I stare at him not finding any injuries, only a dumb-struck, pained face. He looks like his entire world has just changed. His face is slack and he isn’t even blinking, his jaw hanging open in shock.
Alex climbs out of the hole, pulling my attention away from Marcus. “Oh, thank the Fates. I thought I was never going to make it out of that tube before it ate me,” Alex exclaims in relief as he tries to be nonchalant about wiping some sweat from his brow. A shudder runs through his body, and he covers his eyes with one of his hands before inching closer to the woman in Derrick’s arms. At the same time, Derrick shifts his weight and pulls the woman closer to his chest while scooping up her legs to hold her in a bridal-style position. At least I think that’s what they call it these days. Sometimes it’s hard to keep up with modern phrasing.
Marcus gives a warning growl out of nowhere. Worried the human is back already, I scan the area, fully aware I've stopped paying attention to our surroundings. The atmosphere around us is unexpectedly thick with tension. Seeing no sign of danger and picking up no sent tracers, I return my eyes to Marcus only to see him staring Derrick down with a death glare. His front legs spread wide in a dominant stance, chest puffed out, sharp fangs on full display.
Marcus is probably the biggest wolf I've ever come across. Typically, and this is in part because I’ve known him just about my whole life, I don’t find him intimidating. That being said, I find him a bit terrifying at this moment, and he isn’t even focusing his glare on me. I glance at him and then Derrick, switching my gaze between the two of them back and forth, trying to figure out why Marcus is acting this way.
Alex slowly places his body slightly in front of Derrick, and Marcus snaps his jaws at him. With the movement, Alex holds up his hands in front of him in a placating gesture which only further pisses Marcus off. I’m not sure I've ever felt as torn as I do right now. I desperately want to know what the fuck is going on with Marcus, but there’s also the pressing need to focus more on our surroundings.One of us needs to.My attention is divided. Something that quite frankly surprises me because normally, Marcus is the one constantly keeping vigil over our group.
Being the most laid-back guy in the group, I never experience any kind of anxiety. The realization that anxiety is exactly what I’m suffering right now shocks me. I don’t like feeling jumpy and agitated with the current situation around me. I walk back to the edge of the clearing, a happy medium where I can listen for the human, and yet still observe the guys and intervene if Marcus attacks.
Derrick’s calm voice sounds across the clearing, “Marcus, dude, I can’t just put her down. It’s not like she can get up and walk on her own. One of us has to carry her.”
Marcus just responds with another guttural, threatening growl. It could be worse, he could try lunging at them again.
“Please, Marcus, just hear me out. Yes, you could be the one to shift and carry her, but you have more military training than the rest of us combined. Clearly, Alex just rescued...” He side-eyes Alex as if to verify he used the correct word and shouldn’t have used kidnapped. “...this woman from whatever nefarious things were happening underground in some shady ass situation. I’m willing to bet whoever had her won’t be pleased she’s no longer down there. We need you to watch our backs, so we can get the hell out of here. You already have Klaus feeling anxious over the brief moment no one was paying attention to our surroundings, something you normally do.”
“There’s a whole lab down there, and they were performing experiments on her. I physically couldn’t handle the thought of leaving her there.” Alex states with a bit of anger. “Right after I disconnected the machines she was hooked up to, I heard Marcus’ thoughts that the doctor got an alarm on his phone. I’m fairly certain he wouldn’t be the only one to get it either, and seeing as I have his keycard, I imagine reinforcements were called in to further assist. We don’t know what resources are at their disposal either. They could be coming right now in a helicopter.”
“So it’s settled? We need to get out of here, stat. Marcus, I swear to you I'll handle her with the utmost care. Now I know you always have a back-up plan; lead the way, we’ll be right behind you.”
While they’ve been talking, Marcus slowly relaxes his stance. He’s now sitting, which appears to me he’s thinking more clearly than he was just moments ago. Marcus glares at Derrick for a second longer, squints his eyes, gives one stiff nod of his head, and turns to head west.
He sets a grueling pace, but none of us complains, seeing as we all urgently want to get away from the scene of the crime—their crime, not ours, just to be clear. Marcus is in front, followed by Derrick carrying our damsel, and Alex running next to them, with me taking up the rear watching everyone’s backs.
