Chapter 83

Despite having said that he was starving earlier, Marcellus was barely able to work his way through a few mouthfuls of pasta, resorting to push the rest around on his plate until she abruptly stood up, packing away the leftovers in the fridge.

“You barely ate anything. I thought you said you were starving.” Anastasia murmured quietly, shooting him a questioning glance from over her shoulder as she finished packing away all the food and moving to get started on the dishes.

“It didn’t feel right eating without you.” Marcellus murmured quietly, glancing down at his now empty glass of champagne, not trusting himself with another glass, especially since it was evident that she had a lot to ask him. When he noticed her moving toward the sink, he rose to his feet, adjusted the towel around his waist to make sure he was still covered – not that he cared, though she had made a point of asking him to stay covered earlier – before he moved to join her.

“What are you doing?”

“The dishes.” He shrugged as he bumped her slightly with his hip, reaching to take the sponge out of her hand before she could protest. “I think it’s the least I could do after everything.”

Anastasia pursed her lips and watched him carefully, though didn’t say anything further on the matter, allowing him to clean up while she took a seat at the kitchen island and helped herself to a soda.

“Why were you having dinner with Harold?” Marcellus asked as he turned around to face her, having just finished with the dishes.

“I thought I was supposed to be the one asking the questions.” She frowned lightly before taking a sip from her soda which had gone slightly flat now. “Also, his name is Harvey.”

“I don’t care what his name is.” He growled as he took a seat at the counter directly in front of her, stretching his arms in front of her. “It still doesn’t explain why you’re on a date with him.”

“Did you not hear what I said earlier?” She rolled her eyes, eying his hands which passed the halfway mark of the counter, only a few inches to where she was clutching the can of sofa which she was no longer interested in finishing off. “This wasn’t a date and we’re nothing more than friends.”

“He didn’t seem too convinced.” Marcellus pursed his lips, watching her carefully.

“Well, that’s not my problem. I’ve made it clear from the very beginning that I’m not looking to be anything more than friends with Harvey so there’s nothing else I can do about that.” Anastasia huffed as she sent him a pointed look. “Anyway, I don’t see why it’s any of your business what I do or who I see in my free time.”

“You’re my mate. That’s what makes it my business.” He stated simply, almost as if that mere statement would solve all of their problems.

Unfortunately, nothing was ever that simple.

“Am I your mate?”

“Of course, you’re my mate. How can you even ask that?” He growled through gritted teeth and a clenched jaw, watching her through dark, smouldering eyes which kept flashing between hazel and a deep ember which insinuated that his wolf was rising on the surface.

“Perhaps because you decided to keep it secret from me for two months?” Anastasia scoffed and crossed her arms over her chest to hide her shaky hands, not wanting to show him just how much this conversation was affecting her.

Marcellus groaned aloud and bowed his eyes, squeezing his eyes shut.

“I’m so sorry.” He murmured quietly after a few moments, his shoulders shaking slightly with laboured breaths, almost as if struggling to hold back his wolf.

“Can I speak to him?”

His breath caught in her throat as his head snapped up to watch her carefully, almost as if he believed to have misheard her.

“You want to speak to my wolf?” He asked slowly, purposely emphasising on each word and syllable, watching her carefully for any sign of apprehension or hesitation.

“Yes.” Anastasia replied confidently, refusing the urge to roll her eyes. “Since I can’t trust you to tell me the truth now, I want to speak to your wolf and see what he has to say.”

While she couldn’t be completely certain, Anastasia had an inkling that if she wanted to hear the whole truth and nothing but the truth, more of an unbiased recollection of events, then it was better to speak to his wolf as he would probably have a greater aversion lying to his mate.

Marcellus appraised her quietly with a stormy look in his eyes, considering her words even though they hurt him.

“You can always trust me to be truthful with you.” He replied quietly after a few moments, his eyes not once wavering from hers.

“I don’t agree with that.”

“And speaking to my wolf will make you believe me?”

“Not necessarily.” She denied with a soft shake of her head. “But it’s a start.”

“I’ll take it.” He replied almost instantly, his eyes now burning the deep gold which she had come to know signalled that his wolf was in control.

“Hello, mate. You’re quite the little spitfire, did you know?”

“I think the word is sassy.” Anastasia cocked a teasing brow, her lips tilting up slightly.

“I think you’re a whole lot more than sassy.” The Alpha wolf chuckled lowly as he leaned forward against the counter, resting his crossed arms on it as he stared deep into her eyes. “I think you like being called my little spitfire.” He hummed quietly and when she confirmed his theory with the slight hitch of her breath, his lips curled into a devilish smirk.

She scowled at that, but it quickly slid off her face as his gaze on her intensified, even going as far as to cock his head to the side, almost as if trying to figure her out.

“What are you looking at?” Anastasia asked quietly after a few moments, squirming underneath his gaze, especially when he hadn’t said something for so long.

“You.” He murmured quietly, blinking to snap out of it, not wanting to make her even more uncomfortable than she already was. “I’m also always thinking about you.”

Even though she had asked the question, she couldn’t help but wished she hadn’t after hearing his answer; his words much more intense than his gaze.

“You wanted answers, so ask whatever you want to.”

As she wracked her brain for what to ask despite having so many running through her mind only moments ago when she was speaking to Marcellus and not his wolf, so much so that she didn’t even flinch when he reached across the table to grab her empty soda. Uncaring of the fact that the coke had gone flat and was no longer that appetising, he held her eyes over the rim of the can as he placed his mouth over where she had drunk from.

Tingles ran down her spine and then she squirmed in her seat again, forcing herself to look away from him as she got started on the questions, needing to make the most of this opportunity while she had the chance.