Mark of the Wolf (13 page)

They crossed the gas station lot to the
convenience store on the opposite side. There was a group of
rough-looking men hanging out in the far corner of the lot, but
they looked away when they saw Gareth’s tall, formidable figure. He
was wearing a loose gray t-shirt smudged with oil; it did nothing
to hide the muscles on his powerful frame.

They entered the store. Maddy headed to the
back row to get a bottle of water while Gareth went to the counter
to pay for their gas. She felt strange, traveling with him. It
wasn’t the kind of traveling one would do with friends, where there
was a lot of laughing and general mischief. Their trip here was a
serious one, and the tension in the car had lasted the entire time.
She wished she knew what to say to make him feel better, or to at
least draw him out of his shell, but at the same time, she didn’t
want to bug him or act too nosy.

A door opened along the side of the wall,
leading from the bathroom, and a man with dirty brown hair walked
out of it, his appearance rough and unkempt. The dark brown eyes
flickered over her, and he nodded to another man that had been
standing towards the back of the store, one that had thinning blond
hair and a dirty tan trench coat. Maddy wrinkled her nose; she
doubted they had bathed in the last week.

Then they started towards her, and the hair
rose on her arms. She backed away slightly, unsure of what to
do.

“
Hey baby,” he said, his voice cracked
and leering. “You new in town?”

“
No,” she said bluntly. She was used
to dealing with these kinds of sleaze balls – her father’s friends
were the exact same type.

“
Whoa, little girl has a temper,” said
the blond one, laughing in a purely mocking way. Then he took a
step closer. “We can show you around.”

“
Fuck off,” she said, turning
away.

“
Hey, watch it-” the brown-haired one
reached forward, his hand landing on her shoulder. He yanked her
towards him, and Maddy let out a yelp in surprise.

A growl issued from behind her — really, a
growl? — and suddenly the hand released her. The two men stepped
back quickly, and she saw fear flash across their faces. Then
Gareth was next to her, pulling her to his side.

“
Settle down, man,” the blond said,
holding up his hands in defense. “I didn’t realize she was Marked.”
He turned to the other one and hit him in the shoulder. “Jesse you
dumbass, what the fuck!”

“
What, me? You’re the one who saw
her-”

“
Shut up, man!”

“
Wait,” the blond suddenly said,
turning back towards them. His eyes narrowed. “Aren’t
you…?”

“
Good, I was hoping to run into you
here,” Gareth's voice rumbled behind her. He turned to look at the
brown-haired one. “I believe we have some business.”

The brown-haired wolf nodded, suddenly
solemn, then turned and started walking towards the back of the
store. Gareth grabbed her wrist harshly and dragged her to in the
opposite direction, pulling her from the store almost violently.
Fear twisted in Maddy’s gut as he yanked her along behind him,
walking quickly and stiffly outside and then around to the back of
the building.

“
What? Where are we going-?” she tried
to ask, but he just pulled her harder, until he came to an abrupt
stop behind the convenience store. “What’s going on?” she
asked.

“
Stay quiet and don’t get in the way,”
he told her, a rumble in his throat. He left her there at the rear
corner of the store, bordering the alley. She watched, surprised to
find that the other two men were already standing there. How had
they gotten outside so fast? A back door? And why were they meeting
back here – some sort of werewolf etiquette? She wished she
understood more of how these things worked.

The one with the blond hair shoved his hands into his
pockets, watching as Gareth approached. “Long time no see,
pup
.
Thought you were supposed to stay in Black River.”

“
Plans changed,” Gareth said, never
breaking his pace. It took Maddy a moment to realize that he wasn’t
going to stop. She watched as he walked directly up to the other
two men, pausing only long enough to say, “I thought I’d have to
wait another day at least to do this.”

Wham!

