ANASTASIA MULBERRY

"Anastasia?" Harvey "Who is this and why is he naked in your living room?"

Before she could even attempt to answer Harvey or respond in anyway, Marcellus snorted aloud and watched the rogue wolf carefully with dark, menacing eyes.

"I could ask you the same thing." He growled, his wolf rising to the surface after having witnessed his mate alone with another male. While that wasn't an issue, it was the fact that it was evident that this wolf was interested in being more than just friendly or friends with his mate that made the anger inside of him bubble dangerously. "Who the fuck are you and what are you doing here?"

"I asked you first." Harvey scowled as he puffed out his chest in attempt of standing a chance against the Alpha wolf in front of him, resisting the urge to cower away and expose the side of his neck in submission even though that was what his wolf was urging him to do.

"You dare to question me, rogue?" Marcellus scowled and took a step toward, his eyes trained on the lone wolf. Before he could take any further steps toward Harvey, Anastasia was quick to jump to his defence,

"Don't call him a rogue." She sighed as she rolled her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Why can't I call him exactly what he is? Which is a rogue." Marcellus huffed deeply as he turned his head to glance at his mate who had now moved so she was standing in between both males, almost as if afraid that something physical was going to start.

Anastasia rolled her eyes again. "You're only calling him a rogue because you're prejudiced against him."

"Well, the rogue is in a house with my mate. I think there's plenty reason for my to be prejudiced against him." His lips curled up into a sneer, a hard look in his eyes as he pointed his gaze at her. Despite the intensity of the deep gold of his eyes, a pleasurable shiver ran down her spine and her lower lips trembled in delicious anticipation. When it became all too much to handle, she frowned lightly and forced herself to look away, hating how much of an affect he had on her despite all of his wrongdoings and shortcomings.

"Sorry, did you just say your mate?" Harvey asked aloud even though his eyes were trained on Anastasia, almost as if willing for her to deny the bold claim.

"Yes, I did. My mate." Marcellus chuckled darkly, the sound on the verge of sinister, still not looking away from Anastasia even though she was doing all she could to avoid meeting his eyes again. Despite all of that, there was a hint of primal urgency in his tone, almost as if daring her to deny the fact that they were indeed mates. "Why? Have you got a problem with that, rogue?"

Harvey pursed his lips and scowled, now sending an accusatory glance at Anastasia even though she refused to meet either of their eyes, unable to fully comprehend the situation or even plan what to do next.

"I thought you were human."

"I am human." She mumbled weakly and rubbed a tired, frustrated hand down the side of her face. When she remembered that she was wearing makeup and probably going to mess it up if she continued like this, Anastasia groaned aloud and shook her head. "I'm human, but I'm also quarter wolf."

"You never mentioned that to me." Harvey frowned lightly and took a step toward her, almost as if he was trying to comfort her as she seemed distraught however, Marcellus growled lowly at the action and stepped forward himself, though his strides were wider and he was able to reach her before Harvey could.

"It never came up." She sighed and sent Harvey a small frown before turning her head to face the big bad Alpha wolf who had stormed into her house as if it was his own and potentially ruined their whole evening.

When her eyes flickered back to his hardened cock yet again – one which seemed to twitch whenever she made eye contact with it – she threw her hands up in frustration.

"Can you please cover up?" She groaned while rubbing a hand over her eyes, almost as if trying to eradicate the image of him naked from her mind, though it was useless as it was now forever etched into her mind. Not that she wanted to forget it. "I can't believe we're actually have a conversation with you naked like this."

"I didn't hear you complaining the last time you saw me naked which wasn't too long ago, if I remember correctly." He had the nerve to grin at her, a cheeky expression on his face.

Before Harvey could fully process what the Alpha wolf was eluding to and Marcellus could goad him even further, Anastasia was quick to put a stop to it.

"That was before I found out what a big jerk you are, and it's definitely not a mistake that I'm looking to ever repeat." She spat at him with a dark look before glancing around the living room, looking for something better to hide his junk.

It was bad enough that Marcellus – the one man she couldn't stop thinking about even though she was supposed to be furious with him – was here, in her living room while she was kind of on a date with Harvey but not really but the fact that he was butt ass naked and not the least bit ashamed just worsened the whole situation. Especially since she wasn't looking to give Harvey the wrong idea however, she didn't think that was possible now.

Before the Alpha wolf could say anything further, Anastasia turned around and headed into the kitchen, grabbing the first dish towel she came across before turning around and heading back to the living room

Marcellus caught the dish cloth before it smacked him in the face, and his lips stretched into a slow smirk as he glanced between her and it.

"What are you waiting for?" She rolled her eyes, moving to stand between the both of them again as she feared that a physical altercation wasn't completely off the table, not with how fast and loose Marcellus seemed to do things.

He merely chuckled in response as he opened up the dish towel and held it in front if him. An amused glint sparkled in his eyes as he eventually raised his head to glance at her, his lips twitching at the corners.

