(POV-Dual)

Marcus finally freed himself from his pointless conversation with Griffin, hurrying to find Aria and his own wolves. And when he finally caught their scents, he all but sprinted the rest of the way.

They stood together at the very end of the path, Jaden and Ryder's forms towering over Aria.

When he finally reached them, he found a shaken Aria, anxiously chewing on her fingernails and standing between Jaden and Ryder.

"You're okay," she breathed, gasping when she saw him. She rushed over to him, surprising him by throwing her arms around his waist and hugging him close. He hugged her back easily, his wolf calm now that she was in his arms again.

"The more important question is, are you okay?" he asked, reluctantly pulling away to hold her at arm's length. He looked her over, searching for any signs that she'd been hurt anywhere else. But the only wound she had was the one at her waist, which had been treated and wrapped up expertly by Jaden.

"I'm okay," she murmured, her eyes glassy. "Jaden is really good at treating injuries."

"That's because I had to learn so that Marc didn't die when we were pups," Jaden piped up, pulling a rough, throaty giggle from Aria. "But the damage isn't severe, Marc. Her skin was torn but her muscle hasn't been severed."

"That's a relief," Marcus sighed, rubbing his palms along her upper arms in comfort. "When I saw you bleeding, I thought maybe the wound would have been fatal."

"It's okay, Marc" Jaden said, obviously looking Marcus over to see if there were any injuries he'd sustained in his Beta's absence.

"What happened?" Aria asked. "After you sent me away, what happened? Is Aiden- is he-?"

"He's alive," Marcus assured her, tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear. His fingertips trailed over the plane of her cheekbone and he wanted to kiss her. "I just... persuaded him to keep his filthy paws to himself unless he wanted to drown in a pool of his own blood. He seemed to get the point."

Aria visibly shook, her fingers tugging on his shirt again. He noticed it was something she did when she was nervous, and it was something he found incredibly endearing.

"We should get going, Alpha," Ryder pointed out, his scent spiking in discomfort. He'd had about enough of this place as Marcus had and wanted to get out.

"Get the car," Marcus instructed, watching as the sentry jogged off toward the parking lot. Jaden cleared his throat.

"I'll shadow him," he told Marcus. "He was a little upset by Aiden's blatant disrespect and probably shouldn't be left alone right now."

"I trust him enough to send him to get the car, Jay," Marcus chuckled. "But sure, go ahead. We'll wait here."

Jaden nodded and stalked off after Ryder, leaving Marcus and Aria alone.

He took a deep breath and turned back to Aria, his palms cradling her face, his eyes boring into hers.

"You asked me to get you out," he said, his wolf squirming at the memory of that aching desperation written all over her face. "And I want to give you the option of coming back to my pack with me."

Aria stared up at him, her eyes glassy, ringed red from crying.

She hadn't expected Marcus to pull her away from a very angry Aiden. She hadn't expected him to defend her so aggressively either, but it made her heart swell that this Alpha at least thought she was worth protecting.

"If it's alright with you, Alpha," she said, dropping her gaze as was expected. "I would love to."

His answering smile was so bright she almost had to shield her eyes from it. Jaden and Ryder returned with the car just then, Jaden in the front seat and Ryder in the driver's seat. Marcus opened the door for her and helped her in, mindful of the wound in her side. He slid in after her and shut the door.

Almost immediately, he lifted his arm, offering the security her wolf longed for. She blushed lightly and curled in under his arm, her wolf calm as he wrapped that arm around her shivering body.

His warmth seeped into her bones, and her thoughts drifted while Ryder expertly navigated the rocky terrain leading them down the mountain.

Ever since Aiden had publicly rejected her, she'd lost that fairy tale-inspired belief in love. She'd been convinced that it didn't exist and if it did, it simply wasn't meant for her. That belief had only been proven when Aiden had used her outside the library before throwing her aside again.

