Chapter 10 - Mark

Declan grunted as I slammed him to the ground. I grabbed his arm, twisting and holding it behind him as I pinned him. He snarled, trying to get out from underneath me, but he couldn’t get any leverage.

“Tap out,” I growled.

Declan grumbled, but his hand slammed against the mat several times. I released him, stepping back and holding out my hand to help him up.

“Nice one,” Declan grunted, rolling his shoulder. “Should have seen that leg sweep coming.”

I shrugged. “Probably,” I said, grinning.

Declan shot me a look before cracking his own smirk in response. “Maybe I’m just getting old,” Declan grumbled.

“We could have told you that,” Nolan called. Halfway across the gym, he and Jackson had paused in their sparring to watch our fight. “Especially if you’re letting flabby, out-of-shape shifters like Mark get the better of you.”

“Hop in the ring, and I’ll show you just how flabby and out of shape I am,” I fired back, earning a snicker from Jackson and another smirk from Declan.

“Always good to see someone put Nolan in his place,” Declan said. “Good guy, but needs to learn to shut his mouth on occasion.”

“And where’s the fun in that?” Nolan asked.

“Peace and quiet for five minutes,” Jackson responded.

“Regardless, thanks for the fight,” I said to Declan. “Been a while since I’ve been on the mat.”

“Tired of fighting the same people when you know their every move because you’ve worked together for years?” Declan asked.

“You too, huh?” I asked, breaking into a knowing smile. “Yeah, to be honest, it’s nice having fresh blood in the area. Even if it’s only temporary.”

“Always good to keep your skills sharp. You get complacent when it’s the same people over and over again.”

“How did you get into the trade, anyway?” I asked. Despite myself, I couldn’t help but like Declan. I didn’t like how he was pushing to use Lorelei effectively as bait, but besides that, he got along well with all of us.

He chuckled. “How do any of us get into it?” he mused. “I was military, got fairly high-ranked, then tapped to join a black-ops team, then eventually started leading it. Collected this motley crew along the way.”

“He’s leaving out the part where he’s a big ol’ softie when it comes to his daughter,” Nolan chimed in. “Seriously, that girl’s got him wrapped around her little finger.”

If he’d expected to get a rise from Declan, it failed. Instead, the alpha shrugged. “Got me there,” he said. “Can’t say no to her. Doesn’t help that I move around so much, I don’t get much time to spend with her.”

“Ever thought about settling down?” I asked. “Pseudo-retirement has its perks.”

Declan chuckled, scratching his chin as he stared off to the side. “It’s definitely crossed my mind on more than one occasion,” he admitted. “But I haven’t found a place I’ve wanted to settle down in yet.”

“Brixton isn’t a bad place if you’re interested,” I said. “I’m sure Jameson would welcome you.”

“I might do just that,” he said, tilting his head as he considered. He shrugged. “But I’ll worry about that when we finish with Inara. Which reminds me.” He gave me a searching look. “I heard a rumor that some of the Silver Wolves’ mates met with Lorelei. They say she’s looking pretty much healed. Any truth to that?”

I let out an exhale. I knew this would happen eventually. Inviting the women over had meant risking bringing Lorelei closer to everything I was trying to shield her from. But I couldn’t stand isolating her like that anymore.

“Yeah,” I said simply.

Declan nodded. “She doing all right?”

I gave a short jerk of my head in confirmation.

Another nod. “And I’m guessing you aren’t going to let me talk to her?”

I gave a feral grin that bared my teeth. “Nope. I told you. She shouldn’t get anywhere near this. We can come up with another solution.”

Declan’s jaw tightened, his expression darkening. I could tell it was what he had expected to hear, even if he wasn’t thrilled about it.

“I hope you know what you’re doing, Mark,” he said. There was no hint of threat or warning in her voice, just a flat certainty. And something about that put me more on edge than anything else he could have said. “Because Lorelei is our best chance at stopping Inara.”

“Lorelei’s a person, too, you know,” I snarled. “She isn’t just a weapon.”

“I’m fully aware of that,” Declan said. “But that doesn’t change the fact that unless she agrees to help, and you let her help, there’s a strong likelihood it won’t matter. Inara will flatten us all unless we figure out a way to stop her.” Again, there was no bravado or anything other than sincerity in his words and the hard gaze he leveled at me.

He walked past me, clapping me on the shoulder. “Just think about it,” he said as he brushed past me, leaving me alone to my thoughts.