"I hate to break it to you, but there's no way that is going to be big enough." Just to prove his point further, Marcellus pressed the towel against his front and swivelled around to show them both that half his ass was still on show while his balls peaked from underneath the towel.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Harvey scowled as he averted his gaze and squirmed uncomfortably on his feet. When he glanced at Anastasia with a questioning look on his face, she merely sighed and shrugged, equally as puzzled as to control this situation or rather; how to get rid of Marcellus.

Before Marcellus could respond, she shot him a strong, deadly glare before walking out of the living room and toward the downstairs bathroom where she knew she would be able to find a bigger towel; one which actually covered his entire ass and both of his balls.

When she heard the both of them continue arguing from the bathroom, she sighed at her wishful thinking.

"What's wrong, rogue?" Marcellus sneered. "Never seen a pair of balls before?"

"Well, for starters, you can stop calling me a rogue because I'm definitely not a rogue and my name's Harvey."

"Well," Marcellus began in a mocking tone. "I don't care what your name is and you definitely smell like a rogue. Hence, that makes you a rogue. It's simple logical thinking, really but it appears that you're lacking in that department."

"I only smell like a rogue because I'm not a pack wolf." Harvey denied but it appeared that his words fell on deaf ears.

"If you're not a pack wolf then you're a rogue."

"No, I'm a lone wolf."

"Lone wolf, rogue, there's no difference if you ask me."

"It's a good thing I'm not asking you then, is it?"

Anastasia groaned in frustration as she returned to the living room with a towel in hand, having been able to hear their childish back and forth from the downstairs bathroom. In order to shut him up before he responded with yet another remark, Anastasia threw the towel at her unfortunate mate, aiming low and at his cock which continued to salute her, still not the least bit ashamed. Not that he had anything to be ashamed about, especially with the impressive and size and girth of him; something which she had the pleasure of having experienced first-hand.

Pun intended.

"You sure you want me to cover up?" He smirked as he cocked a teasing brow in her direction, catching the towel before it made contact with his body

"Just cover your fucking cock, Marcellus!" Anastasia groaned in frustration as she threw her hands up in frustration but Marcellus, completely unfazed by her reaction, simply chuckled in response.

Thankfully this time, the towel was big enough and covered enough of him where neither Harvey or Anastasia had to converse with him naked anymore. Unfortunately, it appeared that Marcellus had a lot more to say.

"Now that we've got that issue dealt with, why don't you tell me why you're at my mate's house?" He questioned, watching Harvey carefully and with a serious, hard expression on his face – much to Anastasia's surprise as he had been playing the role of a clown for the past ten minutes.

"I find it hard to believe that you're Ana's mate."

"I don't care what you think." Marcellus snorted and rolled his eyes before proceeding to cross his arms over his chest. "We're mates and that's a fact."

"How about we let Anastasia confirm or deny that claim before we jump to conclusions, huh?"

Before Marcellus could protest – or blow a blood vessel – Anastasia was quick to jump back into the conversation, needing to take control before things got even more out of hand.

"We're not mates." She lied smoothly, making sure to avoid looking as Marcellus. However, it appeared she didn't need to look at him to know he felt about her words. With the way his breath hitched in her throat and he growled loudly, his breath coming out more laboured, Anastasia knew that he didn't appreciate the evident denial of the fact that they were indeed mates. "We just slept together once. That's it."

"And do you plan on sleeping with him again?"

"No." She pursed her lips, trying to convince herself that this time, she wasn't lying. "But I don't see why that should matter to you, Harvey. Like I've mentioned many times before, I'm not looking to be anything more than friends with you."

"Then why are you dressed like that?"

"Like what?" Anastasia frowned and her eyebrows furrowed together as she pushed her hair behind her ears and glanced down at her attire, unable to notice anything wrong or out of place.

"Like you're going on a date."

"The fuck? Are you trying to slut shame my mate right now?" Marcellus roared loudly; a deadly glare directed at Harvey who couldn't help but take a step back in fear of being rebuked for such a remark. "She can wear whatever the fuck she wants and you can't say a single thing about it."

Despite the fact that she appeared him standing up for her when Harvey had clearly been out of order, allowing his anger and frustration to rule him, Anastasia chose not to comment on the matter and instead, the three of them fell into an uncomfortable silence.

Unable to handle it anymore, Marcellus sighed and rubbed a hand down the sharp slope of his jaw, his gaze turning tender and soft as he glanced down at her, wishing for nothing more than to pull her into his arms and press her against his body. Unfortunately, his behaviour had stripped him of such pleasures and instead, he had no choice but to address her from a distance, if only an arm's length away.

"I know you're angry at me, but please don't put yourself in danger just to get back to me."

Anastasia turned her head to face him with a perplexed expression on her face, his words having piqued an interest in her.

"What do you mean? I'm not putting myself in any danger."