It had been that same belief that sent her to that sex club with April, where she'd readily drank her weight in alcohol in the hopes of finding a one night stand to help her get rid of the cloying feelings she still harbored for Aiden.

It had been that same night that she'd met Marcus, who had shown her that love didn't have to exist for her to find happiness.

She might no longer believe in love, but she knew she cared deeply for the Alpha growling contently beside her.

Her feelings had grown despite their initial 'no strings attached' rule, and even after being separated for weeks, her wolf had howled in relief when she had spotted him stalking toward her.

It was quiet for a while, Ryder and Jaden conversing under their breaths in the front, their faces slightly illuminated by the LED display on the dashboard.

She allowed herself to sink into Marcus' touch, her wolf pleased that he was growling softly for her. It was an old part of their biology, once something that males, particularly Alphas, only ever did for their mates. The soft growling was their natural way of calming their mate, of easing any stress and helping them regulate their breathing.

It was because the Alpha would have to be in a state of complete calmness to produce the sound, and if the Alpha was calm, then his mate had no reason to fear.

It had lost its uniqueness over the generations because stress had become more and more prevalent, and many of the omega sub-gendered wolves needed far more care than their ancestors.

Mated wolves still practiced it, but unmated wolves had turned to sex as a means of de-stressing, and it had worked enough that even their mated counterparts used sex.

The fact that Marcus had allowed himself to feel vulnerable enough to whine, just to calm her down, solidified her decision.

Her thoughts were interrupted when Jaden sighed and turned in his seat with a grunt, facing her and Marcus with a grin.

"We haven't formally met," he said with a wink. "I'm Jaden, Marcus' Beta and the best-looking wolf in the Ashryver pack."

Aria giggled sleepily, her limbs heavy with exhaustion thanks to Marcus whining.

"Aria," she mumbled. "The saddest wolf in the Bloodlake pack."

"I don't know about that, doll," Jaden said, clicking his tongue. "I'd say that sorry excuse of an Alpha is the saddest of the bunch. You definitely qualify as the hottest. In our pack too."

"Don't let Miss Inara hear you say that," Ryder teased. She felt Marcus laugh beneath her.

"She loves me too much to kill me," Jaden said. "Besides, she knows I can't help what I like. Pretty things excite me."

"Oh?" Aria giggled. "I would have pegged you as the kind of wolf who likes dangerous things."

"You're a cheeky little thing, aren't you?" Jaden drawled, his eyes dropping to Aria's mouth suggestively. "Do you like danger? I could show you all the danger you want some time."

"Enough," Marcus growled, his hand tightening on her shoulder. Jaden made a show of zipping his lips and throwing away the key, throwing Aria one last wink before he turned back around. The car fell back into silence, but it didn't feel stifling or uncomfortable. Aria wondered if this was what it was like to be comfortable around fellow pack members. She'd never experienced it herself. She'd always been on edge back home, wondering when the next group of bullies would pounce on her unexpectedly.

His quiet outburst had stunned her. That single word had dripped possessiveness, a quiet threat that could quickly become a death sentence.

She thought back to the way Marcus had behaved at the banquet. He'd been possessive then as well, though not in an overwhelming, male-typical kind of way. He'd been truly protective of her, not just because she was a female and he was a male, but because she was the one in trouble.

Something told her that he might have stepped in if it had been any other female as well, but he wouldn't have gone to such lengths to keep her safe.

He was taking her back to his pack, for God's sake!

The way he'd challenged Aiden in front of all those other packs, her own pack included... she wondered what kind of message it would have sent.

It would have looked to anyone watching from the outside like Marcus was staking his claim on Aria, not as a mate, but simply as a male interested in a female. To make things even more interesting, it seemed like Marcus was an Alpha from a rival pack, claiming another Alpha's true mate for his own. The others had probably thought that he'd wanted to court her, maybe make her his Luna someday, and that realization made Aria wonder if maybe...

Maybe she wouldn't mind being with Marcus long term.

Maybe she could still be happy, even if she never loved again.