(POV - Marcus)

Marcus cursed at the distance stretching out between his own lands and Aria's, the wind whistling in his ears as he raced alongside Jaden and Mercucio.

He couldn't think straight, his wolf taking the driver's seat quite literally and steering his thoughts dangerously close to bloodlust.

He would kill Aiden.

He would kill Aiden and any of his wolves that stood in the way. Any wolf that stood between Marcus and Aria would drop before they even realized what was happening.

He should have put up more of a fight the night she demanded he let her go back. He should have begged her to stay, done whatever he could to make sure she hadn't left his side.

Because this was torture. With miles and miles separating his lands from hers, even his wolf couldn't cover the distance quick enough for his liking.

Paws thundering in the dirt, sending chucks of damp soil flying, he snarled in frustration.

He tried to ease his own thoughts, thinking of Aria and their moments together.

In particular, he recalled the last time they'd made love, curled tightly around one another beneath his soft sheets. It had been early in the morning, long before the sun peeked over the horizon, when the world outside his window was still asleep.

She'd turned in his arms, scooting back into his chest and sighing sleepily when his chest pressed to her back. He had gladly pulled her closer, tucking his face into the curve of the back of her neck and breathing her in. It was bliss, having her body fit his like that was what they'd both been designed for.

It had been so cosy, so deliriously comfortable, until Aria wiggled, pushing her ass into his crotch in a bid to get closer. His entire body froze, his wolf lifting an ear in interest.

Bartering with his own body to behave and not react to the way she timidly rocked back against him, he realized she'd been doing it on purpose.

"Little one," he ground out, his jaw locked in concentration. "You're supposed to be sleeping."

She'd hummed absently, the hum petering out into a soft sigh when his cock twitched against her ass.

"So are you," she accused. "And yet, here you are, hard against my thigh at 2 in the morning."

"Whose fault is that?" he growled into her ear. He let his hands slip from her waist, reaching up to cup her breasts beneath the huge T-shirt she wore.

"Can't be me," she murmured sleepily. "I've been asleep all this time like a good girl. You're the deviant with a hard on."

"Oh?" he teased, his lust rousing him from sleep. He flared his nostrils, easily finding the scent he was looking for.

"Says the wolf with slick sticking to her thighs."

She giggled shyly, arching her neck and pulling his face down to hers, slotting her lips over his in a lazy, sloppy kiss.

"You got me," she surrendered, although it hardly felt like Marcus had gotten the upper hand. She threaded her fingers through his where one of his hands squeezed her breast and led it downward. She parted her thighs and dipped his fingers into the warm slick that coated her skin, making him draw in his breath. "I couldn't help myself. I had a really good dream."

"A dream?" he grunted, pressing the pads of his fingertips into the wetness on her thighs. She hooked one of her legs over his hip, allowing him better access. He could already feel the sweat gathering on her spine: it slowly dampened his chest where she arched into him. "Do tell."

He teased her, his fingers running up the length of her inner thigh only to retreat when he got to close to the place she really wanted them.

"You were eating me out," she said, any hint of shyness fizzling out the longer he teased her. "You wouldn't stop, no matter how much I cried and begged and screamed. You kept going, and I think..."

She stopped, swallowing her words. He nibbled at her lobe, eliciting a small squeak from her lips. "Tell me."

"I think I might have, uhm, 'finished' for real," she admitted, her cheeks burning. "I wanted more, so I thought maybe we could-"

"Maybe we could what, little one?" he cooed, the growl rumbling in his chest. "Tell me what you want."

"You," she said, a little breathless. He dipped his middle finger into her wet heat, groaning when she clenched around him. "In-inside me."

He would have teased her longer, asked her what she meant because he already had a finger buried knuckle deep inside her, but she'd stirred something primal in him, and he'd fucked her just like that. His hand wrapped around her knee, holding her open so he could lazily thrust into her, his teeth aching to mark her while she sweetly cried his name.

