Chapter 23

SOMA:

“Mark!” I knock on the door so hard as I call the attention of the supposed person behind the door. “Mark! Open up. I know you’re in there,”

Another knock follows before I decide to wait for a long time to see if he would answer the door. It was fruitless because there was no response at all. What I do next instead is to put my ear to the door so I could listen in to the activities going on inside the apartment. However, nothing distinct came from that too.

“Mark, if you do not open this door now, I’ll break it down... and I mean it!” I threaten more out of frustration than annoyance. The dude was in there and there was no doubt about that because his scent was strong.

I still have my ear carefully placed on the door when it suddenly opens, almost sending me tripping over in the process. ‘Son of a...’ I growl at Mark who just slid the door open but keep the words inside of me. At the same time, I was struggling to maintain my composure.

“What are you doing in there? Why didn’t you answer the door at first?” the questions were thrown out without hesitation. Not even a slightest bit. He sure does have to explain why he had to keep me waiting for long.

“I was busy,” his response is blunt and it only increases the frown etched on my face which is in contrast to his.

‘Remember why you’re here.’

And that was the reminder I needed to ensure I do not go out of character. I want something from him. So it is best if I play it cool with him if I am to get what I want.

Immediately, my countenance changes. I do not reveal any special emotion other than to maintain a flat gaze toward his indifferent attitude. At least this seemed alright. Feels alright too.

“You could spare me a little of your time, right? I want to talk to you,” I tell him.

He doesn’t say anything in return, no. Instead, he turns and walks into the apartment with the door left ajar. That was a clue that I should go inside with him but it was still rude of him, such that I almost pulled him back from the t-shirt he has on.

I have no intention of staying too long outside his apartment so I take the cue and go inside, shutting the door close behind me when I am fully in. The tolerance that I do not possess is what I need right now to get me through what I am about to do.

His living room is the prime example of what most ladies would love for a chill-out — small and comfortable. The aura around the room coupled with the sweet scent of citrus or whatever special scent he uses around here gave the perfect vibe.

The place I choose to sit is on one of his handmade sofas, right across from where he is seated which is another sofa. He isn’t even looking at me by the look of things.

Luckily for me, I was out of my office wear so the rather awkward state of the atmosphere wasn’t making me incredibly uncomfortable. And to get this done and over with, I start to say, “I’m sorry, Mark. I shouldn’t have sent you out like that. I simply acted out of proportion,”

Nothing was said in return. I kept on waiting with the hopes that he would say something back but his demeanor told me much later that he wasn’t going to. Did I offend him really bad? Or is it just the fact that I have a cursed warrior as my would-be partner that’s making him this annoyed with me? There’s a whole lot that I do not get here.

“Mark?” I’m left with no choice but to call his name so I could get his attention and it was kind of successful because he immediately gives me a look for the very first time.

And he eventually speaks too, “Yeah?”

“I just apologized to you but you’re not saying anything,”

“I heard,” he says while he folds his arms, “but I wasn’t sure if it was worth it.”

‘Take a deep breath, Soma. Don’t let his words get to you. If you do, you’ll end up ruining what you really came here for so be calm.’

I was having an internal battle, and it wasn’t with Rainia. It was with myself who was trying as much as possible to keep the annoyed part of me in check. An outburst isn’t what we need now.

“Isn’t sorry enough to settle the differences between us? It has always been, so why should this time be different?” I fold my arms just like he did as the staring contest begins between us.

“There’s probably a lot of things that’s not enough for me right now. But I wouldn’t want to delve into that. So what did you come here for?”

“I just did that.”

“Didn’t see you do anything,”

“I apologized to you... that’s it.”

“And that is all?”

A little twitch was what I give out from his act. I already promised myself not to lose my cool and that is what I’m going to do. Going to keep calm until the end of the whole thing.

“I was also thinking we could reach a compromise about the issue with Luis. I want to make you see reasons why we shouldn’t change the fate that has been destined already,”

“We won’t be getting to no compromise, I’m sure of that. But I'm listening; what are the reasons?”

“There isn’t any,” I admittedly say, purposely because I know whatever I say won’t change what he has prepared his mind for already. I didn’t even come up with major pointers in the first place. “Still I feel what is on ground between Luis and I shouldn’t be tampered with at all. The moon goddess made no mistake creating the bond between us, so his identity should not be a hindrance for him in any way. I know you want the best for me, but what if that best might not be the right thing I need?”

“Can you hold your thought for a while and let us talk about your man first? When you guys discussed between yourselves, did he agree already with you to have this thing you share going?”

That was one hell of a question Mark just dropped for me to respond to. And for the first time, I am reluctant to answer him or say anything. He always know when to put me on the tightest of spots and this was no exception.

'“Not yet,” I weirdly put the response to him, and it was not with the way I say it but with my body reaction. And I know what’s coming next, though.

“You see. It’s because he knows already about how messy the whole thing will be if he agrees to make it work between you two. Take my advice, Soma, and go on with your life. Believe me, it’s worth it,”

“But I’ve got a plan!”

Mark does not fail to reveal how infuriated he is right now. I only see that as a cue to talk more because he has to hear the plan I have in mind or I don’t know why I actually came here in the first place.

“What plan is that?” he asks.

“A plan to convince Luis that this could work. Yes, he might still not be feeling anything between us, but he needs to know I’m willing to take things slow until we’ve both figured ourselves out.”

“You really want to tell him that?”

“Yes, I do.”

“And how do you hope to achieve that? The only way you can see him now is to go to the Dark Moon pack. And to go there, it has to be under the guise of sightseeing or meeting with Alpha Tyrone. It wouldn’t sound well to know you are there for one of their warriors. Could result to special attention being put on Luis.”

I didn’t think through his statement for long before coming up with something. “You forgot about someone else I could use as an alibi to get into the pack’s territory,” I say.

“Who?”

“Leonard, the beta.”

“But you hate his guts.”

A shrug escapes my shoulders. “I know. But what other choice do I have?”

Mark shakes his head in disapproval. “It won’t be appropriate to use him as an option to go see Luis, knowing already that he has his eyes set on you as well. How do you expect him to feel when he finds out you were there not for him but for another man that is beneath him?”

“Happy, I guess,” I try to kill the tension between us with that tiny joke but it backfires because Mark does not look like he’s going to give me an approving reaction for that. So I change my statement, “Okay, he would be infuriated.”

“Exactly. So except you have another means of getting a guise into the pack, then I don’t think you should get in touch with Beta Leonard. It’s a complete no-no.”

Whew. Now I have to think about who else could get me into the Dark Moon pack. What I truly mean is to get someone of high ranking that would make it seem l was in the pack for something other than what I want to be there for.

“Luna Hailey!” the way I announce it has me wondering if I just hit a jackpot. I was surprised myself at the way it came out because I didn’t expect for that to be.

“And what happened to her?”

“Get in touch with her for me. It’s her I would be using as a means to get into the Dark Moon,” I say, standing up from the sofa in the process to head out. “In short,” I start to say again, “get me her details. I’ll be discussing with her myself.”

“You know you’ve never had a proper conversation with her before. What excuse will you be giving her when you get in touch with her?”

I was already at the door when his question comes through. So with the door already opened and my hand holding on to the doorknob, I respond, “Just get it for me. I’ll think of something,” and then head out of the apartment.