Chapter Five - Marcus

My wolf barreled through the woods, following the path I laid out for him in my mind. We were over thirty miles from the pack house, but neither of us minded the ride. Lilly clung to my fur, her fingers gripped tightly out of fear and excitement, and her thighs wrapped tightly against my sides. 

Everything about the night before replayed in my head like a slideshow I couldn't stop repeating. From her asking me to lay with her, and the nervous way her heartrate picked up the moment I touched her. She responded to everything I did. 

Her nerves were all over the place, and I knew half of it stemmed from Jason, and being brought to the lycan kingdom at such a susceptible age. A deep part of me envied Jason for seeing her grow up. The other part—the dominant part—wanted him dead. 

My wolf had plenty to say about the interaction, and finally finding our mate. He hadn't stopped talking about it actually. It'd become annoying at one point, and I tuned him out. I needed my right mind while spending the night in the shed. I needed to be alert, and not have my wolf overwhelming my thoughts with irrational scenarios. 

The things he wanted to do with our mate made me blush. 

But he didn't understand the human part of me, nor did he understand Lilly's need to take it slow. Jason tried to ruin her for anyone else, and he'd pay for it before everything was said and done. 

The pack territory neared, and the sense of urgency from the remaining wolves made me nervous. Luther and the pack hadn't made it back from the lycan kingdom. Mother was frantic, and it seemed the other shewolves were as well. 

Lilly's fingertips tightened, and I realized we passed through the trail where she was taken all those years ago. She hadn't forgotten it. Not that I thought she would. Who would ever forget that? 

The tree line thinned and I raced into the backyard where the silence gave me a chilled shot of fear. I stopped near the back steps, letting Lilly  down, I shifted and grabbed clothing hidden away underneath the porch. 

She gave me privacy, but I felt her curiosity. I wanted to tell her she could look all she wanted. We were made for each other, but I didn't. Lord knows I wanted to see every inch of her. Adore it. Adore her the way she deserved. 

It was obvious Jason touched her unwillingly, and if that made us take it slow, I didn't care. The back door opened as I slid into my shirt and mother gasped. "Dear Lord," she said, taking the steps two at a time. "My baby. You made it back safe!" She tossed her arms around me, bringing me down for a hug, and patting my cheek. 

She smiled at me before turning to face Lilly. Lilly's hair was windblown, her cheeks red from the ride over, but she looked like the most beautiful girl in the world to me. 

"Lilly," she said softly, reaching out to bring her in for a hug. "You're so beautiful. I'm glad you're here."

Lilly accepted her hug, her beautiful eyes met mine over my mother's shoulder, and a blush scattered over her cheeks. "Are you hungry?" she asked. "I bet you're hungry—,"

"Mom," I said, drawing her attention toward me. "We are hungry, but I need to know if anyone has heard from Luther? What happened?"

She swallowed, her eyes shifted downward, and then toward the back door. "Come inside. I'll reheat some leftovers and tell you. I'm scared for them, Marcus. It's been a long time, and no one has reached out to us over mind-link. I even texted Blaire—,"

"Blaire?" I shouted. "Why in the … why is she with them?" I asked. 

Mom guided Lilly up the stairs of the back porch, and toward the door. "Come on inside. There is a lot to talk about."

I sat down next to Lilly on one of the barstools, listening to the steady beat of her heart, and the way it skipped when I shoved my shoulder into hers playfully. This wasn't like me. Chaos formed around us, and I felt giddy and light compared to my usual self. 

That tightly formed guard around my heart was shattered into many of pieces. Though Lilly still seemed out of reach, sitting behind a clear glass window, she was here with me. Mom plopped down two plates of food in front of us. My stomach growled, tossing my manners into the backseat, I nearly slurped an entire rib into my mouth. 

When I glanced over, Lilly stared up at me with wide playful eyes. A soft giggle escaped her mouth, and I smiled down at her. "You better eat," Mom said, climbing up to sit on barstool opposite of us. "Marcus will have your plate eaten in two point five seconds."

She chuckled, and picked up a piece of BBQ chicken from her plate. She needed to put some weight on. She was skinner than I remembered her being when we were younger. She had soft curves, and I loved them, but she was too skinny. 

Obviously from not being fed all the time. I'd ask her about it, but not now. 

I glanced over at Mom, who waggled her brows at me, her folded hands rested below her chin. "Mom," I said, rolling my eyes. "Luther? Blaire. What happened?"

She tucked her blonde hair behind her ears. "They left last night when Axel came back. I'm sure you know they released him. He came back and said he wanted Caterina back, in an exchange for Marcus." Mom's gaze shifted toward Lilly who ate slowly, avoiding eye contact. "I'm assuming this was before they realized Lilly was gone."

I slid my tongue over my teeth, and took another bite of my food. "No one has spoken to them since before they left?"

She shook her head. "No, after the vampires came by—,"

"What?" I barked, startling Lilly, who dropped her fork to the floor. 

"I'm sorry," she said, scurrying down to pick it up. I reached over to stop her, and she yelped at my touch, maneuvering away from me to the cabinet, putting several feet between us. I kept my gaze on Lilly, seeing my mother cover her mouth with her palm in my peripheral vision. 