The memory of her arching into him, squirming away when it became too much for her to take, the way she'd giggled through a yawn and kissed him afterward. She'd thanked him, her eyes already slipping shut, her breathing evening out as she dozed off again, only frowning when he moved to pull out.

"No," she'd demanded, her nails catching the skin on his arm. "Stay inside me, please."

It calmed him down, somewhat, to remember how she had so easily slept in his arms. It eased the painful tension coiling the muscles in his spine, and he focused on the scenery in front of him.

Aiden's lands finally came into view, and he growled low for Jaden and Mercucio to disperse and find their own way through the border undetected. They slipped away soundlessly, and Marcus trusted he'd see them on the other side.

He could already sniff out the sentry guards on the other side of the border, tracking Marcus' movements as best as they could. They struggled to keep up, but that was the point. As the Alpha, Marcus was the decoy, the distraction his Beta and Delta needed to get in without a single wolf knowing about it. And the lands were large enough that their scents could easily be covered up before they could be detected.

He snarled loud enough to alert more sentry guards, running further south along the border to draw them away from where Jaden and Mercucio would break through along the northern border.

He could hear the wolves struggling to catch up, but he had at least nine of them on his tail. He tasted the fear on their scents and recognized that they'd been given explicit orders not to touch him. With a huff, he crossed over and was immediately surrounded by the sentry guards who had raced to keep up with him. There were exactly nine, ranging from plain brown to speckled grey and mottled black.

He growled low, and caught the dip in their heads. They would have submitted if he wanted them to. The knowledge of who he was and what he had done to an entire pack of rogue wolves alone had each of these young wolves quivering before him.

For the first time in five years, Marcus felt the slow drip of smugness into his snarl. He wanted them to fear him. They 'should' fear him for what he might do if their Alpha didn't stand down.

Without another sound, the sentry guards turned and flanked him, three ahead, two on each side and the last pair hanging back to make sure there were no other trespassers. Marcus didn't bother masking his huff of satisfaction. His Beta and Delta had gotten in easily, Marcus could already pick up the faintest traces of their scents, quickly disappearing under their efforts to cover it up.

He let the sentry guards lead him back to the packhouse, his bones vibrating with violence. He had to temper his aggression, knowing he needed a clearer mind when he faced Aiden. He needed to be able to make rational decisions, quick decisions that would save Jaden and Mercucio's lives as well as get Aria out unscathed.

But when they made it to the packhouse and Aiden stepped out, a smug smirk on his fucking face, Marcus lost it.

"You're too late," Aiden taunted, standing behind his sentry guards like a coward. "I've already claimed her. She's mine."

"You're lying," Marcus said uselessly. He already knew the truth, he could smell it in the mixed scents around him.

Because that was Aria's scent mingling with Aiden's. That was 'his' Aria, 'his' future Luna's scent clinging to Aiden and Marcus barely shifted back to his human form, claws and fangs gleaming.

"There's no reason for me to lie," Aiden scoffed, rolling his shoulders. "She is my true mate. And now she is my Luna. She'll never leave my side again."

The surge of rage at the smell of Aria's scent mixing with Aiden's blinded him and he lunged at Aiden with an awful roar. He shredded through the collar at his neck and hoisted the Alpha pup off the ground with ease, his legs kicking uselessly.

"Where is she?" Marcus growled, low and lethal. "Quickly, before I change my mind and look for her myself."

As if on cue, Jaden and Mercucio stepped in behind Marcus, wearing matching snarls on their faces. They'd shifted as well, although they'd done a better job than Marcus, whose body still trembled between wolf and human

Aiden's sentry wolves stayed back, possibly understanding that this was their Alpha's fight and they were not allowed to intervene.

His claws split the fragile skin on Aiden's neck, blood pearling on Marcus' claws. But he paused, halfway through shifting with every intention of killing Aiden right then and there.

It was Aria's scent that flooded his senses suddenly, and a dark realization washed over him.

Her scent had changed.

It was faint, but nevertheless, it was there.

Aiden's claim on her.

Anger, hurt and betrayal welled up inside him, and squeezed Aiden's throat in turn.