ALPHA MARCELLUS STORM

Marcellus scowled as he alternated between staring at the both of the rogues through the bars of their respective cells; not trusting them to be in one cell together.

After they had been detained by his warriors and the unconscious female rescued from their grasps, it was almost as if they had given up. But with the way one of the rogues stared back at him with the defiance clear in his eyes, Marcellus was definite that there was more to the story than they were currently seeing.

These rogues had given up way too quickly – barely even putting up a fight as they were escorted to the dungeons and locked away – that not for one second did Marcellus think that this was a simple kidnapping story. The capture had been way too easy so now, they needed to figure what was truly going on.

Marcellus. Dalton called out to him through the mind link. The pack doctor is currently doing a check up on the she-wolf but like the other females that were kidnapped, she's still unconscious.

Did they do anything to her? Marcellus asked quietly, his eyes growing darker in colour as he thought of the mistreatment of a she-wolf, and an innocent wolf at that, too.

We don't know yet but the doctor is checking. However, they found a mark on her neck.

What kind of mark?

A mate mark. Dalton explained. One of the nurses was changing her clothes and when she touched her neck, some makeup or something came off. They then found a mate mark on her neck.

What the fuck are they doing with a mated she-wolf?

I have no idea. Dalton sighed. But I would guess that her mate is one of the other two.

Probably. Marcellus couldn't help but agree with a thoughtful expression on his face.

How are things going down in the basement? Do you need me to come down here?

I could do with some helping torturing information out of these rogues. He couldn't help but growl, his eyes flickering toward the first rogue who had curled himself into a small bowl in the corner of the room while the second leaned against the back wolf, watching the Alpha silently. Let's find out which one of these wolves tried to kidnap his own mate.

Unwilling to wait until Dalton joined them, Marcellus' lips curled up into a devilish sneer as he took a step toward the cell directly in front of him. While the defiant wolf who refused to stand his ground probably would be harder to break, Marcellus had a feeling that the woman was his mate since he had been the one carrying her and currently, the other wolf was rocking himself back and forth in the corner, more worried and concerned about himself than anyone else.

The fact that he potentially had leverage over the first wolf meant that either he would be easier to crack, or the second wolf would get intimidated and end up spilling the entire truth.

Either way, Marcellus demanded answers and knew just the way to get them.

"Why were you trying to kidnap your own mate?" Marcellus asked with his arms crossed over his chest, choosing to not beat around the bush.

"What?" The rogue sounded aloud in confusion, though his eyebrows furrowed together in confusion. "I don't have a mate. What are you talking about?"

"Then why does that unconscious she-wolf have a mark on her neck which was covered with makeup?" Dalton asked from behind him as he entered into the cell after having just arrived, careful of the silver bars.

The rogue frowned with a mask of confusion on his face, yet not for one second did Marcellus allow himself to fall for the act. It was evident to him that the unconscious she-wolf was the mate of one of these rogues so now, it was just trying to figure out which one it was. While he had his money bet on the first rogue that was determined to keep up the tough guy act, now he wasn't so sure.

"I don't know anything about that." The rogue denied with a shake of his head before turning to glance at the second rogue however, he only seemed to fear away with all the pairs of inquisitive eyes on him.

"Well, if she's not your mate then she's his mate." Dalton hummed as he gestured toward the second rogue whom only shook his head frantically in response, denying the claim.

"Look, man." The first rogue began but very quickly stopped in his tracks as Marcellus growled threateningly at him, not at all fond of the lack of disrespect. "Alpha," the rogue was quick to correct, not wanting his head torn off just yet. "We don't know anything about that she-wolf or her having a mate. We were just told to kidnap her and dump her body outside your pack."

"And who instructed you to kidnap her?"

"Nice try." The rogue snorted but the sound was muffled as Marcellus landed a hard blow to his stomach, not at all found of the game of cat and mouse that the rogue was trying to play, clearly hell bent on wasting his time or perhaps, in attempt of buying himself some time.

As the rogue bent over and clutched his stomach, a strangled gasp escaping him, Marcellus huffed in impatience and glanced down at his watch, very aware that it was already quite late and he would need to hurry this up if he wanted to go see his mate. Even if from just outside the house as he wasn't allowed inside.

