ALPHA MARCELLUS STORM

You're literally driven our mate away.

She'll be back. Marcellus snorted and rolled his eyes, still in his wolf form on the border of their territory, no longer able to see her.

With the amount of time that had passed, he was sure that she had already made it back to her house but for some reason, neither him nor his wolf were quite ready to leave.

She thinks you've banned her from the pack.

No, she doesn't.

You don't know that. His wolf growled loudly before standing up on all four legs and turned around, finally decided to head back to the pack. As far as she knows, the Alpha has pretty much ousted her from the pack. How do you expect her to come back here after that?

Who says I want her to come back?

His wolf snorted again. Stop lying to yourself.

Marcellus rolled his eyes and chose not to answer as they took their time in returning back to the pack, needing some time away from everyone to clear his mind.

So, now you're ignoring me?

I'm not ignoring you.

It sure seems like you are.

Now you're starting to sound like her. Marcellus frowned at that.

And that's a bad thing?

Not really. Marcellus couldn't help but chuckle. She really is a little spitfire, isn't she?

You could say that again. His wolf chuckled. No one has ever spoken to us like that before. It's kind of refreshing.

No one would dare to speak to an Alpha wolf like that, but not our mate, apparently.

No. His wolf hummed with a wolfish grin on his face. We sure had her fired up. She even made sure that she had the last word.

She just had to get the last word in.

Kind of sounds like someone else I know. His wolf hummed as the pack house finally came into view.

You say that as if we aren't one entity. Marcellus snorted and rolled his eyes as he shifted back into his human form, jogging up the steps of the pack house and heading to his room to grab some clothes so he wouldn't have to return to work in the nude.

Sometimes I wonder if we are.

Marcellus sighed as he pulled on a pair of jogging bottoms and grabbed a shirt as he walked out of his room and headed into his office.

You have to admire her bravery. His wolf hummed quietly as he took a seat behind his desk and booted up his laptop, determined to get his mind off everything by getting some work done.

Bravery, or just plain stupidity?

Perhaps a bit of both, but you have to admire the way she stood up to you even though you're the big, bad Alpha as she so eloquently put it.

Marcellus couldn't help but chuckle at that. Just cause she's funny when she's angry doesn't mean that I'm going to accept her as my mate. There's a whole sea of females out there that are funny, probably also when they're not angry.

His wolf huffed and rolled his beady eyes.

You can try deny this as much as you want but the longer you do, the harder it's just going to get for you.

What makes you say that? He asked quietly.

Don't think I didn't notice the way you had to bite your cheek from smiling in front of her.

That doesn't mean anything. Marcellus denied even though he knew that he couldn't hide anything from his wolf and vice versa. Like I said before, she's funny when she's hungry.

Yeah, you keep telling yourself that. His wolf snorted.

Despite having told himself that he was going to concentrate and get some work done, his mind kept wondering back to his mate and with the way that he had treated her. The more time he spent replaying the recent events in his mind, the guiltier he felt and when he couldn't ignore the heavy feeling any longer, he sighed and rubbed a tired hand down his face, an aggravated groan passing his lips.

Okay, maybe I overreacted a little. He murmured quietly to his wolf.

You think? His wolf snorted. You saying that you overreacted is a complete understatement. You were completely out of order.

And why couldn't you tell me that before?

I tried! His wolf defended himself haughtily, turning his nose up. But when do you ever listen to me?

What are the chances that she'll forget about this by the morning?

No chance! His wolf snorted again and rolled his eyes, huffing quietly. If we were human, I'm pretty sure she would have jumped us, pregnant or not.

At the mention of the P word, Marcellus' mood immediately dropped, a melancholy sigh passing his lips as he slumped back in his chair.

Oh, Moon Goddess! His wolf growled loudly as he dropped himself to the floor and threw his paws over his eyes, almost as if he would be able to ignore the situation with that simple action. Don't tell me I've set you off again.

You haven't set me off. Marcellus replied petulantly, his lips curling up into a slight pout. But how does this not bother you?

It does bother me, but I'm just more concerned about taking this one day at a time.

Marcellus pursed his lips as he couldn't help but agree with his wolf seeing as it was the only feasible plan of action they had.

And what's the next thing on the plan?

To make things right with our mate.

How do you suggest I do that? Marcellus asked even though he suspected he already knew the answer.

Well, you can start by apologising to her friends.

He sighed and nodded, unable to fault his wolf's logic. While Marcellus wasn't too proud to apologise, even if he was Alpha and especially when he knew he was wrong – like in this specific situation – this was a very unfortunate situation where he had reacted out of anger and acted childishly. The worst part was that he had behaved in such an appalling manner in front of his pack members, something which he had never done before but it appeared that his mate did a lot more than just bring out the best in him, as his parents had told him on numerous occasions growing up.

Raphael? Justas? He called out to them through the mind link, ensuring that he blocked out the rest of the pack so as to avoid rumours which always travelled very fast through the pack.

