Chapter 8

MARKUS

I’d left home around nine in the morning, hoping not to encounter either my brother or Lexie. It had been a sin to get up that early on a Sunday morning, but neither my wolf nor I could sleep any longer. Ollie had been in the shower, and I couldn’t hear Lex moving about. So as soon as I was up and dressed, I headed for the gym, then to the nearby diner for lunch.

After that, I hadn’t known what to do, so I’d gone over to a buddy’s place for a beer and a game of pool, delaying going home as long as I could. The worst part about it was the fact that it wasn’t like I didn’t want to go home. If anything, it fucking hurt to stay away, which made me work even harder not to fall into the trap Lexie and Fate were setting for me.

I shouldn’t be aching for a woman I’d barely kissed, surely? I couldn’t be jealous that my brother was spending the day with a woman he believed was his mate. Our mate. Could I?

Of course, not. So, whatever this horrible, twisted, sickening feeling was in my gut, it could fuck right off.

By six o’clock, I was freaking dying. I couldn’t stay away any longer.

I headed home, half hoping Lexie would be gone, and half praying she’d be lying on the couch ready with a welcoming smile for me. My feelings were all churned up inside. I had no idea what I wanted, or what I’d be walking into, but it was time to find out.

When I parked my truck in the driveway behind Ollie’s vehicle, my heart rate picked up.

I sat there in the driver’s seat as long as I could, trying to work out what I actually wanted. Did I want to walk inside and see my brother happily cuddled up with his mate? How would that make me feel? Would I be pleased for him? Or jealous as fuck?

My fingers tightened on the wheel as my phone buzzed from beside me. I’d been ignoring the damn thing most of the day, but when I glanced over at the screen, I saw Ollie’s familiar text bubble.

You comin’ inside? We’re looking at dinner options. You wanna weigh in?

He said “we”. Fuck.

I slid out of the truck and slow-jogged up to the front door, a strangely excited buzz coursing through me. A feeling I’d never known before. Half happiness, half... I wasn’t sure. But it wasn’t fear, it was something else. Something primal. A feeling that I generally only got when I was in wolf form.

I tried to shake off the strange sensation and stay calm and focused. Unfortunately, I didn’t have much success with that.

I opened the front door of my home and the first thing I smelled was Lexie’s delicious perfume. It was a subtle flower aroma mixed with her own individual skin scent. I fucking loved it. One whiff, and my dick was already on its way to being hard.

I shut the door, stifling a groan, and hung up my keys on one of the hooks before heading into the main living room.

That’s when I froze.

My heart hurt.

There, on our massive sectional couch, was Lexie curled up with Ollie. She had her head on his lap and his hand was tangled in her hair.

The coffee table was littered with bowls of candy and popcorn, cans of soda and a single beer.

I was hit with the strangest feeling, like I was viewing a snapshot in time.

My future. Right there, in front of me. If I wanted it.

I gulped down the sudden fear that rose inside my chest, prickly and hot.

I couldn’t want it. It didn’t suit me or my chosen lifestyle. This future wasn’t for the likes of me.

“Hey,” I managed, somehow, despite the churning in my gut.

Lexie sat up and rearranged her legs until she was sitting like a genie on the couch next to Ollie. “Hey.”

My heart was pounding. She was so kissable, her pillowy, red lips calling to me.

My fingers tightened into fists as I tried to control my inner urge to leap across the room and take her in my arms. I crossed my arms over my chest, so I didn’t follow my instincts. Damn, I wanted to hold her. So bad.

Ollie studied me for a moment before picking up the remote and pausing the movie they’d been watching. I hadn’t even noticed the TV was on. “We were gonna order some pizza. You want your regular order, Markus, or you want Mexican or something?”

I looked from my brother to the woman sitting next to him, then back again. “Um... pizza. Fine. Yep.”

I sounded like a caveman, but my brain felt fuzzy. I didn’t know what I could do to utter more than monosyllabic grunts. That was all that was coming out right now.

Lexie turned to Ollie. “Can we chat now that Markus is back?”

Ollie chuckled, smiling at her with more love and warmth than I’d ever seen on my brother’s face before.

Jealousy flared, and I bit out in a more caustic tone than I intended, “Whatcha talking about?”

Ollie looked at me, his gaze cooling. “We ran into Nancy at the grocery store, and Lexie has some questions about us... and our intentions, and a few other things.”

I groaned and rolled my eyes. Of course, they’d walked into Nancy. Of all the fucking women... “I... can I have a shower first?”

Surely, they’d give me a minute to get my head on straight.

Lexie’s lips twisted, then she nodded. “Okay. But you’re coming back. Right?”

The fact that she wanted me here for this conversation as well as Ollie, and seemed anxious that I may leave again, made a strange feeling pass through my chest.

I couldn’t identify it, but I wasn’t leaving if she wanted me to stay. It would take a direct order from the pack Alpha to move me, and even then, I had the feeling I’d put up a fight.

“Sure. Be back in ten.”

“Cool,” Ollie said, reaching for his cell. “I’ll order the pizzas.”

Lexie smiled at me, her eyes shining in a way that once again, made me want to stay.

“I’ll, ah...” I pointed to upstairs, and she nodded.

“See you soon, Markus.”

I forced myself to turn and bolt up the stairs, half afraid that if I stayed, I wouldn’t take the time I needed to breathe.

See you soon, Markus. Her voice when she said it had been laced with warmth. Matching heat seemed to infuse my limbs as I undressed and turned on the water. I couldn’t get the effect of her presence out of my system. And to be honest, I wasn’t certain I wanted to.

