39. Marcus

Shit.

I was going for a better first impression than that. Or, well, a second impression. I guess the diner counts as the first.

"I… I don't… I'm so," she stops me this time, raising her hand to cut off my apology.

"No, it isn't you. I just miss him, and knowing he is talking about me and even making stupid impressions of me makes me miss him all over again. His letters are the only thing keeping me going these days," she sniffs out, attempting to stop her tears as she hugs the envelope to her chest.

Every fiber of my being wants to comfort her, but she isn't mine to console, so I shove my hands into my pockets and look down at the ground, allowing her time to compose herself.

"He talked about you every day," I say, my voice just above a whisper. My stare flips back up as her eyes brim with tears again.

Damnit!

"Well, not every day. He didn't trust me that much at first, but after the second trial, I think that"s when we realized it was us against everybody else. I wouldn't have survived if it weren't for him," I admit quietly, hoping the words would help her emotions.

She laughs. It's a single sound that almost escapes against her will before she responds.

"It's funny. He said the same thing in one of his letters about you—saving him, I mean. He wouldn"t have made it if you hadn't been at the retreat. Deacon doesn't admit defeat lightly, so I know he meant it," she says, another tear sliding down her cheek.

Against my better judgment, I reach for it, sliding my thumb across the stream before pulling away so as not to be improper.

"Thank you," she says, though I almost miss her words because they are so small. "For keeping him alive for me. Thank you." Her eyes lock on mine, and I see the unmatched sincerity swirling in their depths.

"He's my best friend," I respond truthfully with a shrug. She smiles at that before answering.

"Mine too."

Yeah, I guess you"re right.

"Will you please allow me to escort you home? Deacon would have my as…errr butt if I let you walk home alone."

"Deal," she says, turning and continuing on the path she was walking when I startled her. I fall into step and do my best to distract her as I ask her what her week looks like, answer what Luca told me I would be doing, and chat our way into the evening.

Before I knew it, we were at her house.

Not a moment of our walk felt uncomfortable. It didn't feel like we were meeting for the first time, but rather that we had known each other forever.

I discovered she knew almost as much as I did about American history, a subject not usually taught in pack schools to the same level as public schools. However, she admitted that most of her knowledge there came from her time in the library. She hated sports, except golf, which I argued wasn't a sport but rather a game. We went back and forth several times before she gave up and admitted that either way, she enjoyed the quiet of it while she was reading at home.

Grace was bright, engaging, and funny. It made me happy to know Deacon had found someone who was such a solid partner for him. Someone who would push him in life since I knew he had no intentions of seeking pack hierarchy for his future.

I knew that the next few months would be easier to get through with her friendship and that the three of us might even be in a pack together someday.

The thought of having them both in my pack excites me for my future. Now, it was time to learn how to lead.

The following day, I wake up with the sun and go for a run on two legs before shifting into my wolf in the woods and checking out some of the trails in the area.

By the time I return to the pack house, breakfast is nearly over, and I rush in to grab something to eat before hitting the showers.

"Whoa! Slow down there, Turbo. What's the rush?" Luca's cheerful voice catches my attention as I practically inhale the eggs and bacon from my plate. He sits across from me, grabbing the apple from my plate before biting it.

"Hey, Luca. I"m just trying to get my day going. Is there any word on my schedule?" I ask, around another large scoop of eggs.

"Actually, that's why I came to find you. We have a small council meeting in an hour. Think you are up for it? I know you are still settling in," he says before taking another bite from my apple.

"No, that's perfect. I'm ready to dive in. Where should I meet you?" I ask, finishing the food on my plate and swallowing down the cold acidity of my fresh-squeezed orange juice.

"Grand staircase in forty-five minutes," he replies before getting up, chucking the apple core into the trash, and waltzing out.

Luca always seems to be in a great mood. He carries himself with such incredible energy that I wonder how Deacon can be so strikingly opposite.

Though Juliet and I are polar opposites, maybe it's just a sibling thing.

I hurry to clean off my plate and tray, shouting a quick thank you into the kitchen to Bernadette, whom I plan to become absolutely thick as thieves with if she keeps cooking food like this every day. Then, I jog up to my room to get cleaned up before my first official Alpha meeting.

Forty minutes later, I stand waiting at the second-floor landing of the grand staircase. Growing up, my dad always emphasized that being on time was a sign of respect. When you show someone you are willing to show up as promised or when needed, you establish an understanding based on respect.

I don't think he had ever been late a day in his life. Even as an emergency surgeon who was on call nights, weekends, and holidays, If he said he would be there in thirty minutes. He was there in twenty-five and ready to save a life.