It doesn’t take long for Derrick to realize he can’t run as fast with the way he’s carrying her. So we slow to a stop, and he takes the opportunity to put his pants and shoes on before he switches her to a fireman’s carry. The moment he has a firm grip on her, we set off again, able to run exponentially faster. We run nonstop for hours, putting as much distance as possible between us and what I can only assume is a bunker. We pause again briefly for Derrick and Alex to swap possession of the girl.
The landscape rushes by us; rolling hills covered with prairie grasses, farms with various crops, and wooded areas. Marcus has kept us on a path relatively free of people. Although maybe it’s not so much Marcus as it’s us being in the Midwest where there’s basically huge chunks of nothing. Maybe that’s why we’re traveling for so long. He could be taking us the long way to avoid populated areas, which would make sense.
In any other circumstance, we wouldn’t risk running in a mixed group like this. If a human sees us together, two wolves and two humans, they’d tend to take a second glance and most times, the sight sticks in their minds. It’s much easier to spot the size of our wolves when compared to the height of a human form. If we’re all in wolf form, people assume we’re a pack of wild dogs or try to explain away what they saw. That being said, with our girl passed out right now we have no other options. Plus, we wouldn’t want to freak her out by exposing ourselves to her right away.
I can’t believe she’s still unconscious. It makes me wonder if they were giving her some kind of drugs to keep her knocked out for this long. Or maybe she immediately went into some crazy detox. Alex did say he had to unhook her from some machines.
I lose track of time. I’ve never run this long in one go. My paws went numb forever ago, and I’m pretty sure they’ll be raw and bleeding by the time we stop. The sky is getting lighter, signaling dawn’s arrival.
Marcus slows our pace, and I couldn’t be more thankful. We’re currently in the woods somewhere, running along a small river. I have a suspicion he knows where a cave is. That could be our final destination. Sure enough, ten minutes after we slow down, we come across a cave opening you would miss had you not known it was there.
We slowly drag ourselves inside. I’m sure the guys are feeling the exhaustion in each of their movements just as much as I am. I flop down on the cold rock floor, splaying out my legs while keeping my eyes on our girl, who is gently being lowered to the ground by Derrick since he had been the last to carry her. Alex whips out a jacket from his pouch and bunches it under her head, giving her something softer to lie on.
As soon as she’s placed on the ground, Marcus jumps between her and Derrick, causing the latter to fall backward from his crouched position. Marcus snaps a warning at him and curls up his body next to her. I feel drained and too hungry to care about the squabble they are having right now. I let my eyes drift closed, knowing Marcus would only take us to a place he had one hundred percent confidence in its safety. My last thought before sleep consumes me is what color our girl’s eyes will be when she opens them in the morning.
Chapter 9
Cecily
Five Hundred Years Ago
Every moment Marcellus and I spend together, Lord Silas has tainted by inserting himself at every turn. It has only been a few days, but I’m at the point where I dread leaving my chambers because I know he will interrupt our conversations and time together. I call it conversations, but it’s too generous a word. It appears as though Lord Silas is actively trying to sabotage any progress made by us in getting to know each other.
My frustrations have bubbled over and now extend to my mate. What kind of Alpha Heir lets their uncle constantly interrupt their conversations like he does? Or for that matter interrupt his mate? Doesn’t he want to get to know me? Ugh! Yesterday, I was pushed to where I snapped at Lord Silas, asking him to enlighten me with what "he" deemed appropriate for me to know about Marcellus. Then I stormed out of the room before anyone could respond to my outburst.
I now find myself sitting at a writing table reading over a letter from my parents that I found placed in one of my trunks. My mind mulls over the words, but I've yet to write a response. I wish I could send reassurance of my progress, but at this point that would be a lie. If I respond now, I'll just cause her undue worry with my emotional state. I should wait a few more days before penning her a response. In the meantime, her words do bring me the encouragement I need to continue pushing on.
Our Little Sinopa,
My sweet, sweet girl, I know the news that your mate has revealed his mark comes as a great surprise to you. Quite honestly, it comes as a surprise to us as well. As you know, your father did not manifest his mark until I was two hundred and fifty. The Alpha Queen has always been at least two hundred years old before her mate has shown his mark.
All this being said, you’ve always had an affinity with the Fates. I've never seen someone fuse with their magic quite like you have. For this reason, it does not surprise me the Fates have chosen you to be ready to lead our people at such a young age. Do not despair, little Sinopa. I will be here for you always and will continue to teach you the things you need to learn.
