Chapter 31

Amelia scooted back further, still seated on her rear from the topple, trying to keep herself a safe distance between the two wolves—that was, until her back collided with something. Slowly she glanced over her shoulder, and her eyes followed paws until they met the eyes of the larger brown wolf. The one was just a tad smaller than Marcus. Instead of fear of the large animal, she felt secure, so instead of trying to get further away, she planted herself there. The wolf tilted its head to the side for a moment before turning its attention back to the fight.

Jackson found Amelia’s behavior curious. He imagined most humans would be scared out of their minds being surrounded by something they perceived as a ferocious animal, but the only one that seemed to bother her was Dalton. Which was a surprising turn of events. He watched as Marcus and Dalton tumbled together once again. They had known Dalton for a long time, and never once had they suspected that he was a wolf; he always smelled human, acted human.

Marcus recovered his balance after being pushed off by Dalton. The smaller wolf dove in as Marcus veered away, but Dalton managed to take a snip out of his flank. A small yip escaped Marcus, and he spun his hind end out of the way of further damage. That gave Dalton the opportunity to swipe a paw at his face, the force of which caused Marcus’ head to turn. A growl rumbled his chest as he turned slowly back to look at Dalton.

It was time to end this little game.

Marcus leapt once again onto the smaller wolf, snapping at any piece of the creature he could get to. Shoving his weight against Dalton, he pinned him to the floor with his jaws around the smaller wolf’s throat. It was a move not aimed to kill, mainly subdue, and force the other to submit. Another growl and Marcus gently tightened the grip on Dalton’s neck. Dalton, who had been struggling against the hold, stilled and whimpered. The sharp teeth so close to his jugular let him know he had been beaten.

Around her, Amelia could hear snapping noises, then the sounds of shuffling feet. The horde of animals turned back into humans; some were in the process of pulling clothes on, while others did not seem bothered by their nudity. Amelia quickly averted her eyes from those who were still naked. Another set of snapping sounds from behind caused her head to swivel back to the brown wolf that she had backed into. Instead, Jackson stood in its place, just as bare as the day he was born. Amelia spun her head back around, cupping the sides of her eyes to avoid the sight. Jackson chuckled and put on the pair of pants he was handed before holding a hand out to her.

Accepting the help, up she stood.

“Are you hurt anywhere?” Jackson asked as he took a quick inventory of her.

“Just my pride. He got the jump on me, and now I know why my pepper spray didn’t work.” She wrung her hands together as she turned her attention back to the center of the circle.

Marcus still had Dalton pinned to the ground by his throat, daring the smaller wolf to move. Dalton did not seem interested in dying today, as he tilted his head out more and rolled as far as he could to expose his soft underbelly—a sign of submission to the dominant wolf—then began the transformation back to two legs. Marcus snorted and let go, stepping back to begin his own shift. The two stood and stared at each other, anger and dominance radiating off of Marcus. Dalton bowed his head in respect, even though he was angry about the outcome of the match.

Amelia gasped quietly to herself as Marcus stood before them in all his glory. Her blush deepened to a darker shade of red when she turned her attention to anything but the naked people before her. What was this? A nudist colony now, too?

“I want you to leave this city, and never come back,” Marcus’ voice growled at the wiry man.

“W-what?!” Dalton exclaimed. “Leave?!”

“If you ever step foot in Chicago again, I will have you executed for treason against your species,” Marcus snarled, trying to keep his wolf in check and from killing the man before him. He had dared to touch and attempt to hurt his mate. The wolf within was not thrilled with the fact that Marcus had taken over to avoid a bloody ending.

Someone from the crowd stepped forward and offered clothes to the two men. Dalton dared to stare at Marcus a little longer before he scoffed and snatched the clothing. Dressing quickly, he stepped towards the door.

“You have 48 hours to get your affairs in order before we come hunting you down,” Marcus warned as Dalton grasped the handle. “We’ll be watching.”

When Dalton exited the building, two people slipped from the crowd. They glanced back at Marcus; getting his nod of approval, they followed after the defeated wolf.

Finally, Marcus’ attention turned to Amelia. He did not seem affected by the fact that he was nude in front of her. She slowly approached, her face still a dark rose color, as she tried hard to avoid gazing at anything below his chest.

“God, she’s so cute when she blushes.” his wolf purred in his thoughts. Marcus grunted his agreement to his other half.

The sound caused Amelia to stop in her tracks. “Marcus, I’d like to talk to you,” she spoke quietly.

He sighed and closed his eyes, feeling the adrenaline of the fight draining from his body. He did not have the energy or the thought process to deal with whatever she was trying to do. He needed time to think about her.

“I think you should go.” His voice was gravelly as exhaustion started to take over.

“I don’t care about any of this.” She motioned towards the crowd of people. “Or what you are! I still want a chance. None of this matters to me. Wolf, human. You all have shown me during my time here that you are more human than most people I know—”

She was interrupted by Marcus holding a hand up to stop her. “Please leave,” he pleaded.

“But I—”

“Don’t make me have you escorted out.” His voice turned stern, hoping he conveyed that he was serious.

Amelia’s lip trembled as tears threatened to fall over this man once again. Sniffling back a tear, she raced towards the exit. Marcus’ wolf yearned to reach out and comfort her, but the man held it back. When she disappeared from sight of the windows, Jackson walked up to join him, holding out a pair of pants.

“You shouldn’t have let her leave,” his friend scolded.

Marcus exhaled loudly through his nose. “We need to keep an eye on her still. Make sure she doesn’t run off and tell anyone,” he commented, mentally linking Rowen to have her tailed once again.

“You should go after her,” Jackson urged.

Marcus snapped his attention to his Beta. “My job is to protect this pack, not run after a girl like a lovesick pup. I am doing my job.” He turned and began to storm off towards his office.

“But at what cost?” Jackson called after him.

Marcus’ heart clenched, but he refused to stumble, and kept walking.

Jackson shook his head.