Our pack.
The words made me smile even wider.
Though I hadn’t seen Dad for so long—besides our little chat in the woods—I missed him. I just hoped that he would forgive me for bringing Ares to Mom’s pack and for Mom’s death. All I had ever wanted was for my mate and my family to get along, but now that Mom was dead, I didn’t know if that’d ever happen.
Dad probably blamed my mate for the hound attack.
Maybe, after dinner, we could go see him and talk.
“Elijah?” I asked, remembering I had seen him here earlier when I was bringing Ares home. I scolded myself for not telling him about the wolf who had saved me in the woods, but at that time, I had been too focused on getting Ares help.
“He’s back at his pack. Safe.”
I sent a quick text to Elijah to meet me at the prison in an hour, and I leaned toward Mars again. “What about the pups that I brought home? Most, if not all, of their parents are dead. We need to find them homes here. Would families in your pack … consider taking them in?” I parted my lips and awkwardly waited for him to answer. “I mean, we could do it. I just don’t think that we’re the best-suited people at the moment. We have so much going on and—”
“I love you.” Mars grabbed my hands from across the table. “You’re going to make a great luna. I can’t wait to have our Luna Ceremony.” He smiled and nodded at me. “And, yes, there are plenty of people who’d take them in. And if there’s nobody, my dad would probably take them all. He loves pups.”
My heart warmed, and I felt so loved for once in my life. “Can we send a group of warriors back to my mom’s pack? Just to make sure that there isn’t anyone else that I missed.”
“Already done. I sent them when you were getting ready.”
I interlocked my fingers with his and squeezed them tightly. It felt like nothing could ruin these little moments I had with him and that nothing could ruin us. We were good. So damn good. As a team. As partners. As mates.
My gaze drifted from Mars to Marcel, who sat at the bar, alone. Well, he had been here the entire time we had, glancing every now and then at Liam and Charolette, who were out on a date too.
A woman approached him, dragging her nails across his back, and said something into his ear, to which he replied with, “Leave me the fuck alone,” before downing a shot of tequila.
The Marcel I knew loved women. He loved fucking them. He loved thinking about them. He loved using them. He wouldn’t turn down a good time just to sit around in a bar and drink until his cold, dark heart was numb.
I glanced from Marcel to Mars and then back. “I’ll be right back.” I squeezed Mars’s forearm, placed my napkin on the table, and slid onto a stool next to Marcel.
He barely glanced my way and sipped another drink. “What?”
“Two, please,” I asked the bartender. I glanced at Marcel and lightly bumped my shoulder against his. “I want to thank you for what you did earlier today.”
“What’d I do?” Marcel asked through clenched teeth, his silver hair falling into his face.
“You didn’t attack my dad. You stood up for me in front of all the other warriors. You called me Luna,” I said.
For once, he had shown me respect and hadn’t been a blatant asshole, like he usually was.
The bartender placed two shots in front of us. Marcel went to grab one, but I snatched them both before he could.
He exhaled deeply through his nose. “What do you want me to say? You’re welcome? I would’ve done that shit anyway. Don’t think I did it just for you.”
“I don’t think that.”
“Then, why the fuck are you sitting up here with me?”
“You like Charolette, don’t you?” I asked. Marcel growled under his breath and reached for one of the shots again, but I pulled my hand away. “You should go ask her out on a date—on a real date.”
“And how the fuck am I supposed to do that, Aurora? She’s dating the fuckin’ beta.”
“But she likes you too, doesn’t she?”
He clenched his jaw and slammed his fist down on the bar. Some people looked over, including Charolette. Her blue eyes lingered on Marcel, and she frowned.
He shook his head and lowered his voice. “She doesn’t fuckin’ like me.”
I paused for a moment, unsure how to get him to see it. “I saw you guys together in her bedroom the other night. It was the first time I’d really seen you smile.”
My heart warmed at the memory. They had both looked so happy together, and now … what had changed?
For a split moment, there was a deep sorrow in his eyes. But almost as quickly as it had appeared, it disappeared. Then, he snatched the shot glass from me. “Nothing happened between us, and nothing will ever happen between us. She has Liam. He’s good for her.” He downed the shot and stood up. “I’m not.” And then he walked right out of the bar.
After sighing, I left the drink and walked back to the table.
“What’d he say to you?” Mars asked me, watching Marcel’s departing figure with that thirst-to-kill look on his face. “I’m tired of his damn disrespect for you.”
I pulled Mars to his feet, ready to talk to Dad. I didn’t mind Marcel’s attitude toward me today because I’d found out everything I needed to know about him. Marcel liked Charolette. And Charolette liked Marcel.
Nobody could tell me otherwise.
But I couldn’t tell Mars that because he would flip out. I would keep their