Gareth’s fist moved faster than Maddy could
see. His whole body swung, and suddenly the blond man was doubling
over, wheezing and cussing, and then the other was shoved up
against a wall. A knife whipped pressed against his throat. Her
eyes widened – she hadn’t known Gareth was armed! His thick arm
bulged as he lifted the guy up, pinning him by the neck to the
dirty bricks.

“
Give Kane a message for me,” Gareth
growled, his voice dark.

“
What?” the wolf barked.

Gareth didn’t say a word, but suddenly the
brown-haired wolf was screaming, cussing in pain. Her eyes dropped
to where he clutched his leg. The knife was now sticking out of his
skin, rammed all the way up to the hilt into his flesh, blood
soaking his pants. Gareth dropped him to the ground.

Maddy felt abruptly sick.

Gareth turned to the other and showed his
teeth, and the blond backed off fast, cussing and still holding his
gut. “Fuck, man!” he yelled. “What the fuck is your problem?”

Gareth took a step forward, his intimidating
presence pushing the man back further. “You’re the one who touched
her,” he growled. “Do you deny my right to retaliate?”

“
It was an accident,
man....”

Gareth was already turning away from them,
his whole body tense, obviously still angry. Maddy watched in
shock, confused and numb, unable to process what she had just seen.
Then he grabbed her arm, more gently this time, and led her away.
Back to the car. The two men were stumbling and cussing behind
them, but not following.

The moment Maddy was in the car, she whirled
on him, frightened and more than a little panicky. She didn’t
bother to hide her outrage. “And just what was that?” she demanded,
hating the shrill tone of her voice. “You just shoved a knife
through a guy’s fucking leg!”

“
It was necessary,” Gareth muttered.
He turned on the car and pulled away from the station. They bounced
down the curb and onto the main street.

Maddy glared. “Necessary? Are you kidding me? That was the
most disgusting thing I’ve ever seen!”
And I’ve seen a lot,
her mind murmured.
She thought back to the words that were said inside the store. “And
what do they mean, ‘Marked’? What do I have to do with any of this?
And why did those other wolves attack my house?” She glared harder
as he made a nonchalant turn around a corner. “Don’t you dare
ignore me, Gareth!”

“
It was a step in issuing the
challenge,” Gareth said. His sunglasses were still on so it was
impossible to know what he was thinking. “I attacked his Beta. Now
Kane knows we’re here. Everything is in motion.”

“
Alright, but what about me? What does
all of this have to do with me?” Her eyes narrowed when he didn’t
respond right away. “Gareth… they said
Marked
.”

The car suddenly came to a stop, and Maddy
was jerked slightly against her seatbelt. She looked around,
realizing that they were parked in a shallow alley next to a low,
dirty building. A dumpster was only a few feet in front of
them.

He turned to look at her. His presence filled
the entire car, crowding her in, making her regret her hasty words.
He leaned forward and she huddled back against the car door. His
expression was blank behind the dark shades.

Then he reached forward a hand, slowly so she
wouldn’t flinch, and gently pinched her lower lip. “I Marked you
that day we kissed,” he murmured. “My blood with your blood.” Her
lips burned at his touch, and her mouth went dry. She remembered
the light nip of his teeth. Her tongue darted out before she could
stop it, touching the place where the cut still existed. It touched
his finger instead.

He smiled in that slow, sexy way of his. “To
a werewolf, a Mark is an important thing. It means you’re
mine.”

Her eyes widened slightly. “You mean… when
you said….” Her mind turned to their intimate moments of the night
before, and she blushed. “That’s what you were referring to?”

He nodded, still serious. “Wolves mate for
life. Kane’s people must have seen the Mark on you and tried to
kill you, in case I planned on starting a new pack. That’s another
reason why I’m here — to make sure they leave you alone.”

Suddenly Maddy felt a little dizzy. More
werewolf stuff that she didn’t know about, and she was caught in
the middle. “But why me?” she asked dazedly. “Why did you Mark
me?”

He paused for a long moment, as though
considering his words.

