Chapter 21

ELIZABETH'S POV

He is silent through the drive to the river. He says nothing at all but I can tell that he treasures this silence. Something is going on in his mind and I am curious but he will tell me when he is ready to, when he thinks he can say it.

We come to the lake and he moves with quiet efficiency, offloading our tools then finding the best spot. He doesn't say anything as he places the bait on the hook then swings it across into the water. He stands still and waits. I look at the river currents. I see the trees and the birds calling out in the distance. Everywhere is quiet but there is also noose, the kind that soothes the mind.

He stands there for a long time before he speaks to me, his eyes not on me but on the water.

“I want to travel,” he says.

“You can, you know? You can travel if you want to,” I say and he shakes his head.

“I cannot. Not for a while, at least. I sailed on the Ocean once. I just looked out on it and thought…everything we are and everything we fight for is just…it pales in comparison. You know how vast all of it is? How small we are? It is almost laughable. I heard a singer once say to be young as the morning and old as the sea. It is very old. I realized that, then,” he says.

“You want that again?” I ask. Marcus nods and sighs.

“You'd travel with me, won't you?”

“You'd want that?” I ask.

“Yes. It won't be fun if there's no one to share it with. Traveling alone can be very boring at times,” He says.

“And that would be okay with your family?”

“Well, they'd have to deal with it if it disturbs them so much, won't they?” He asks with a half smile. He looks at me and it seems like everything ceases to exist. I hear the birds chirping and feel the river breeze but everything else doesn't matter. He is the world and the world is him.

He leans forward and his scent is in my nose. He smiles, ever so gently, then he kisses me. His kiss is quiet at first, prodding, curious. It soon grows stronger, more urgent and his hand takes my waist and pulls me closer to him, pressing me against his body. I never want to be away from him. I don't want this moment to end. My hand is on his hard chest and a little moan escapes my mouth.

Just then, he stops. The spell is broken and his sues are fiery, annoyed but the focus is not on me.

“What is it?” He hisses and that is when I look to see the elderly man from the restaurant standing behind him, his hands in his coat pocket.

“Forgive me for the disturbance, Alpha Marcus. There are matters that require your immediate attention,” he says. His hands are still in my waist and he pulls me just a little bit closer before he lets go, very hesitantly, and turns to face the man behind him.

“This requires my attention. I know what you are about to say. I know what Elliot has told you but I told you to prepare and stand by for orders. There isn't any need for an attack just yet and…”

“It is Dona of the red moon. She has requested a meeting,” the man says.

Marcus pauses then he nods and turns to look at me. Everything about him has changed and there is such a hard and Sharon edge to him now, it almost appears as if he is someone different from the man who looked join me with such fondness.

“Would you like to come with me to a…negotiation?” He asks. I am about to refuse but I think about it again. For him to ask means he wants me there. I nod in affirmation.

“It has been a while since I attended one of those,” I say. He nods and starts walking, leaving all the fishing gear behind.

“Quickly now, we don't want to keep an alpha waiting.

*MARCUS'S POV*

I sit away from the fireplace and for the millionth time, I wonder why the damned things still exist. There are heaters. Dona is seated across the table, her back to the fireplace and a part of me is impressed by the recklessness. I wait, not giving her the courtesy of breaking the silence first.

“They say you were the one who killed him. He died by your hands?” She asks.

“Regretfully, yes. He was a good lad. Misguided, but brave.”

“He was my aunt's only child and you gutted him like a goat,” she hisses, a sharp edge to her voice.

“Careful with the way you speak to me, Dona. He attacked my men. He gutted them first. He started this, you see? I have every reason to be angry, same as you.”

“Who the hell do you think you are, Marcus?” She growls.

“Continue in that fashion and you'll find out, perhaps,” I say and pour myself a drink.