Part 78

(POV - Marcus)

He left his family's graves and made his way into the pack cemetery, weaving through the headstones spanning back a century.

The Ashryver pack was old, one of the oldest in the west, and had seen its fair share of bloodshed and senseless violence.

Marcus was still ashamed that he had been a part of that violence, that he had contributed to the headstones sticking up out of the ground.

It was why he was there, walking further down the lines of fallen wolves until he spotted the pair of headstones he had personally erected there five years ago.

After Helena's blessing, he wanted to pay his respects to the late pack doctor and his adopted son, whom Marcus had killed in a blind rage after hearing that Helena had died during childbirth due to complications. For five long years, the guilt and shame of killing a pack member, an innocent wolf who had only been trying to help, had eaten away at him until he was nothing. He stood before their graves, his hands clasped firmly behind his back to hide the subtle shaking in his fingers.

"I know that I should have come sooner," he said, his shoulders tensing at the memory of that night he'd lost everything. "And I know that what I did can't ever be forgiven.

But I will fight for this pack, 'our' pack, for the rest of my life to make up for what I have done. And in the next life, when we howl together once more, I hope I can look you in the eye and tell you how sorry I am."

And he would. He would give his life for the pack, but he would also fight to stay alive so that he was always there to protect them, and he hoped that the doctor and his son would be happy in their death.

Sensing his emotional fatigue catching up with him, he bowed his head in respect and left the cemetery, meeting Jaden and Mercucio outside.

"Alpha," Mercucio greeted respectfully, standing close to Jaden as always.

"There's no one around, Mercucio," Marcus scolded playfully. "You don't have to trip into formalities, I've been telling you the same thing since I became Alpha."

Mercucio scoffed, rolled his eyes and looked more like the little shit Marcus had met when they were all still too young to understand how important their friendship would be.

"Yeah, but then I might forget when it actually counts, so," Mercucio shrugged, slipping into that easy smirk of his. "Better safe than sorry."

"It's kind of gross, dude," Jaden mocked, pulling a face at his best friend.

"You're just sore because he doesn't run around calling you 'Beta'," Marcus teased, his hands dipping into his pockets. Jaden rounded on him, betrayal on his stricken face.

"Et tu, Marc?"

"Stop being a drama queen and let's get serious for a second," Marcus said. "Has Inara done what I asked?"

Jaden sobered up immediately, his spine stiffening. He nodded and Marcus breathed a sigh of relief.

"What of 'her' condition?"

Jaden winced and cleared his throat uncomfortably before he continued.

"When we found her," he explained reluctantly, his fingers twitching. "She was moments away from dying, she barely had a pulse."

"And her mate?"

Jaden shook his head, lips pressed into a thin, disapproving line. "Missing. He was nowhere to be found when we attacked, and even his sentries were far and few between."

Strange. Too strange. Marcus didn't like how this entire plan had panned out, but at least they had gotten to her before the worst had happened.

He hoped.

"Don't mention a word of this to Aria," he warned, to which both Jaden and Mercucio nodded fervently. "Not yet."

"What about our unexpected company?" Mercucio asked, and Marcus's frown only deepened in response.

"Leave her be," he said flippantly. "Her condition is nowhere near as severe and we can't risk letting her out just yet."

Jaden and Mercucio followed after Marcus as he made his way back to the packhouse.

"I'm calling a meeting to discuss the logistics of my mating run," he announced to both of them. "Get Inara and meet me in the office in ten minutes. I'll deal with our company once that is wrapped up."

Mercucio disappeared to find Inara, and Jaden walked beside Marcus. The packhouse wasn't too far away, but they still had time before the meeting and Jaden obviously had something he wanted to say.

"Are you going to spit it out?" Marcus prompted. "Or do I have to shove my hand down your throat and pull it out by force?"

Jaden barked out a laugh and shook his head.

"Ever so charming," he said sarcastically. "No idea what that lovely mate of yours sees in you."

"Neither do I," Marcus admitted sheepishly. He cleared his throat and pressed on. "So? What do you have to say to me?"

