Chapter 37

ALPHA MARCELLUS STORM

“Hi.” He whispered, his whole resolve near crumbling as she turned to gaze upon with her beautiful baby blues.

A moment passed in which her breathing hadn’t so much as changed. He frowned at that, wondering if she hadn’t heard him but before he could repeat himself, his wolf needed to add his two cents.

Maybe if you didn’t speak like such a pussy, she would have heard you.

And what do you suggest? Scream at the top of my lungs and declare my undying love for her?

Well, that would definitely escalate things. His wolf snorted but before he could further inject his musings and recommendations, Marcellus was quick to shut him out. And just so we’re clear, I’m not the least bit opposed to that proposal.

Of course, you’re not. He scoffed.

When he returned his attention to his mate, he was surprised to find her staring back at him with a frown on her face, so intense that her eyebrows furrowed together in the middle.

“Hi.” Anastasia murmured quietly before turning her head away from him and to continue staring at the forest, though he didn’t miss the way her eyes lingered on him, almost as if she was forcing herself to look away.

When her eyes landed on a long stick by her foot, she pressed a hand against her stomach and leaned forward to pick it up, needing something to distract herself from the big bad Alpha wolf that was currently staring holes into the side of her head despite it being the middle of the night.

“Shouldn’t you be in bed?” She asked abruptly, refusing to look at him as she dug the edge of the stick into the ground, beginning to dig a small hole.

“I could ask you the same thing.” Marcellus hummed quietly as he continued to observe his mate, his arms crossed over his chest as he internally battled to keep his wolf at bay.

If his wolf had his way, then he would be telling Anastasia that they were mates before proceeding to tell her that he was completely and utterly in love with her already. And while that was not far from the truth, Marcellus wasn’t sure if he was ready to tell her the truth yet, more so afraid of the way she would react after the way he had treated her a few weeks ago.

“Fair enough. I couldn’t sleep so I thought I’d come out and get some fresh air.” She hummed quietly. “Now what about you?”

“What about me?” He questioned with a mock puzzled look on his face even though he knew exactly what she meant, just wanted a reason to hear her speak some more. He especially loved the little line between her eyebrows that popped up whenever she frowned.

“What are you doing up this late?”

“I haven’t gone to bed yet.” Marcellus found himself admitting honestly, not really sure why he was opening up to her yet the notion was not unwelcomed.

Anastasia nodded as she continued randomly digging the stick into the ground, quickly swallowing the question that was on the tip of her tongue.

“You look like you want to say something.” Marcellus hummed, watching her closely, unable to take his eyes off her. “You can ask whatever you want. I won’t mind.” He urged her quietly, wishing for her to open up to him even if he didn’t deserve it.

“I’m only here because I had an appointment with the pack doctor.” Anastasia began with a roll of her eyes, not even sure why she was opening up to him as he most certainly didn’t deserve it. “I had initially planned to leave as soon as the appointment was over but we went out for dinner and then I was tired so Justas and Raphael insisted I stay here. The only reason I agreed to stay the night was because they said you had been at a neighbouring pack all day and probably wouldn’t be returning tonight since it was already so late.”

For a few moments, Marcellus just blinked down at his mate, at a momentary loss for words. While the Alpha in him didn’t approve of the tone that he had used on her, both him and his wolf came to the general consensus that she was displaying such characteristics that he had used to describe his ideal mate earlier that day.

“And you’re worried that I’m going to get angry at you?”

“Yes, since you literally drove me off your pack lands last time.” Anastasia raised her chin even though she still refused to look at him. “But I guess it doesn’t matter since you’ve already done that before.”

Marcellus chuckled lowly, though the sound came out slightly strained. If he was wearing a tie, he would have loosened it.

“That’s really come back to bite me in the ass, hasn’t it?” He chuckled but when she made no indication or effort of answering his question, he pushed himself to continue. “I hope Raphael has extended my apology to you for my behaviour the other night.”

“He did.” Anastasia replied curtly, not even trying to hide the fact that she was still bitter about the way he had treated her, especially since she believed herself to not have done anything that came even remotely close to warranting such behaviour.

“And?” He prompted her in a small voice, confused with her response.

“And what?” Anastasia questioned in a monotone voice, finally lifting her head to stare him in the eye.

If it was someone else staring his directly in the eye and speaking to him in such a tone, Marcellus would not have hesitated to show them his true colours and demand submission. But since it was his mate, he couldn’t help but feel proud that she was able to hold her own against him. Even more so since she was human and he was an Alpha wolf.

To be fair, you deserve for our mate to treat you this way.

You mean us.

No. I definitely mean you. His wolf denied with a snort. You’re the one that blew up at her the other day and drove her away from the pack. Not me. So, you better fix it now or I will.

If Marcellus didn’t agree with his wolf, he would have growled threateningly at his wolf even though they both made up the Alpha that they were. Instead, he sighed and angled his body in her direction, careful to maintain the distance between them.

“I apologise for my behaviour toward you the other day.” Marcellus began his genuine apology, a soft look on his face as he maintained eye contact with his mate, needing her to understand that he was nothing short of sincerely apologetic. “I clearly overreacted over something very small and I should have apologised to you in person instead of getting your friend to relay the message for me. I’m sorry.”

Anastasia blinked up at the Alpha wolf, remaining silent for a few moments as his words settled in before her lips twitched slightly at the corners. However, she refused to give in so quickly and fought to keep the smile that threatened to erupt and take over her whole face at bay.

Since she would become a staple visitor of the Lupum Griseo pack, she needed him to know that he couldn’t treat her in this way.

“I don’t need your apology.”

Both Marcellus and his wolf went into internal panic, but when he noticed her struggling to keep the smile off her face, his body relaxed and he released a sigh of relief, his wolf chuckling with how funny their mate was.

“But I appreciate it.”

“How about we start again?” He offered in a hopeful tone.

“You think that’s a good idea?” She quirked a questioning brow, a soft smile on her face.

“I do.” He insisted, fighting the urge to hold out his hand for a handshake like he would do whenever meeting someone new, regardless of species, pack, gender, title or anything else. “My friends call me Mars.”

“Well, we’re not exactly friends though, are we?”

“But we could be.” He suggested lightly even though he wanted to be much more than just friends, even if he still did have his reservations.

“We’ll see about that.” She laughed softly before turning her face away from him, only able to remain stoic under his hard gaze for so long.

“I guess we will.” Marcellus laughed softly as he reached a hand up to brush it through his hair, pulling slightly on the ends as he willed himself to keep up the strong resolve in front of his mate.

When she had her baby blues on him, it was like he forgot to breathe.

“Well, since we’re starting over, let me start by introducing myself as Marcellus Storm, Alpha of the Lupum Griseo pack. Welcome to my pack.”

A moment passed as she watched him carefully, trying to see if he was making fun of her but when he huffed and sent her a pointed look, she finally caved in.