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“Don’t read into it, Markus. I don’t want you here, but we need to have a talk,” I replied, leaning forward with my arms resting on my thighs and my hands clasped together.
He held his hand up, stopping me from continuing. “Before you say anything, I just wanted to thank you for what you did back there.”
I stared at him, wondering where this grateful, humble male had come from and what he’d done with the shithead who’d bullied me for years. “Yeah. Don’t mention it.”
“You know there’s something between us. The mate bond didn’t want you to let me go?—”
There he was.
“Shut up.” I shook my head. “Just stop talking. This isn’t what you think it is.”
“Then what is it?”
I stared at him boldly. “What part of shut up did you not understand?” I could feel the irritation roll off him. I had the audacity to speak to him in a way that no doubt made his wolf prickle. When he didn’t speak again, I continued. “Right. There’s a lot that I want to happen to you, Markus, but death isn’t one of them. There is no mate bond between us. I rejected you. For whatever reason, you don’t see it. You need to reject me so it can ‘let go.’ You won’t be kicked out of Blood and Beryl if you do. As a matter of fact, it’ll really help your case for staying.”
Staying alive is what I should have said. But I didn’t.
“I . . . I can’t do that,” he said, looking away, toward the fire.
I sat back, leaning against the chair, letting out a flustered breath. “I don’t understand you. You spend our entire youth being a completely horrible asshat, and now suddenly, you want to be mated to me.” Shaking my head, I stopped talking. I tried to process what his deal was, but I couldn’t figure it out. “Do you even know why? Do you really think I’m your only hope at being mated? Second-chance mates happen all the time,” I said, then I mentally slapped myself for using the same words Elias had used on me earlier.
Markus sat up straight, his chest broad and proud. “I know you don’t believe this now, but I’d be a good mate for you. I would be good to you,” he pressed.
I barked a laugh, feeling some of the indignation rise in me. Memories of our childhood flashed through my mind. “What does that look like, Markus? Does being good to someone include standing by when your friends gang up on me and knock me to the ground when we were teenagers? You knew I couldn’t let Nova fight back growing up. You knew what would happen to me if I let her retaliate. The one time she did, I had my ass chewed out by your dad so bad, my mom requested we get to change packs. That was denied, of course,” I added bitterly, recalling the time Nova had put Markus’s best friend, Dru, in his place. He’d come for me when my back had been turned and she’d sunk her teeth into his throat, pinning him to the ground. He’d tried to stab her, and she’d severed the hand from his body. Dru had almost died . . . but thankfully he hadn’t. Nova and I had paid the price in the end. We always did. It would have been worse if he hadn’t lived. “Nova was ostracized after that. Your dad had you shave her in front of the entire pack just to humiliate us.” I shook my head, recalling the whole ordeal. Nova had stayed back after that. While she’d body-block for me or pull me out of scruffs and run, she’d never attacked another member of Fire and Fluorite. To do so would have been a death sentence for both of us.
“I was a kid too,” he said quietly.
“Screw your ‘I was just a kid’ defense,” I said through clenched teeth. “I wish I could say you didn’t know better, but I don’t believe that. I think you enjoyed it. I don’t think you can handle the fact that I rejected you. It’s too much for your spoiled, Alpha, Del Reyes ego to handle. In case you’ve already forgotten, I would rather die than be mated to you. I will never change my mind about that. Let that sink in.”
Markus narrowed his eyes, my venomous words digging under his skin. “Then why did you save me?”
Why, indeed? That was the question. I didn’t owe anyone an explanation. If there was one thing I’d learned from my family, it was that.
“I don’t answer to you. And I never will,” I said firmly.
“Then why did you invite me in here when I knocked?” he asked coolly. “You saved me, yet you say you want nothing to do with me.”
“If you aren’t going to reject me, you need to understand what’s about to happen.” I rested my arms on the chair and looked into the fire. The flames danced wildly, crackling and popping as embers glowed in angry reds and oranges. Returning my gaze to him, I stared him in the eye. “Do you care if you live or die?”
He scoffed. “Of course I care. I have every desire to live.”
“Good. Because our choices are exceedingly limited right now. Your father is out to kill me, and if you don’t reject me, he’s out to kill you too,” I reminded him. “He’ll marry your little brother off so fast just to get some poor girl knocked up with an heir, and he won’t care if she wants it or not. He won’t care that he’s fourteen. None of you matters to him. You may not realize what kind of guy he is, but I do.”
“I’m starting to see it. He’s always been . . .” Markus looked away from me, considering his response. “You opened my eyes. I’ve had some revelations. I’ll leave it at that.”
“Good for you,” I said sarcastically. “This isn’t about him. It’s about us. About there not being an ‘us.’” He returned his gaze to me and began to open his mouth to protest. I held a hand up. “No. You need to listen carefully. Our lives depend on it now. Elias expects payment for allowing us to be here. For taking both of us in as members when we have targets from a rival House on our backs.”
A crease developed between his brows. “What kind of payment?”
I inhaled deeply. I didn’t care that he wanted me to be his mate. Not in the slightest. I didn’t care for his feelings or whether or not these words would hurt him. What I cared about was compliance. I needed him to play along. Would he? Or rather, could he? That remained to be seen.
“Elias is going to announce that he found his mate.” I met his gaze with intensity. When he didn’t respond, I knew he didn’t get it. “Me, Markus. I’m his mate.”
He exploded out of his chair. It tumbled back and hit the ground. Nova curled her lips back and snarled. I shook my head at her. I’d expected this response. Unless he moved to hurt me, neither of us should stoop to his level. Reactionary responses would only escalate the situation.
“WHAT?” he shouted. “You can’t?—”
“Keep your voice down, and sit,” I demanded in a harsh whisper. When he didn’t listen, I got to my feet. “I do not belong to you.”