"It's not like that," Jaden sighed, exasperation coloring his words. "It's just that it's really good to see you visiting Helena. It's good to see you happy after all these years."

"Don't go soft on me, Jaden," Marcus groaned amusedly. "Not when we're about to plan my second mating run."

"Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot that Alphas were big, strong wolves who didn't feel."

Marcus shoved at Jaden's shoulder, a smirk on his face. "Whatever, man," he scoffed, feeling the tips of his ears turn bright red in embarrassment.

They reached the packhouse and slipped into the office unseen, not wanting to draw attention to themselves just yet.

Mercucio and Inara were already waiting for them, each of them in their usual seats. Marcus took his place at the head of the table and Jaden sat to his immediate right.

"Didn't think we'd ever get to gather for this sort of meeting ever again," Jaden huffed teasingly, earning himself a hard glare from Marcus. While he was slowly working through the pain of losing his true mate and finding happiness with his chosen, it was still a sore point that he wasn't very good at responding to when it was addressed like that.

"But we're here," Inara cut in, saving Jaden from getting his throat punched once again. "And somehow, it's even more special than the first time."

Though he didn't say it, Marcus felt the same.

There was something different in the air now, something that was different to the first time he'd huddled together with his closest friends to plan his mating run. It felt like so much more this time around, because it was more than a soul bond; they had found one another and wanted to be together so much. Marcus had felt the bond of a true mate and knew what he felt for Aria was worth fighting for, and Aria had walked away from her own true mate for the same reason.

Sometimes, fate was wrong.

"So," Jaden prompted. "Do you have a specific idea of what you want this time around?"

Everything, he wanted to say. He wanted to give Aria everything, because he knew that she had believed she'd never get a mating run of her own. Not after her true mate had destroyed her idea of love.

"I'll be introducing her to the pack as my Luna and my chosen," he said, pulling a pad of paper towards him, subconsciously plotting the area of his lands that they would cordon off specifically for the mating run. "I didn't want to overwhelm her; so much has happened in such a short time. But I can't delay it anymore."

"So we'll need an elder present?"

Inara asked, taking notes on her phone. Marcus nodded, chewing on the inside of his cheek in thought.

It was tradition that an elder of the pack be present when an Alpha introduced his mate as his Luna. It had spanned generations and, even though he wasn't the most traditional Alpha, he wanted to share his pack's traditions with Aria. He wanted to show her that he was taking their life together seriously, that she was 'it' for him, and he hoped that he was for her as well.

"We can get Helldog to be there," Marcus said with a fond smile.

""Helldog'? Are you nuts, Marc?" Jaden exclaimed, twisting his entire upper body towards Marcus in outrage.

"He's 'ancient', man, I didn't even know he was still kicking."

Marcus just shrugged. "He'll be happy to do it," he said dismissively, ready to move onto the next point.

"He gave me an earful when I didn't ask him to be there the last time. I don't want to relive that, especially because getting my ear flicked by a prehistoric Alpha on the night of my mating run would 'suck'."

Mercucio chuckled under his breath. "I'll pay him a visit tomorrow," he offered.

"Great," Marcus said. "The next full moon is in a week or so, that's when we'll hold the run. And we will hold the ceremony at dusk before the run starts."

"So official, Alpha," Jaden teased. "'Daybreak'."

"You make protecting you so difficult, Jay," Inara sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. Mercucio chuckled quietly beside her.

"Why do you think I gave up years ago?" he said. Jaden frowned.

"You guys are the worst friends," he grumbled to himself.

"I still want to punch you,"

Marcus warned, but he returned to the route he'd plotted out on the sheet of paper in front of him. "Here's the run route. Once this has been outlined, I want to talk about a new build."

"A new build?" Inara questioned. He nodded and leaned forward, resting his elbows on the edge of the table.

"I'm moving out of the packhouse," he announced, much to his friends' surprise. "But I won't bring Aria into a house full of death. So I'm making plans for a brand new build. It'll be my mating present to her."

Inara smiled wide and bent her head in a bid to hide her joy.

"You're so whipped for her," Jaden said, but there was no teasing in his words. He was being completely sincere. "I love it."