"Why do you keep looking at the time for?" The rogue spat at his feet, blood now coating his shoes. "You got a booty call or something waiting for you?"

Marcellus chuckled dryly and rolled his eyes, not the least bit amused. On the contrary, he was beyond frustrated and wanted nothing more than slam the rogue against the wall and knock some fear into him.

"With the way I'm about to mess up your face, you won't have to worry about a booty call ever again." Marcellus chuckled darkly as he snapped his fingers and took a step closer toward the rogue, very aware of the fact that Dalton and a few of his warriors were watching from the entrance of the cell but most importantly of all, the other rogue was watching.

"But then you'll be late for your booty call." The rogue merely smirked in response, a sharp glint in his eyes as he defiantly stared up at the Alpha.

Marcellus growled lowly and rolled his eyes, nearing the end of his patience and unable to put up with anymore bullshit.

"I haven't got a booty call." He denied.

"Well, I'm glad your mate will be glad to hear that." The rogue snorted and turned his head to glance at his partner in crime who peaked at them from under his lashes, still gently rocking back and forth in the corner of the cell; separated by some silver bars which would burn any werewolf upon touch.

"I don't have a mate." Marcellus denied even though his wolf protested, angry at him for denying them their mate once again. Except this time, he had good intentions and continued to deny Anastasia as his mate in hopes of keeping her safe and out of this situation.

"Then why do you sleep in neutral territory every night?" The rogue smirked up at him before he glanced over Marcellus' shoulder, clearly happy and satisfied with the response that he had managed to ignite in the warriors and Beta wolf. It was evident that none of them knew about the fact that he hadn't been sleeping in his own bed lately, even more so that this rogue seemed to claim that he had a mate even though the Alpha had never even hinted at it before.

Marcellus' body immediately stilled and he didn't need to turn around to know that all of his pack mates were currently confused.

Mars? What is he talking about? Dalton questioned him in a quiet voice, very much aware of the sensitivity of the situation.

He's talking bullshit. Marcellus denied quickly even though the rogue had been speaking nothing short of facts yet not everything made sense to him.

He had been very careful these past few months to keep his mate situation with Anastasia quiet and a secret. Especially these last two weeks when he had purposely waited until everyone in the pack house had fallen asleep before he snuck out to spend the night sleeping outside his mate's house. There was no possible way anyone but him knew this, especially not this random rogue whom he had never met or come across before which meant that without realising it, he had been being watched the whole time.

"What the fuck did you just say?" Marcellus growled loudly as he dropped himself into a crouching position in front of the rogue, his eyes now dangerously dark and promising nothing short of intense punishment and torture. "Do you want to fucking repeat yourself?"

"You heard what I just said." The rogue attempted to snort but he was barely able to voice the sound before Marcellus threw one punch which quickly turned to two, three, four and then after that, he lost count.

It was only when Dalton, Luke and Amir flanked him from both sides and attempted to pull him off the now unconscious rogue, now laying in his own small pool of blood that Marcellus stopped. It wasn't that he wanted to, but because he knew that he couldn't kill the rogue yet, not when they needed answers.

"Is he dead?" Amir asked quietly which Dalton promptly answered with a gentle shaking of his head.

"Unconscious, but not dead." Dalton murmured quietly as he rose to his feet. "He may have a concussion so we're going to have to keep an eye on him but Mars, man, that wasn't a smart thing to do."

Despite the fact that Marcellus knew his Beta and best friend was correct, Marcellus growled lightly and stormed out of the place. There was no reason for him to stick around in the dungeon as long as the first rogue was unconscious and the second rogue was too busy trembling in fear to talk so instead, he found himself marching back into his office. He wasn't sure why he was heading there since he knew he wouldn't be able to get any work done so late at night.

The answer was immediately revealed to him once he walked down the hallway and found his office door to be slightly ajar despite the fact that he had made sure to close it like he always did. He normally would have locked it but didn't that day as Dalton had needed to do some work in there, but Dalton knew better than to leave the door open.

While he normally would have been mad regarding the invasion of privacy, he couldn't bring himself to be angry at his mate whom had clearly ventured into his office and chosen to take a seat on his desk chair.