It frustrated the crap out of me when I was younger, and we would wait for other people who weren't on time, but the older I got, the more I realized how much more that revealed about them than us, and I've done my best to keep my word and arrive on time.

Luca"s whistle from the top of the stairs pulls me from my reminiscing. He waves me up, and the two of us head down a hall filled with life-sized portraits of the Alphas, each with their years of service underneath until we see a photo of the man I met in Colorado.

Giovanni Marlo 1962 - current

It fascinates me that the artist who drew him was able to capture the sinister nature of his eyes. His frown matched his predecessors", and I wondered if Luca would attempt a similar expression when his turn arrived.

I can't even imagine a scowl on Luca's friendly face.

Luca turns to me as if my thoughts were broadcast, his expression more serious.

"You're here to observe, not comment. Keep your facial expressions in check, and whatever you do, follow your orders without pause or question. My goal here is to get you in and out of these unscathed. I can't do that if you go all Deacon on me," he finishes with a smile that carries his love for his little brother.

When he opens the door, the room within contains a sizable rectangular oak table, four chairs sit on each side, and an oversized chair is located at the head. Three or four more aluminum folding chairs line the wall on the opposite side of the room. Dark blue folders sit in front of each chair at the table, and a black telephone sits at the table"s center.

Luca points to one of the folding chairs and then places his finger over his lips in a reminder to keep me quiet, though I'm not sure why, as we are the first two in the room.

Even as I think it, a door at the end of the room opens, and a group of people file in, taking their seats. I sink into the folding chair farthest from the table and wait.

Once all the seats are taken, Luca sits in the chair on the right of the head seat. The room is silent. Every member waits, frozen in place, as we all pause for Alpha Marlo. I take the opportunity to figure out who is in the room, and without even trying, I find the Second. Not only is he in the chair opposite Luca, but his smug face matches that of his idiot son.

The tension in the room is palpable as no one speaks. Fear permeates the air, and I know without a doubt it"s because of the man who is currently missing.

They are all terrified of him.

Luca avoids my eyes and instead sits gazing at the folder before him like it will open and reveal its secrets if he stares long enough.

Ten minutes later, I struggle not to wiggle in my seat. Waiting has never been a strong suit of mine, and worse, my disdain for tardiness annoys me. He is forcing us to wait as a power play to make himself feel more important. My father would be fuming, and it takes all my self-control to keep from getting up and walking out.

Mind games.

The door opening pulls everyone"s attention, and Giovanni Marlo marches in, angling toward his seat at the head of the table. He wears a three-piece suit, buttoned closed, with cufflinks adorning his arms. He makes a show of undoing his buttons before being seated and casually leaning on one of the armrests.

"Begin," he says once he's made himself comfortable. Belsom starts to speak, but Marlo"s snapping cuts him off.

"Coffee. Now," he orders to a petite woman hugging the door by the wall. She nods wordlessly and disappears before he turns his attention back to his Second.

"Two incidents overnight. One from our western border. A hunting party crossed into our territory just after midnight, claiming they were tailing a deer. Enforcer team bravo was able to contain and remove them without bloodshed, but reports indicate they are feeling out the border for a weak point to take more land for Alpha Reyes." Lorenzo Belsom pauses, allowing his Alpha to take in the information.

"What's our response, Frank?" he questions turning to the man sitting next to Luca in the solid black fatigues.

Ok, so that's Frank. We trust Frank.

The scowl he wears instantly reminds me of Deacon. He always wears the mask of neutrality, a calculated level of disinterest.

"Normally, I would recommend increasing patrols on their side, either in numbers or in frequency, but we already have an increased presence on the eastern border due to their continued attempts to push through to the lake. We don't have enough personnel to continue at our current levels, let alone to add more. It's possible word of our shrinking numbers is getting out. If you would allow more transfers from other packs, we might be able to fill the ranks of the teams we are short on," he says, keeping emotion out of his voice as he lays the situation out.

Giovanni seems to ponder the decision, his hand going to his chin and his eyebrows dropping.

"Inviting new wolves to our pack opens the doors for spies and informants. We cannot vet the individuals except by speaking with their old packs. If they are being placed with us, it could be in an attempt to take us down from the inside," Marlo responds, a hint of paranoia in his tone.

"Not allowing wolves into the pack could be detrimental to our survival, my Alpha. Fresh blood allows for new matings, either Fated or otherwise, bringing new pups into the fold. We need to open our borders to our allies again. It"s been almost a decade." An older Beta sitting next to Belsom says.

"And what of your safety? We throw that away?!" Giovanni yells, rising from his seat and leaning over the table. He slams his hand down on the folder in front of him before continuing. "Everything I do for this pack is with its survival in mind!"