"I'm sorry," I said softly, reaching down to swipe her fork, I rinsed it off in the sink, fully aware at the way she stared at me. I handed the fork over, and smiled. She took it, and held it with both hands, her fingers clutching the handle in a death grip. Not caring that my mother could hear, I whispered, "I won't hit you."

Lilly studied my eyes and nodded; embarrassment climbed her face, and settled on her cheeks. I sat back down on my stool, and patted the one next to me. Lilly stepped over, and climbed back up to her seat. "So, Zane Cavil showed up?" I asked, continuing our conversation as if nothing happened. 

Mom recovered quickly, even though I saw the pain on her face. "Yup. You know Blaire had … words with him, and he showed up. Though he didn't realize the lycans were here, so he wasn't prepared. He left, not without a threat. Shortly after that they left to go save you," she scoffed. "I'm assuming you didn't intersect with them since you're here."

"He took Blaire because he was afraid the vampire would come back?" I asked, finishing my plate. 

"Yes, and I'm worried they will find her. They had her positioned somewhere away from the kingdom with a few wolves. Just to keep her close enough in case the vampire decided to come back."

"Where is Caterina?" Lilly asked softly.

"She went with them. Luther didn't want any of the lycans to be led here with her scent. They wanted it near to keep the lycans near." 

Lilly nodded and took one last bite of her plate. I noticed she didn't eat much, but her stomach had probably shrunk from malnourishment over the years. "Did Dad go?"

Mom put her palms down on the table and nodded. "He did. Everyone but a handful of older shewolves." "Maybe I need to go—,"

Mom quickly gave me a shake of her head. "Not yet. You get Lilly settled in your old room upstairs before you think about leaving. We'll talk about it in an hour or so."

Don't leave mate, my wolf begged. 

Getting off the stool, I offered her my hand, helping her down and leading her up the stairs. Her heartrate picked back up, no matter the ease I tried to give her. My room was located across the hallway from Luther's old bedroom. It was bare of posters or decorations. I'd never been into that sort of stuff. 

My TV was mounted on the wall, above a chest-of-drawers and on the opposite wall from my four-post bed with a downy comforter. Lilly stopped in the doorway, looking around as I kicked off my shoes and ruffled my hair. "You coming inside?" I asked. 

She walked inside, and stepped out of the slippers from the shed, and I watched the fuzzy rug slid between her toes, which I noticed were bruised and blistered. "Take a seat," I said, motioning toward my bed. My fingers curled into fist at the sight of the bruises. Why were they there? What happened? 

I went to the closest bathroom down the hallway, grabbed some lotion and antibiotic ointment. We had random medical things around for the humans in the pack. She glanced up from her hands when I walked inside, and watched with confusion as I wiped her feet off with a warmed cloth and began putting ointment on her feet. "You don't have to—,"

"I want to," I said, avoiding her pleading stare. "Did he do this to you?" I asked in a hushed whisper that made my stomach ache in pain. I wanted to scream, but I held it inside. 

She needed someone soft right now, and even though it was against my nature, I swallowed it down. When I was satisfied with her feet, I glanced up at her. Tears threatened her eyes, and I reached forward, catching a stray rolling down her cheek. "Don't cry," I said. 

She turned her head to the side to hide her face. "I'm sorry."

"Stop saying you're sorry. You don't have to be sorry with me. We're going to take this as slow as you need, Lilly. Don't worry about hurting my feelings. I'm been through much worse."

Lilly looked back at me, her eyes dropped to my mouth, and my wolf howled with need. I fought off the desire to lean up and kiss her. God I wanted to taste her, but I knew I couldn’t. 

Slowly, I traced my fingertip along her bottom lip, and watched as a soft gasp left her throat. Emotions traveled across her face, and I ate them all with one single glance—

"Oh my God!" Jessica shouted, the door bursting open behind me. I closed my eyes as Lilly jerked backward, and stared at Jessica, who looked like a six-year-old kid let loose in a candy shop. "Finally. You're both here. Lilly, I'm Jessica, Marcus' little sister. I can't believe you're here. We've all waited for this day."

I stood slowly, watching Lilly do the same beside me. "You're so cute! Look how tiny and fairy-like you are!" Jessica was dressed in some designer outfit, with thigh high boots and an up-do as if she was attending fashion week. "I don't have any clothes that will fit you, but I bet you're Heather's size. She is a shewolf that is mated to one of our wolves—,"

"Dear God, Jessica," Mother said from behind her. "Take a breath. The girl isn't going anywhere. Marcus, can I speak with you out in the hallway?" Mother asked. 

I looked at Lilly who looked amused as Jessica smiled like a Cheshire cat at her. "Sure. I'll be right back." Mom walked down the hallway and stopped at the top of the stairs, out of earshot from my room. 

"What is it?" I asked. 

"I didn't want to startle you, but Caterina said Jason wouldn't stop until he has them both back. I don't think you need to go help Luther. I think you need to leave town. Now."