ALPHA MARCELLUS STORM

Even though every bone was telling him that he needed to get his mate safe before he made all of these people pay for taking her away from him and trying to hurt her, he couldn't bring himself to deny her this one wish. Especially not with the desperate plea that glistened in her eyes at the prospect of something happening to this woman that she had grown fond of.

"We can't let anything happen to her, Marcellus." She whispered into her ear, her arms wound tightly around his shoulders as he galloped around the side of the house, dodging every human and wolf that tried to take a swing at him and his mate.

If she wasn't on his back right now and fighting back wouldn't have put her in any sort of danger, Marcellus would have torn into each and every one of them without so much as a second thought but he couldn't act like that anymore. He had a mate now and he needed to put her first, especially after the way he had all but sabotaged them from the get go.

Marcellus growled in response and made a show of nodding his head to show that he understood while finally rearing the corner of the house and taking off after Harvey who was also running in wolf form ahead of him.

Despite with the thrashing woman thrown over his wolfish shoulder, scratching and pulling at his fur at every possible instance, Harvey was nimble and fast as he ran into the clearing that they had previously been in, his eyes set on the plane which was now starting down the makeshift runway.

"We can't let them get away." His mate spoke directly into his ear and for the first time since they both met, the both of them couldn't agree on something more.

While Harvey ran fast after the plane that was set to head off, already halfway the clearing in the middle of nowhere, Marcellus pushed himself further and further until finally, he was within reach. He opened his mouth wide and snapped his teeth shut on the end of his tail with the intention of pulling him back before pouncing, but what he hadn't expected was for Harvey to shift into his human form at the last minute and jump onto the plane that had just lifted up from the ground.

Barely hanging on to the bottom of the plane with one arm, his fingers curled around the bar, Harvey was sure to keep one arm locked tight around his prisoner; unwilling to let go of the precious cargo.

Thea kicked and screamed but unfortunately, she was absolutely no match against the werewolf that was determined to take her with him despite the fact that it was obvious he wouldn't be able to hang off the from the plane for long. When none of that worked, she managed to squeeze one arm out from his grasp and scratched down the side of his face, digging her nails in as hard as she could but all that did was anger the wolf.

Harvey growled loudly and his eyes flashed darkly as his wolf rose to the surface, menacing and deadly but not enough to scare a woman that at this point, had absolutely nothing left to lose. The only thing that she had that was worth living for was her son, her little Malik and if she couldn't be with him, then there was nothing left for her anymore.

Unable to believe his eyes, Marcellus blinked but when he opened them again, the situation was exactly the same as before. He had thought that this was the kind of thing that only happened in the movies, but clearly not.

Despite his shock at the sudden turn of events, he knew that he didn't have much time and that if he didn't act now, he would lose his chance.

Almost as if she could read his mind, Anastasia began to gradually release her fingers from around his fur. The moment that he lowered himself to the ground and bent his knees, she fully utilised the opportunity by rolling off his back and landing on the ground with a small thud.

Knowing that his mate was safe and a few of his warriors were lingering around and would keep her safe from any oncoming attacks, Marcellus sprang low before pouncing up high and into the air, desperate to fulfil her wish by keeping her friend safe even though he had absolutely no idea what had happened inside. All he knew was that this woman was important to his mate hence, she was now important to him.

It was as simple as that.

Marcellus bit hard as hard as he could and clamped his mouth shut around Harvey's ankle; his greatest mistake being that he had shifted back into his human form when he could have remained as his wolf where he was much stronger and faster; especially since he was up against a wolf.

When the plane door opened and a female bent over the edge but couldn't quite reach him, Harvey grunted and tried to kick off Marcellus so he could climb higher and accept her hand. Much to his bad luck, Marcellus wasn't going anywhere and instead, he inched further up and bit down harder on his leg, aiming to do more than just injure.

Harvey tried kicking him off but as Thea realised what was going on, she broke both her arms free and dug them into whatever part of her body she could reach, alternating between his face, neck and shoulders. However, that didn't prove to be enough as Harvey merely reached higher in determination, using his free leg to try and kick off the Alpha wolf that was determined to not let go but rather, bring them both down with him.

As the plane rose higher and higher in the air, Marcellus couldn't deny the fact that he was beginning to worry, especially since if they left it any longer, he doubted he would be able to survive the drop.

With perfect calculation, he waited until Harvey was mid-reach and just as his fingers grazed against that of the female wolf currently hanging out of the plane, Marcellus shifted into his human form and tugged on his prey as hard as possible.

Having not anticipated the unsuspecting attack, Harvey tried to kick him off one last time but, in his haste, his fingers finally slipped and despite trying to save himself, the three of them dropped from the plane and began toward the ground.

Despite the lengthy drop and the imminent chance of death, all Marcellus feared was never being able to see his mate again so as they continued to fall through the air, he allowed his wolf to take control and as he twisted his body around, Harvey was forced to brace the fall for the three of them.

As the trio thumped down to the ground, Marcellus was quick to shift back to his human form and wrap his hands around Harvey's neck before he could try anything funny. However, there wasn't much that he could do as now, he sported nothing short of a broken collarbone, broken arm and several cracked ribs.

