49. Marcus

The walk home from Grace's house is excruciating. My wolf wants to run, but if I give in, I will end up right back at her house.

Mate.

The rest of the evening has me locked up in my room, staring at the ceiling, wondering what I'm going to do.

What is Grace going to do?

It's not only my decision, but the thought of her having to make this choice guts me. I want to take this away from her so she doesn't have to live with the consequences.

But the thought of rejecting her leaves me unable to breathe.

I don't want to reject her.

If I'm being honest with myself, something changed in my feelings for her since we went to LA. I found myself wanting her smiles, laughter, and sass, but it was more than wanting them. I wanted to be the one to make them happen. I wanted to make her smile. I wanted to make her laugh. I wanted her to sass me.

I wanted her.

But she wasn't mine yet. She was his.

It was a guilt that I had been shoving away with everything I had, justifying my actions as being a good friend to her and Deacon, lying to myself about what it meant.

Seeing her tonight solidified my resolve.

She is mine. The Fates gave her to me. To protect. To love. To cherish.

If I were a lesser man, that would be enough.

But I'm a man of my word, and I told Deacon I would look after her, protect her, and keep her safe.

For him.

She loves him.

I'm not her choice. I'm theirs.

As I drift off to sleep, I allow myself to have the fantasy—the one where she chooses me, where Deacon understands, and where we find a way to stay friends.

The one that will never happen.

Pounding on my door wakes me hours later. Vincent, one of the pack enforcers, and his half-brother Tony, the biggest dude I'd ever seen, stand in the hall.

"What's up, guys?" I say, my voice gravel from the dream-filled sleep.

"Alpha wants everyone for a briefing. Thirty minutes," Vincent says before walking to the next door.

Well, shit.

I grab my running shorts and throw on my shoes, knowing I will have to cut my morning run short today, but I need the exercise to wake up my brain before the meeting.

Heading down the front steps, I pull open the door to find Grace standing there, her hand raised like she's about to knock.

"Oh, hi," she says, stepping back, her eyes falling to the floor.

"Hey," I say back, a million questions on the tip of my tongue. "Are you here to see me?" I ask, hope filling my chest as I wait for her response.

"Why else would I be here?" she asks. "Can we take a walk?"

"Yeah, of course," I answer, trying not to sound eager but finding myself more at peace having her standing beside me. "I only have fifteen minutes, though. Alpha called a meeting for 8:30 am." I finish.

"That's fine," she says, turning and stepping off the front porch. It's then I see she has my birthday gift in her hand and several envelopes that have been torn open.

My stomach tightens.

We walk over to the running trail by the edge of the trees before she stops and lets out a forced breath.

"I need to know why," she says, and my mind wonders which reason she is referring to, so I wait. Her eyes lock onto mine, and she lifts the envelopes—confusion dances in her expression and my wolf surges.

Mine.

Mate.

Guilt pulls at me, but I shove it away before trying to give her an answer. One she will accept.

"It was causing you stress, and I could fix it." Truth.

"But it wasn't your problem to fix," she says matter-of-factly.

"It was a way I could make your life easier with no negative impact to my own. I had the money sitting there; you needed it, I didn't. It is that simple for me." Lie.

I wanted to take care of you.

"And your gift? This is too much to be a birthday gift from a friend," she accuses, asking an underlying question without saying the words.

Do you see me as just your friend?

"You don't like it," I say, deflating at her tone. It was more than friendship, but I won't put that guilt on her. That shame is my own to carry.

"I love it," she replies, her voice small, eyes on the ground. "That's not the point. It's too much. It's all too much." The change in her voice breaks my resolve, and against my better judgment, I step closer to her, gently placing my hand on her cheek to pull her eyes back to me.

"You deserve to have everything you want in this life, Grace. Everything. Ask for it, and I will give it to you," I pause, squeezing my eyes closed to build the strength I need to say the words I know will hurt the most. I open them, my voice filled with resolve.

"If you want to reject me, I will let you say the words. If you want me to leave, to never see you again so you can keep your wolf and Deacon," I swallow. "I will walk away, never speak to you again so that you can be happy. I will fight the Fates, disappear from existence, and take myself out of the equation if it means you can live the life you want." A single tear slides down my face as her eyes stare into mine.

In this moment, I wish I could read her thoughts and know what is churning behind those eyes.

"What if that's not what I want?" she says the words so quietly that I'm not sure I hear them correctly.

"What if I want you to become an Alpha? To lead a pack with your heart intact. What if I want you to have a life filled with happiness? What then?"

My heart clenches as I hold onto the hope that what she says is true. There's only one way that could happen, and it would destroy her to do that to Deacon.

"I'm willing to sacrifice my happiness for yours," I say. Truth.

"I'm not. I couldn't live with myself knowing I got to be happy at your expense. It's not who I am. The Fates chose you for me. I trust their choice. I trust their plan. They must have a way to balance everything. If you'll have me, I'd like to accept our fate."

Her words hang in the air. My silence is pure confusion as I never expected her to say them.

"I choose you, Ace."

My forehead falls to hers, and I pull her into my chest, wrapping her tightly in my embrace. Tears stream unbidden down my face and hers. I take my time holding her in my arms for the first time, knowing she"s mine. My wolf settles beneath my skin, happy with the series of events.

Pulling back, my eyes find hers, and I want nothing more than to kiss her. Her eyes drop to my lips as panic flashes, causing me to hesitate before she speaks.

"We can't. I won't betray him. He is too important to me. I cannot be yours behind his back. When he returns, I will tell him. I will make him understand. Until then, we can't. It's not right," she says, begging me with her eyes.

"He's important to me too, Spitfire. We will make him understand. Together." I wrap my arms around her in a tight hug, letting her know I will be here for all of the hard stuff just as everything falls apart.

"I don't know what you think you two are doing, but you better explain really fucking fast." My head snaps toward the voice, and we jump apart, looking guilty. Fury rolls off of Luca, and I tuck her behind me.

"It's not what you think," I say, trying to explain why I had my arms around Grace to Deacon"s older brother.

Fuck.