"Father," Luca begins, his voice docile and calm. "No one is questioning your leadership. We are simply looking for answers to our lack of personnel. What if we held another Alliance festival? Invite our closest allies and recruit from them. This way, it isn't them sending us recruits but rather us hand selecting them?" Luca offers as a solution, and for the first time, I see how his gentler hand works in a position of leadership.

Alpha Marlo calms down immediately, his face contemplative.

"I'll consider it. What of the second incident?" Giovanni says, turning back to Lorenzo.

"The second incident occurred at the diner. It was reported that an Alpha used command on a group of our high school students. The scene was witnessed by a room full of humans and shifters alike." Belsom's eyes slide over to me, and I realize I have stopped breathing.

Am I in trouble?

Oh Fuck, that was his son…

What a tattle-telling little bitch!

I sit straight in my seat, not looking away as Marlo responds.

"Impossible. Luca knows better than to openly use his abilities in public, and Frank and I were in meetings with Alpha Amato until his bravo shift." He says, almost dismissing the claim as his coffee finally arrives and is gently set on the table before him.

"Thank you, Hillary," Luca says, dismissing her as Giovanni ignores the servant altogether.

Just another way the two men differ.

"Apologies, my Alpha. I do not mean to correct you, but you aren't the only Alphas in the territory anymore," Lorenzo finishes, still locked on me. As if he finally catches on, Alpha Marlo turns his attention to me.

Part of me understands that getting into a staring contest with a seated Alpha isn't a good idea. The other part hates the idea of backing down when I didn't do anything wrong. Before meeting his gaze, I look to Luca, who flexes his jaw and shakes his head ever so slightly.

Shut up. Don't fight our question.

His message is crystal clear.

"Cadet Stone," Marlo addresses me like my name puts a bad taste in his mouth.

Not a cadet anymore, but okay…

"Would you like to explain why, on your first day in my territory, I already have to hear about your mistakes?"

"Apologies, Alpha. Won't happen again," I say, keeping it short and forcing myself to look at the table instead of him.

My wolf will not back down, so I choose the lesser evil. Avoidance.

"Did you think you could waltz your way into my territory and just start throwing your power around? I don't take kindly to insubordination in my pack, Stone. But, as you feel the need to flex your rather insignificant muscles, you can join the bravo team and work doubles this week just to get that extra energy out of your system," he finishes, amusement in his tone as he lays down the punishment.

"Yes, Alpha," I answer before leaning back in my chair now that the conversation is no longer on me.

"Alpha, that is all? Shouldn't he serve a stronger punishment? My son was among those high schoolers threatened in the diner. What kind of message does that send to them?" Belsom adds, with mischief in his eyes.

"Are you questioning my decision, Second?" Marlo comes back firmly, a single eyebrow raised.

"Of course not, My Alpha. I only add that you did not hear the full extent of the disturbance and want to be sure you had all of the information before deciding," he explains quickly, covering his meddling.

"Who was affected is of no consequence to me. If your son cannot handle himself among his peers, then maybe that is a conversation we can have about his future place in my pack." Marlo's emphasis on ‘my' causes his Second to clench his jaw and nod slowly.

"Yes, Alpha."

"Any other business for today?" Giovanni asks, sounding bored as he sips his coffee like the king he has made himself.

"I have one thing," Luca pipes up, pointing to the folders on the table. Each member moves to open them, and inside, I catch glimpses of blueprints and design schematics.

"We require a new packhouse and a training facility that will allow us to work on our human fighting skills similarly to our wolf team training. I have taken the liberty of designing and supplying a few workable locations for the expansion of our pack. If we are indeed trying to expand," he pauses, his eyes flashing to me for only an instant before he continues.

"We will need room for the recruits. Frank has also mentioned that the training regime for our growing members has become less effective. A new training facility could allow for classes in weapons, hand-to-hand combat styles, team SWAT scenarios, in addition to a weight room and state-of-the-art fitness equipment." Luca pauses momentarily, allowing the team to flip through the stack of images and paperwork.

"I've placed a sample budget on the green paper in the back, with ‘bare minimum funding,' ‘meets standard funding,' and ‘get everything we could dream of funding.' As I haven't had time to meet with the pack accountant…"

The meeting continues for another hour, with back-and-forth on where to place the two facilities, how to fund them, and what"s necessary and not. I tune most of it out, as building planning means very little to me.

The thought that keeps bouncing around is that Luca just warned me that Giovanni isn't opening borders because he has no interest in recruiting. He wants to invade. And from the information I gathered today, Vegas is high on his list.

Shit. Now what do I do?