A moment of silence sounded from their end before the two wolves replied simultaneously.

Alpha? They both asked in question.

I know it's late but could you two come to my office, please? He asked them in a polite tone, leaning back in his desk chair as he raised a hand to run his fingers through his hair, willing himself to calm down in preparation for the conversation that would very soon ensue. There's absolutely nothing to worry about. I just want to talk to you both about something quickly.

Yes, Alpha! Again, in sync.

Marcellus barely had time to stretch his arms over his head before two knocks sounded on his office door.

"Come in." He called out quietly, able to scent out the familiar wolves.

"You wanted to speak to us, Alpha?" Justas asked quietly with a serious look on his face as he stepped into the room with Raphael following closely, standing just a little behind of his mate.

"Yes." His lips pulled up into a small smile in hopes that he would come out friendly, not wanting to further aggravate the situation further by being rude to his mate's friends, even if they were technically his pack members and he was their Alpha. "Why don't you two take a seat?"

The mated couple nodded and did just that, occupying the two

"I want to start off by apologising for my earlier behaviour today." He paused to take in a deep breath so he could continue, sending a pointed look at both wolves who were watching him with wide eyes, Justas appearing as if he was having a hard time swallowing the apology the Alpha had just given them.

"I am aware that I overreacted earlier and that it was completely out of character. However, that doesn't excuse my behaviour and for that, I am sorry. I'm not going to go bother giving an explanation as to why I behaved that way as there's really no point or justification, but I hope we can move forward from this."

"Yes, of course, Alpha!" Both Justas and Raphael replied in sync for the third time now which

Marcellus couldn't help but chuckle. "Do you guys always talk at the same time?"

The mated couple shared a look as they chuckled softly, a tender look in their eyes which Marcellus had noticed other mates look at each other with. Too bad he didn't have a mate to look at the same way.

Technically, we do have a mate but you're choosing to ignore her so you have no one to blame but yourself. If you weren't so full of her, maybe she'd look like that at us as well.

Let's not start with this again. Marcellus groaned internally. But speaking of our mate, I need to fix things with her.

That you do.

"A lot of the time, yes." Raphael laughed softly, a large grin on his face. "We apologise if it's annoying."

Marcellus chuckled and shook his head, dismissing the apology as it wasn't their fault that they were happy with their mate while he couldn't even tell his mate that they were mates.

Speaking of mates, he needed to make things right with her before things got even more out of hand.

"By the way, can you let Anastasia know that she's welcome to come back time to the pack any time she wants?" He asked hopefully.

"Really?" Raphael asked in a small, quiet voice, the words laced with disbelief the same time that Justas nodded his head frantically, a relieved look on his face.

"Yes." Marcellus confirmed with a nod and a serious look on his face. "Next time she's here, I'll personally apologise but for now, if you could pass the message on to her on my behalf, I would really appreciate that."

Both Justas and Raphael shook their heads, a mixture of disbelief and surprise on their faces but the feeling that resided the strongest was glee but neither of them were as gleeful as him, not that he was ready or willing to admit it.

"Thank you, Alpha." Justas thanked him graciously with a wide grin on his face, reaching over to squeeze his mate's hand. "We'll be sure to relay the message in the morning."

"Thank you." He murmured quietly, his voice barely audible yet with their enhanced werewolf hearing, they were able to hear him perfectly.

"If that's all, we'll be heading up for the night."

Marcellus nodded even though his face scrunched together in momentary confusion. When the two wolves noticed this, they shared a knowing look before turning back to face him.

"Is there anything else, Alpha?" Justas asked in a quiet voice, almost as if he was holding his breath in fear as to what he had to say.

If Marcellus didn't currently have a lot on his mind, he probably would have laughed with how opposite and different these two mates were. Raphael was much more carefree and relaxed while Justas was more high-strung and serious; perfectly balancing each other out.

You might as well ask them. His wolf urged him quietly. Other than Anastasia, and since she's probably not wanting to talk to us after tonight, they're your best bet.

"I don't mean to pry, but what is Anastasia doing around the pack house all of a sudden?" He asked, feigning simple curiosity even though he was far more than simply curious about his mate. "I mean, I've never seen her around her before but I've noticed that she's been hanging around here the past couple of weeks. Is there a particular reason for this?"

Raphael frowned slightly in confusion but it was Justas that opened his mouth to answer. Unfortunately, his explanation didn't pass his lips and Marcellus didn't receive the answer he was hoping for as a knock sounded on the door.

Before Marcellus could tell him to go away, Dalton let himself into the room and sighed deeply, signifying that this next conversation was going to be pleasant.

After watching the silent exchange between the Alpha and Beta, Justas and Raphael didn't need to be told that it was time they leave and unfortunately for Marcellus, they took all the answers with them.

-

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Layla Knight

13.10.2020