At the sight of her mate dropping to the ground and unable to bear the thought of leaving him behind, Heena screamed out as she all but threw herself off the plane after him.

Not feeling the least of sympathy for this woman that had played a part in kidnapping his mate, Marcellus merely moved out of the way so she wouldn't land on him and instead, he chuckled darkly as she fell splat on the ground. Unlike Marcellus, she had remained in her wolf form the entire time and just like her mate, she had been forced to bear the brunt force of the drop.

However, unlike her mate, she didn't survive it.

"Heena?" Harvey chocked out his mate's name but with Marcellus' hand wrapped around his neck and holding him up a few feet from the ground, his words were indiscernible. However, that was not enough to stop him as the wolf continued staring at his mate and trying to fight off his transgressor in his best attempts of getting to her despite the fact that she was no longer in this world.

"Mars! Mars!" Dalton screamed out his name as he came jogging out of the house, struggling to believe the sight that had just unfolded in front of him. "You can't kill him, Mars!"

Despite the incessant begging, Marcellus merely growled louder, blocking out all sounds as he focused on the sole individual in front of him; the very individual that had brought this whole mess into their lives and threatened to take his mate away from him.

Don't listen to him. His wolf whispered to him in a dark, low voice. This wolf tried to take our mate away from us. He deserves to die.

His lips merely curled up into a devilish grin as she squeezed tighter and tighter, completely unaffected by his prey trying to thrash out against him, only being spurred on and getting more excited as he felt the oxygen leave his throat until finally, he knew it wouldn't be long until Harvey would finally be dead.

"Marcellus." A quiet whisper sounded aloud from behind him.

He ignored her at first but when she called out to him for a second and third time, and then proceeded to wrap her hand around his arm, he loosened his grip just a little as he turned his head to glance at his mate. As he noted the graze on her forehead from when they had fallen to the ground earlier, the anger within him surged yet once again and without thinking, he was back to choking Harvey to death.

"Marcellus, you need to let him go. We need to keep him alive. At least for the council." Anastasia sighed as she pleaded him with her eyes. "You need to let him go, Marcellus. This is bigger than me or you." She insisted once again and as he pursed his lips and studied her for a few silent moments, he exhaled deeply through his nose and eventually, nodded his head slowly.

Even though every fibre in his entire being – as well as his wolf, for that matter – demanded that he kill Harvey for everything that he had put her through, Marcellus dropped him to the ground but just to make himself feel better, he landed a hard kick to the scum's gut before grabbing his mate and turning around.

"Deal with him." He ordered his warriors as he continued walking toward his Beta.

"Is there anyone left in the house?" Marcellus asked sharply as he turned his head to the left and glanced at the tall, abandoned house, feeling very tempted to destroy the building simply because it had been used to entrap his mate.

"No, Alpha." Dalton replied quickly, aware that now was a very critical time. "We killed most of them but kept a few to bring in for questioning."

"Good." He hummed and scowled deeply; trusting his wolves to handle everything while he took a moment to take everything in.

Thankfully, while some of his pack was injured and a few of them required medical attention, none of them were dead but rather, only their enemies had suffered such a fate. Usually after war, there were many bodies to bury but not for one second did Marcellus even consider granting any of these people any sort of burial. However, burning their bodies seemed more fitting when considering the situation.

Marcellus stood in the middle of the field with the fire to warm both him and his mate; one which they would soon spread to the house before it was time for them to leave. He barked orders to all his wolves as they prepared to head back to their pack, claiming the remaining kidnappers whom had been fortunate – or unfortunate, depending on the way you liked to look at it – to be kept alive as their prisoners.

Despite the blood that he was covered in and the bleak, grimy situation that they were currently right in the middle of, with his mate nestled by his side, her body turned toward him, her head rested on his shoulder and her arms wound around his middle, Marcellus felt like he was on top of the world.

"We have so much to talk about." Anastasia murmured against the bare skin of his shoulder, tightening her arms around his body, unable to even consider stepping away from him right now, especially after fearing that she would never be able to see him again; let alone hold him and hug him.

"I know, my little spitfire." He bowed his head and pressed his lips firmly to the crown of his head, rubbing a reassuring hand up and down his back. "But not now. We can talk when we get back to the pack."

She merely nodded her head in understanding, slowly unwinding her arms from around him but not daring to take a step back.

"Let's go home." Anastasia exhaled in a quiet whisper; her baby blues locked with his hazel orbs in an unwavering gaze.

Holding her eyes, Marcellus couldn't bring himself to speak and instead, he nodded his head just slightly before taking a step back and allowing his hands to drop from around her. As he dropped to the ground and shifted into his wolf, Marcellus stood in front of his mate and just like before, she knew what to do without him having to tell her.

Wound around his back with her face buried in the soft fur of his neck, for the first time since she had known him, Anastasia exhaled in bliss as she prepared herself for the long ride back to the pack. After everything that had happened and everything that they had been through together, despite all their shortcomings and obstacles in their path, she was finally confident that they would be able to make it through together; fully aware and embracing of the fact that she was in for the ride of her life.

-

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

22.11.2020