POV- MARCUS

Marcus dozed off, his dreams turning from nonsensical images to the memory of the day he first met Helena.

It had started off like any other day: the sun was scorching before 9 am, chasing many of the wolves in the pack back inside where the air conditioning could cool them off. Marcus had been on his way to Inara's room, craving physical touch and the sweet release only a female could give him.

The distance between his house and Inara's wasn't huge, but it was enough to have sweat beading on his forehead beneath the glaring sun, and sliding down between the planes of his back.

He'd never been the biggest fan of summer. Sure, when he was a pup, he'd spent every waking hour outside playing in the sun, the sand crunching between his toes and the salt water of the ocean drying on his skin. Summer was a lot more fun at the beach where everything felt like it had been made for summer.

The golden sand that shifted and curved with the tides and with beachgoers, families with excited kids and parents who looked like they needed the holiday. It smelled just right, the sea salt and sunscreen, the hint of barbecue somewhere nearby. There were the happy, innocent shouts of children playing with their friends, the raucous laughter of teens and young adults toasting to a year's worth of hard work as well.

Everything just felt right at the beach.

In the woods, summer was a nightmare.

The humidity clung to every fibre that wasn't rooted in place. keeping the once cool shade of the trees toasty warm and absolutely disgusting. There was no reprieve beyond the air conditioning in the packhouse and private housing. Even the pool turned warm as bath water in the blistering heat.

And if there was one sensation Marcus absolutely hated, it was feeling like he had stepped into a sauna in full winter clothing.

And he was stuck between sweating it out and running the rest of the way, both options ending with him feeling entirely too hot for comfort.

Maybe he could just shower when he got to Inara's room. There was no way he would rub his sweat all over her and her sheets when he could barely stand the feeling of it himself.

Thankfully, the packhouse came into view quickly, shimmering in the heat. He sprinted the rest of the way, heat be damned, he just needed to get into shower before he peeled his own skin off.

Walking into the packhouse sent shivers running down his spine, the icy air hitting him hard as he closed the door behind him. He nodded at a few of the wolves lying around the common areas before bounding up the stairs and across the landing to Inara's door. He knocked three times and waited, the sweat clinging to him like a second skin he very much despised.

Inara answered the door in nothing but a large Metallica T-shirt, her long blonde hair twisted into a careless knot at the top of her hair.

"I could smell you coming," she said by way of greeting, the hint of a smile on her lovely face. He grunted and waited for her to invite him in, resisting the urge to peel his wet shirt off right then and there.

She chuckled and stood aside. "So impatient, Alpha. There's a spare towel in the bathroom."

"Thank you," he sighed, stalking into the bathroom and turning the faucet. As much as he would have loved to stay under the cool spray of the water, his wolf had picked up on her scent and had other, more pressing matters coming to mind.

He stepped out, toweling himself off carelessly and throwing the towel into the hamper, following her scent out into the bedroom again.

Inara sat on the bed, her bare legs crossed, scrolling through her phone while she waited for him to finish up.

"Watching porn?" he teased, crawling onto the bed behind her and nosing at her throat. She hummed wistfully and arched her back.

"No need when I have this needy Alpha at my door every damn day," she retorted playfully, locking her phone and tossing it aside to give him her undivided attention. She turned, their noses bumping slightly.

"Needy, you say?" he murmured, lips ghosting over her pulse. "Sounds like another way of saying he's insatiable."

She snorted and pushed at his chest, her nails scraping skin. "I think he's just full of himself."

"I'd like you to be full of me," he grunted, sealing his lips over hers to swallow whatever witty comeback she had waiting for him on her silver tongue. She chuckled against his persistent mouth, letting him push her down among the cushions, and hiking her T-shirt up over her breasts. He left her mouth, trailing lower until his lips latched onto one of her nipples, eliciting a pleased sigh from Inara.

His cock already hung heavy between his thighs but he loved taking his time, his fingertips teasing at her entrance until she growled impatiently.

"Marcus," she warned, her hips twisting and bucking in search of the friction her body needed. He only chuckled darkly and pulled her nipple into his mouth, letting his teeth scrape along her skin and making her hiss.

"Now who's the needy one?" he mocked, his fingers dipping between her folds and cruelly circling her clit, too far for any kind of relief, but close enough that he knew it would drive her insane.

"You're a cruel wolf," she laughed, breathless. "Do you want me to beg? Is that what you want?"

"It would be a good use for that mouth of yours," he mused, his free hand slipping his middle and ring finger into the wet heat of her mouth. She gagged slightly, sending a new wave of lust right down to his groin. "But I have a better use for it."

Her eyes glinted and she got up, rolling onto all fours, already knowing exactly what he wanted and more than willing to give in. She stuck her tongue out, ready for him. His cock jerked seeing her like that, waiting for him to stuff her mouth full and chase that first high.

The head of his cock slid along her tongue, her lips eagerly wrapping around it-

Knock knock knock!

Marcus almost roared at the interruption, his cock pulsing painfully as pulled away and glanced at the door.

"What?!" he barked, ignoring the way Inara giggled behind him. She lay back on the bed, her fingers toying with her hardened nipples and making it very difficult for him to give a shit about whatever the sentry outside the door had come to report.

"Alpha," the sentry called, his voice muffled by the door. "We've been alerted to the presence of an intruder who slipped past our guards. We've lost the scent."

He growled and pushed himself up off the bed, ignoring Inara's mocking smirk as he tugged on his dirty jeans. and tried to stuff his painfully hard length down one leg. He whined at the friction, cursing himself for not fucking Inara the second she opened the door.

With a grunt, he nearly tore the door off its hinges and snarled at the sentry outside.

"Where did they break through?"

"From the north," the sentry said. Raul, Marcus mentally noted. The sentry's name was Raul.

"Lead the way," he groused, following the sentry and casting a dark glance back at Inara who had her hands between her thighs, almost as if to mock him.

He tried to shove thoughts of the ache in his lower belly aside, following the sentry who led him out into the woods and the sweltering heat yet again.

Hissing at the burn on his skin, he shielded his eyes and refused to shift into a massive wolf with enough fur to keep him warm in the coldest winter.

That's when he smelled it.

His mate.

His true mate had stepped inside his territory, and they were so close.

Every nerve ending zeroed in on that scent, the soft vanilla and cinnamon mixing with the heat of the midday sun.

And when he saw her, God, he thought he would cry.

Her long hair had been braided back and away from her face, revealing her wide, bright eyes capturing his in a heartbeat.

Her lips had parted, whispering "You," before she stumbled forward, falling into his arms. He hugged her tightly, his soul reaching out and brushing along the edge of hers, blissful happiness overwhelming him and bringing tears to his eyes.

"Are you happy, my love?"

He jerked back, shocked that the Helena in his dreams had asked him that. He looked down at her, her lovely eyes as captivating as they'd always been. She looked so happy, staring up at him with a soft smile on her lips. She looked as beautiful as the day he'd lost her.

"Your happiness is all I have ever wanted, my love," she murmured, pressing a soft kiss to his cheek. "I would rather die a hundred deaths than watch you suffer the way you have all these years."

He jolted awake, Helena's voice chasing him from his slumber, and he found himself at the cliffside where he's set up makeshift headstones for his dead family. He stared at her tombstone, eyes closing when a warm, gentle breeze caressed his fur as though it was Helena reassuring him that he'd made the right choice.

He shook his head awake and got to his feet, trotting back to the packhouse with a renewed sense of determination.

He would tell Aria all about his past.