The shower washed away the stress and sweat of the day. I’d really pushed myself at the gym and could smell the effects of it. I lathered up extra hard, wanting to be clean and fresh when I headed downstairs again.

By the time I was dry and dressed, I heard the doorbell peel. A sign the pizzas were likely here.

What was I going to say to Lexie? What had my brother already told her?

Honesty was always the best policy, but were we going to reveal the shifter element, or not? That information wasn’t shared with humans unless absolutely necessary, and we barely knew her.

“Thanks, bud,” Ollie was saying at the door as I jogged down the stairs. He grabbed the pizzas from whoever was outside and shut the front door.

I met him in the lounge, where he was handing Lexie a pizza box.

“Here.” Ollie handed me mine, and I sat down to devour the family-sized meatasaurus feast.

Ollie had his regular order, a supreme with extra cheese, but I was interested in what Lexie had. Was she one of those girls that would order a vegetarian to save calories, then barely eat a bite?

She opened her box to reveal a pizza loaded up with ingredients, and a cheesy smell wafted my way. “Oh, this smells amazing,” she said. “Thank you, Ollie.”

My brother grinned at her, and she got to eating.

I glanced over at the half empty bowls of snacks and had to assume she’d eaten some of those too. Despite myself, I was impressed. She could eat.

Thank God.

“So what else did you guys get up to today?” I asked. “Other than candy shopping...” And running into my occasional booty call.

Ollie opened a can of soda, the crack, pop and hiss sounding loud in the room. “We went over to Lexie’s apartment, sorted out her rent and got some clothes.”

“But you’re still staying here, right?” I’d asked the question before I was able to moderate my tone. I sounded half desperate.

Lexie grabbed a napkin to wipe pizza sauce off her chin. “For the moment, yeah. Ollie offered, and, well... I’d rather stay here until I can get another job and pay you guys back for everything you’ve done already.”

“Pay us back for what?” I asked.

Ollie glared at me. Oh. He’d sorted out her rent issue.

Then I looked at Lexie, and her face was glowing red with embarrassment. Shit! “Doesn’t that asshole diner owner owe you a stack of money?”

She nodded. “Yeah, I went by to get my charger today, but he... Well...”

I narrowed my eyes at her look of shame, then switched to Ollie. “What did he do?”

“Ran her off, basically.”

“How much does he owe you?” I asked.

She shrugged. “I don’t know exactly. Two weeks’ pay, plus he’s held onto all the tips I’ve made since I started. He said he’d give them to me eventually, but...” She shrugged.

“He hasn’t given you any of your tips? For the whole time?”

At her head shake, I only just suppressed a growl. “Figure it out for me,” I told her. “I’ll sort it out.”

I fucking hated bullies. Especially men who preyed on women.

“Oh, no, please don’t. I’ll just get another job and go from there.”

I smiled at her, working hard to soften my tone. “Could you please figure it out for me? I’ve got some friends in the industry. I might be able to sort something out for you.”

“A new job?”

I shrugged. “Sure.” But if Ollie had his way, she’d never work again. He’d always wanted a woman to spoil, to love, to...

Lexie sat up straighter, flicking her long, dark hair over her shoulder and rapidly changed the subject. “So, can you tell me more about the twin thing? And the mate thing, and everything?” She stared between us, waiting expectantly.

I reached for a beer that was sitting on the coffee table. I was gonna need one.

“Well, yeah. Sure,” Ollie said, putting his half-eaten pizza down on the couch next to him. “How much do you know about wolf shifters?”

Lexie’s eyebrows lifted high on her forehead. “Ah... what? Sorry, I think I misheard.”

She glanced over at me, confusion clouding her eyes. I glared at Ollie, who said to me, “Everything we have to tell her is based on the paranormal element. It won’t make sense otherwise.”

“But you know the rules.”

Ollie sighed and turned to Lexie. “What we’re about to tell you is a pretty tightly held secret, and although I’m totally comfortable telling you, because I want you as part of our life... If it doesn’t work out, you can’t tell anyone.”

Lexie huffed out a soft laugh. “I grew up in a biker gang. I’ve seen more things and held more secrets than most. You don’t need to worry about me.”

A ton of questions immediately popped into my mind. What gang? Why? How? Was she okay? But I put the beer to my lips and swallowed the questions down for another time.

“Okay, well, basically Markus and I were born wolf shifters. We’re part of a large pack in town that is integrated into the human world here. We’re not werewolves, and we don’t lose control of ourselves or turn into monsters at the full moon. We simply can turn into wolves and back again whenever we want.”

There was a lot more to it, of course. Our hierarchy, our strength and speed. Not to mention the fact that the perfect pair phenomena only occurred in shifters. Not only wolves, but also mountain lions, and others. But I kept drinking and let Ollie tell the tale in his own way.

“Ah... I don’t really believe you,” Lexie said, then gulped. “But I’m also smart enough to know that I don’t know shit about this world.” She crossed her arms over her middle in a gesture that looked like self-protection. “Can you prove it?”

Ollie glanced over at me. “Mark?”

I groaned and got to my feet. Why not? I unbuttoned my shirt and kicked off my shoes. “If she freaks out or passes out, this is on you, Ollie.”

I glanced at Lexie, who was staring at my bare chest. “You ready?”

She nodded. “Yes, please.”

I sighed. “Okay. But number one, don’t forget that I’m still me. I’m not going to bite you or attack you, or anything dumb, okay?”

Her mouth tightened, but she nodded again.

“And number two.” I threw my shirt onto the couch next to Ollie, and prepared my wolf to rise up into my flesh. It wasn’t difficult to call him forth as he was never far away, especially when Lexie was around. “Don’t forget you asked for this.”