Marcellus sighed and sent a pointed look toward the third wheel.

"What about him?" She questioned.

"He's a rogue."

"He's not a rogue." She denied before turning her head to face Harvey. "Tell him you're not a wrong."

"I'm not a rogue." Harvey mumbled, still unable to glance up at Marcellus.

"Yes, because that's really believable." Marcellus rolled his eyes.

"No, I'm really not a rogue." Harvey insisted.

"Explain."

"I transferred to the Moon Shadow pack a few months ago after my mate rejected me, and Alpha Romano took me in. He allowed me to stay in neutral territory because I didn't wish to join pack life so soon." Harvey said, his story corroborating with the one that he had told Anastasia when they had first met.

"I'm going to have to fact check that story." Marcellus pursed his lips, having not expected to hear such a story, especially once which sounded believable.

"Feel free to." Harvey shrugged and his lips twisted down at the corners slightly as he glanced between them both. "You're both really mates?"

"Why the fuck do you keep asking when I've already told you we are?" Marcellus answered at the same time that Anastasia shook her head.

Her breath hitched in her throat as he dared to glance at the man whom she denied as her mate, unable to ignore the look of hurt in his eyes as he stared down at her, a sombre expression on his face.

"The reason I'm asking is because I really like Anastasia and since neither of us have mates, I was hoping we could be choice mates."

Marcellus continued staring at her, almost as if he hadn't processed Harvey's words at first but after he blinked, his face quickly hardened and Anastasia was certain that she saw steam coming out of his ears.

Before she could even attempt to stop him, Marcellus had shifted and launched himself at Harvey who was still in his human form. As they both tumbled to the floor, Harvey shifted from underneath him, her house now filled with loud growls.

Afraid that things would get out of control and Marcellus would cause some irreversible damage to Harvey, Anastasia was quick to rush over to their sides and put an end to things before they had a chance to begin.

Despite denying the fact that they were mates, Anastasia knew that he would never hurt. At least not physically.

And so that was why when she buried her fingers in the fur on the nape of his neck and tugged like one did to a dog on a collar, he merely growled lowly at her, his beady eyes still trained on his prey underneath him, silently ordering her to let go so he could finish what he had started.

When she only gripped him tighter, he growled at her again.

"That's it! I've fucking had it!" Anastasia screamed at the top of her lungs, sending both of the wolves in the room a sharp, deadly glare, her hands braced stiffly on her hips, demanding that they shift back.

What a mistake that was as when they shifted into their wolves, their clothes had been torn.

Great, now she had two naked men in her house.

When both of their heads turned to face her and their previous insults and swears died on the tip of their tongues, startled by her sudden outburst, Anastasia took the opportunity to push out more demands.

"Don't fucking move!" She didn't bother waiting for a response as she marched over to the bathroom to grab two more towels since Marcellus had managed to shred his to pieces when he shifted into his wolf.

"Both of you can get out of my house!" She threw a towel at both of them, uncaring of who had started the fight or who had dished out the most insults.

From where she was standing, they were both being childish and frankly, she didn't enjoy standing back as a spectator of the pissing contest that they were putting on in front of each other. The fact that Marcellus was dressed in only a towel – his prominent bulge still visible, even appearing to twitch slightly whenever her eyes betrayed her and danced over it – just worsened the situation.

"I refuse to put up with the both of you anymore so please leave before I call the police and have the both of you escorted out of my house!"

"But-" Harvey began as he took a step toward her. When Marcellus growled warningly at him, he rolled his eyes and continued toward her, but it was only when she took a step back, shook her head furiously and continued pointing at the both of them did he sigh, giving in to what appeared to be nothing short of a losing battle.

"You, too!" Anastasia barked as Harvey walked out of the living and down the hallway.

When Marcellus refused to move, she narrowed her eyes at him, only exhaling when his jaw clenched tighter and he turned around, still dressed in nothing but that towel.

She forced her eyes to remain upright and not glance down to his shapely bottom which peaked through with every step that he took, a sigh of relief escaping her once they finally reached the front door where unfortunately, Harvey was still stood outside of with a dark, menacing look on his face.

Almost as if the sight of the rogue wolf triggered something in him, Marcellus swivelled around at the last door and slammed the door behind him before turning the lock, effectively keeping Harvey out while keeping him locked in with Anastasia.

"You really didn't think I would leave, did you?" Marcellus chuckled darkly, the sound heavy and gruff as he swivelled around and stood with his back against the door, dropping the towel to pool by his feet on the ground. "Not when we have so many things to talk about."

Anastasia gulped and stared up at her mate with wide, unsuspecting eyes, very aware of the emphasis on the word talk.

-

Please remember to like, comment, review and follow me if you haven't already! Also, support me on Patreon to get read the COMPLETED book and get EARLY ACCESS to all my other books, including book 2 in this series:

https://www.patreon.com/LaylaKnight

Layla Knight

09.11.2020