* * * *

Gareth studied her closely. He had wondered
when this conversation would happen and how she would respond. In
truth, he had been hoping it would come a bit later. At least after
tonight. After he was able to secure Isak’s support and maybe even
set up the formal fight with Kane. But he couldn’t lie to her –
only to protect her, but never to her face.

He couldn’t tell her everything, not yet. She
would never go along with it. A stab of guilt hit him when he
thought of the things she would have to endure before this whole
process was over. But the choice was out of both of their hands,
now. There were rules that had to be followed. Rituals that needed
completing. Werewolves weren’t human, after all; the feral world
was governed by different laws.

“
You’re my lifemate, Maddy,” he said
slowly, carefully, watching her expression. “I knew it from the
moment I met you. Wolves are able to sense their mates and we only
have one. You are mine, and we are bonded by it.” He paused for a
long moment, and he knew she was observing him intently. “I will
always do what’s best for you. Trust me.”

He hoped his words would stay with her,
because he really needed her trust in the days to come. If he lost
her, there would be no one else.

* * * *

The rare emotion in his voice struck her. She
had never heard it before, never heard him speak so seriously about
his own feelings. He was looking at her, waiting for a response,
and she just couldn’t stay mad at him; a vulnerability shadowed his
words that made her heart melt. She sighed, suddenly tired.

Mady reached forward gently. He waited. She
carefully took the sunglasses and pulled them off his face.

She looked in his eyes, so green and
beautiful with the long dark lashes and elegant brows. “Lifemate,
huh?” she asked, with a small grin on her lips.

He nodded again, shifting uncomfortably, and she sensed
that he was waiting for her answer. As though he
needed
to know what her
response would be – if she would accept him or reject him. The
sudden power she felt was heady and elating.

“
I could think of worse ways to spend
the rest of my life,” she said, smiling. Her heart fluttered when
he smiled in return, his true smile, white teeth flashing. Maddy
couldn’t keep her stomach from squirming and feeling immensely
relieved. He wanted her. It was more than just physical attraction,
or some strange sense of responsibility. He wanted her for good,
for the rest of his life; more than just a girlfriend, even. A
lifemate. She didn’t know everything that that entailed, but she
could tell it was a serious deal.
I mean, once in a lifetime,
she thought,
remembering what he had said.
That has to be important.

“
Thank you for telling me,” she said
quietly, and gripped his hand, never breaking eye contact. “And
thank you for everything else, for saving me, for helping me. And
I
do
trust you… very
much.” She looked down then, unable to keep his eye contact. The
truth left her feeling somehow naked. She had never trusted anyone
before, not with the faith that she put in him and his
abilities.

His hands wrapped around her arms, and then
he pulled her forward, pressing his lips gently against hers. She
felt a tingle shoot straight from the tip of her head to the bottom
of her toes. His tongue sought an opening and she gave him one,
deepening the kiss and returning it. It was a different kind of
kiss, with none of the power or demand of his others, but with a
control and sincerity that left her head spinning. When he finally
broke away, she had to catch her breath.

“
We should get going. Isak’s waiting,”
he murmured, but the look in his eyes told her that he didn’t want
to stop either. There was a fire that burned in his gaze that left
her feeling branded.

He started up the car again and drove out of
the alley, returning to the main street. The sun was already
beginning to set. She sighed, looking out the window, unable to
keep the smile off her face. Finally, she had an answer. Finally,
she knew his intentions. Finally, she could let herself feel for
him in return.

Chapter 8

Isak’s house was small and quaint with a
perfectly manicured lawn. Not exactly what Maddy had expected,
especially after the disaster that was Gareth’s house. They walked
up the gravel drive and three brick steps to a brightly painted red
door. She glanced at Gareth. It was now full night so he wasn’t
wearing his sunglasses, but he was obviously brooding, having grown
more and more quiet the closer they came to the house. Finally he
stood before the door, silent, not moving.