Ella couldn’t take anymore. She lifted her hand to stop the witch from saying another word. A gut-wrenching bitterness swirled inside. A sense of being in this exact place before consumed her. Why didn’t Marcus talk to her instead of acting on his own?
“You need to leave before I say or do something I regret, Isabella.”
“Ella, please, I’m sorry. I care about Jake, you know that. He drives me crazy, but when you’re crazy about someone, it makes you do things you wouldn’t normally. In that, I understand Marcus. I know I’ve hurt you, and I’m not proud of that. Ask me anything, and I will do it.”
Ella listened. She understood how love worked. She loved Marcus and Nate. Outside of those two souls, next in line were Isabella and Jake. Hell, even Steel and the team at Orion she considered part of her family. A family she would fight to the death for if it meant they would live. How her life and the people in it had changed. She closed her eyes for a moment. She knew Marcus loved her, but she knew without a doubt he had betrayed her. What that entailed, she needed to find out.
“Do you love Jake, Isabella?” Ella needed an answer, and her friend shook her head.
“I don’t know. I’m a hunter, and I’m used to being on my own. I’m not good with relationships. With my sisters, we have a power that links us as well as blood, but even then, I’m wilder and different. I break the rules, while they live by them. My role within the coven is that of a protector for my people. Until I joined Orion, I had no time for romance. Sure, I flirt with Jake, but I don’t know where it’s headed. If anywhere. I’m not sure I have ever felt love.”
This didn’t surprise Ella. She had been the same until she had been captured by Marcus. “If you haven’t experienced love, how do you know Marcus loves me?”
They were inches apart, and the smell of coffee wafted around. The sun filtered through the window, but it didn’t lift her mood. An emptiness threatened to weigh her down.
“Because I see the way he is around you, and I believe it’s the way love should be. His every action revolves around you and Nate. When he learned you were kidnapped, he broke protocol and returned on the first helo. He didn’t sleep, or eat. He hunted for you, retracing all your steps until they tracked you down. I have no doubt he would’ve killed the professor if it wasn’t for you. Whenever you walk in a room, everyone else disappears for him. You can see it in his face, the way he smiles at you, and in his eyes.”
Every word Isabella spoke hit right in her heart. She knew she spoke the truth. Her lips curved automatically, but she pressed them straight. “He’s intense.”
“He’s your mate. His soul and yours are one and the same. In hurting you, he hurts himself. I know little of love myself, but I have observed love in others, and when it’s put to the ultimate test, the capacity for forgiveness is limitless.”
Isabella, despite lacking personal experience when it came to describing love, sounded wise, and Ella studied her serious expression as she continued. “My parents loved each other beyond reason. We’re not human, but we aren’t immortal like you soul-shifters. We live longer and age slower, but we die. My mother grew ill, and my father fell apart. In his grief, he turned to another woman for comfort. My mother forgave him, and they spent every day together before she died. Not long after, he passed too.”
Ella reached out to Isabella and held her hands. She closed her eyes. None of this was Isabella’s fault. Marcus wouldn’t let anyone stand in the way of what he wanted. She knew that about him. He never gave up or backed down; in that, they were alike. Isabella couldn’t stop a force like Marcus. But the betrayal hurt.
“Saturday night, I want you to be here for dinner. No questions, just be here—and bring Jake.”
Isabella opened her mouth, but snapped it closed. “I am truly sorry.”
Ella studied her friend and knew she wanted absolution, but she couldn’t give that to her. Yet. Maybe not ever. “I know.”
They stared at each other and Isabella walked to the front door.
Before she could stop herself, she asked what else had been bugging her since yesterday. “What happened with Roman?”
Isabella glanced over her shoulder and opened her mouth to speak, but glanced away and reached for the door handle. “Nothing—just the usual. I better go. See you Saturday.”
The deflated tone in her friend’s voice caught her, but she didn’t pry. What she had learned changed things between them and it hurt. Isabella stepped outside and the door closed behind her before Ella could say good-bye. She carried the mugs to the sink and poured out the stale coffee, watching it swirl down the drain and feeling more alone than she had ever felt before.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Reaching the command center, Marcus shucked off his leather jacket and tucked his phone in the side pocket of his black cargo pants. Jake approached him as he strode over to Huron, who stood surrounded by several agents. The chatter was quiet and subdued, which highlighted the seriousness of the situation. Normally, an animated banter filled the room, but today everyone looked over their shoulder, which heightened his already fraught temper. He stood outside the main group of agents, and once they caught sight of him, the conversation died. Bear and Shadow slid off the desk and stood on either side of the big warrior Huron. The look on Marcus’s face was enough to dismantle the group as his crew sauntered