Despite his belief that the rogue had been talking shit out of his asshole, Marcellus couldn't help but worry about the fact that he had clearly been watching him every night as he made his way to his mate's house.

Why? He had absolutely no idea. How the rogue had managed to remain undetected? Again, he also had no idea about that either.

A frustrated groan passed his lips at all the unanswered questions currently running through his mind but the moment he sat down on his desk chair and the sweet honeysuckle of her scent enveloped him, his body started to relax.

He wasn't sure why she had been in his office but when he spied the half-filled bottle of water on the edge of the desk, but his lips pulled up slightly at the corners as he reached out for the bottle, his mouth watering for a sip.

We need to go check on her. Marcellus hummed to his wolf before taking another swig of water, this time draining the entire bottle.

You're right. His wolf was quick to agree. It's probably nothing but I don't trust that fucking rogue! How the fuck does he know that we've been sleeping outside her house every night?

I have no idea. He shook his head and rose to his feet before marching out of the office, his previous fear now returning.

With the small hope that she had wanted to talk to him lighting him up from the inside as well as the fact that he was worried about her safety after what the rogue had hinted, Marcellus shifted into his wolf and ran off into the forest, uncaring of the fact that several of his warriors had just watched him leave and he was only proving the rogue to be correct.

Like every other night, Marcellus shifted into his human form once her house came into view, untied the jogging bottoms previously tied around his ankle and pulled them on so he wouldn't be naked. He made a move to settle himself against the tree by the side of her house however, something was different tonight.

His heart stilled and his eyes grew dark as he spied for her front door to be open and all of the lights in her house off. One thing that he had noted about her mate was that wherever she went, the light followed; those words truly coming to life in her own house.

Even though she would sleep at night in the dark, she always left the living room light on as well as the upstairs hallway light.

Despite the fact that she had specifically ordered him to never step foot in her house again, Marcellus was more than prepared to take whatever punishment she saw fit for such a crime but right now, his fear and concern regarding her safety trumped everything else that he was feeling.

Taking a cautious step into his mate's house, Marcellus closed the door gently behind him despite the fact that he could sense that other than him, the house was entirely empty. His eyebrows furrowed together in a mix of confusion and fear as he took rushed steps into the house. When he found the living room to be completely empty and her scent faint, almost as if she hadn't been home in hours, he worked his way through the rest of the house. When he couldn't find anything out of the ordinary, his lips tugged down into a worrisome frown and he returned to the living room.

The fact that it was past midnight and Anastasia wasn't home, as well as mixed in with the fact that the rogue had somehow known that he had been sleeping outside her house every night for the past two weeks had his mind reeling and immediately jumping to the worst-case scenario.

He had no idea where she was or what she was doing out so late. For all he knew, she could have been out with Harvey and then decided to spend the night at his place since technically, Anastasia and Marcellus weren't together and while that thought rattled him, his gut said no.

Even though he wouldn't blame her for pursuing someone else just as he had been doing, Marcellus just knew that she wouldn't do it. However, that still didn't explain where she was right now and why she wasn't at home so late at night or rather, so early in the morning.

A frustrated, aggravated growl passed his lips as he leaned forward and buried his face in his hands, his mind at a complete blank after having not been able to find his mate anywhere. Knowing that there was no point sticking around when she wasn't home and with plans to do some investigation around the house to see if he could pick up any foreign scents, Marcellus growled again as he rose to his feet.

However, the moment he shifted his weight, he heard a sharp crunch from under his feet.

A puzzle expression masked his face as he glanced down to spy a small piece of paper under his foot. Since it was barely peeking out from under the sofa, he hadn't been able to spit it earlier. His lips tugged down into a deeper frown as he reached down to pick up the small piece of paper, his fingers moving to unfold it.

I'm sorry, my love.

Yours,

Mars

Forcing himself to read the note over and over again, Marcellus couldn't believe his eyes. While the note had been addressed to his mate, he had never referred to her as my love but rather, believed my little spitfire to suit her much better. On top of that, she had refused to call him Mars even when he had specifically asked her to but very quickly, he found himself growing very fond of her referring to him by his full name, especially when she was fiery red with anger.

There was also the fact that he never wrote that note, let alone delivered it to her.

-

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Layla Knight

15.11.2020