught Cy’s smile over her shoulder. He’d only known Caster’s brother a few days, but he was sure the mockery when it came would be epic, to say the least. He didn’t dare look at Caster as he once again took a moment to put up that mental barrier one meticulous brick at a time.

He glanced at Amelia to find a warm smile, but even she couldn’t hide the concern everyone directed his way.

He cleared his throat and nodded at Amara, whose power was fully unleashed. His wolf was close enough to the surface that he could sense the enormous power the small witch contained.

“I went into the Underworld when he released me?” The others didn’t seem confused by words that barely made sense even to him. It seemed in the few minutes he’d needed Caster’s comfort, the witches had brought them all up to speed with what they were dealing with.

She nodded. “That hum was the sound that calls all souls to the Underworld. You have to hear it to be drawn there and become one with it.”

“The difference for you is you don’t need that sound’s guidance,” Edie said. “Your mind, your wolf’s life force is connected to that place.”

“But he was only there for a fraction of a moment. Could she really have followed him?” Caster asked.

“It was not a fraction of a second,” Riley said, the shocked awe Mark had seen on his face when they’d returned from that memory now replaced with his usual calm. “You were there for those three days you remained unconscious. Time doesn’t work the same down there.”

“Yeah!” Cy said. “You guys were gone so long just now, we almost came looking.”

“And yet, it felt like a few minutes,” Amara said. “She must have followed your life force.” She sighed, her expression exasperated as if she had dealt with this problem before. “I think when you fought off Zeke, he returned to her somehow and your desire to get away caused a slight tear in the Veil, sending you to the Underworld. She must have followed that same tear.”