Chapter Fifty-Seven

*Marks POV*

"Reject Morgan."

"Excuse me?"

Cornelius rolled his eyes and scoffed.

"You heard me Alpha mutt. If you don't reject Morgan, I will go kill her now. She's no match for me in her current state. You see, the first time I laid eyes on her, she was meant to be mine. Then you came along and decided to be *'that guy'*, so to speak, and marked her." He sighed, looking in Morgan's direction. "How I can't wait to hear her tortured screams."

*ROAR*

Nathaniels roar echoed throughout the hall we were in. "How dare you talk about our Luna like that. I should tear you to shreds right here, right now." Nathaniels wolf was surfacing, baring his teeth at the man standing calmly in front of us.

"Your Luna?" He spat, his eyes changing from sea green to black. "You have no Luna. She's MINE!"

Cornelius lept towards us, Nathaniels wolf pushing completely forward. Before I had the chance to move, Cornelius had Nathaniel up against the wall. "I am of Lycan breed, you filthy mutt." He threw James towards me. I caught Nathaniel and stood him up on his feet.

*'A Lycan? No. He can't be. I would have smelled it on him. I smell nothing but blood. Wait! That's-'*

"You killed Morgan's mother. You're the one who burned her at that stake!"

Cornelius laughed. The darkness of his laugh chilled my bones. My wolf was beginning to get impatient, pacing around in my head, wanting to draw his blood. I knew now was not the time, we weren't a match for him. I had to think of a solution and quick. There was no way in hell my group, Nathaniel, and myself could take this guy on without Morgan or Sabrina.

"Nathaniel, step down." I used my Alpha tone so he couldn't disregard me. Nathaniels eyes jolted to mine.

*"What are you doing, Mark?"*

*"Trust me, please."* I closed my mindlink to everyone. I didn't need Cornelius to be able to get into the mindlink.

"You're a Lycan? Then why do I not smell it on you? That's not exactly something a Lycan would hide. I don't believe you have Lycan blood." I stepped towards him, listening to his heart beat to see if I could find his weakness. I have to find something. Anything to be able to take this guy down. "I know quite a bit of Lycans, especially from the Council of werewolves. I know their scent. I know their demeanor to flaunt the fact that they are Lycans. Outside of you mentioning this to Nathaniel, I have never came across a Lycan who had to hide themselves." In that moment, Cornelius heart skipped. *'I got you, you son of a bitch.'*

"Just because I hide the fact I have Lycan blood in me, doesn't mean I'm like the others. Rather rude of you to categorize me with that filthy lot. I'm not, how do you say, your typical Lycan." Cornelius smiled. His heart skipping beats with each word he spoke. He was lying. I should have paid more attention to his breathing and heart beats while he was fighting Nathaniel. He may be ridiculously strong, but everyone has a weakness. He's not a Lycan. He's.. a mixed breed!

"Ha. You say you're a Lycan. Your body language tells me otherwise. You're just a mixed breed!"

His heart started racing, his eyes started turning back to the blackness I saw before. His elongated teeth bared themselves to me. I officially found his weakness.

"You may be stronger than me, and I don't wish to fight you right now. What exactly do you want? This war is about the Council getting Morgan and Sabrina's powers. They're creating mixed monsters in a lab or something somewhere. Where exactly do you fit into all this?"

Cornelius smiled. Walking towards me, he stopped a few feet from me. We were within arms length of each other. I could try to rip his throat out now, but that would cause issues, as he is definitely fast.

"What say we have a little meeting. I plan to have one with Morgan when I leave you here in the dust. Reject her, and I may give you some insider information. If you don't reject her, I'll kill her the next time I see her. I won't hesitate." He smiled a omnious grin, his nails growing longer. Before I could blink, he had me down on the ground, bleeding from my legs. "You don't have a chance against me. Reject her, or she dies."

He was gone. He didn't cut me deep enough to cause me harm, but enough to slow my rapid healing down. Nathaniel came running to my side, trying to help me up.

"Alpha, not to step out of line, but what in the fuck was that?" Nathaniels nostrils flared as he helped me to my feet, the pain in my legs slowly dissipitating as I healed my wounds.

"I was trying to find a weakness. He's not a Lycan, as he claims to be. There's no way. He's a mixed breed of something. I think he may have been a Council dog before he decided to become what he is now."

"But Alpha, what are you going to do about the Luna?" Nathaniel's eyes showed worry in them. Nathaniel was loyal to a fault, not only to me, but to his future Luna as well. I ran my fingers through my hair, looking down at my feet.

"I honestly don't know. If I reject her, she's safe, but that means cutting the mate bond completely, and theres no chance that we will be able to become mates again after the rejection is accepted on both sides. I don't want to reject her, but what if he's not bluffing? I need to protect Morgan at all costs."

"Even if that means hurting her to the point she could end up in his clutches anyway? She could be his mate once the rejection goes through. Or..." Nathaniel got relatively quiet. I looked over at him, knowing he was thinking deeply. Nathaniel may not be much of a talker, but when he starts thinking about something that requires a deep thought, he closes himself off completely. His mate surely has her hands full.

"Nathaniel, I know I shouldn't interrupt you, but we don't really have the time for this. We need to make our way back out of here and to the others to help."

"She could have two fated mates. I've read about it somewhere, but I'll have to think on where I found it later. After you, Alpha." Nathaniel stepped to the side and allowed me to pass him.

"Let's go!" We took off down several corridors, keeping the mindlink open now, I made conversation with James and Troy about the monsters they were facing on their way to the main entrance. This mansion is riddled with rooms and corridors. I could still smell the faint scent of vampire in this home.

*"Alpha! Morgan's in trouble!"*