A noise suddenly penetrated the silence. Someone was calling her name. Not just anyone: Nick. Each time he called out for her, his voice grew closer. “He’s going to shit a brick.”
A few moments later, Nick appeared out of the trees with Taryn and Trey. Abruptly her brother froze and his nostrils flared. Then he was charging at Marcus. “You son of a bitch!”
“Nick, no!” Roni and Trey both dove between them, bringing him to a halt mere feet away from the object of his anger. Marcus didn’t even flinch. He met Nick’s gaze head-on.
“I told you to keep your hands off my sister!”
“True,” allowed Marcus. “But I didn’t say that I would.”
“He’s not good for you, Roni,” insisted Nick. “You don’t want someone like him.”
“I don’t?”
Nick winced at that dangerously soft tone. Telling a dominant female what she wanted or what she thought was not good. Marcus almost felt bad for the guy. Actually, no, he didn’t.
“You might be my Alpha and my brother, but you’re not my damn keeper.”
Trey shoved Nick just hard enough to get his attention. “Walk away before you say something you can’t take back.”
Nick didn’t listen. “The guy’s a total slut!”
Roni’s wolf did not like anyone insulting Marcus. In fact, neither did Roni. “And you were a virgin when you met Shaya, were you?”
“No, he damn well wasn’t,” Taryn mumbled with a huff.
“He’s not what you need, Roni! For him, you’re just a little bit of fun until—”
“Enough,” snapped Marcus, stepping around Roni. “Say what you want about me, Axton, but don’t make out that I think that little of Roni.”
Nick dived at him. Once again, Roni and Trey stepped between them.
“I’m not the easy target you seem to think I am,” warned Marcus, his voice silky and menacing. “Push, and I’ll push back.” And his wolf would enjoy it. Maybe it wasn’t good to challenge Roni’s brother, but the guy would only respect strength.
“He marked her,” Trey pointed out. Nick stopped struggling, his eyes finding the mark at the crook of Roni’s neck. Marking was a sign of possessiveness, but it was also a sign that the male respected the female in question enough to leave that brand. “Marcus may have had a lot of sexual partners, but that doesn’t mean he’s an asshole. He’s never mistreated or deliberately hurt the females he’s been with; he just hasn’t shown them any commitment.”
Taryn arched a brow at Nick. “And neither did you, did you?”
“Because I was waiting for my mate.” At Taryn’s meaningful look, Nick sighed. His eyes once again found Marcus. “Hurt her, and I’ll—”
“Have to wait until Roni’s done emasculating me before you get your turn.”
Looking ever so slightly mollified, Nick turned to Roni. “I’ll be waiting in the car. Don’t be long.” He spun on his heel and disappeared through the trees.
Inhaling deeply, Taryn smiled. “For what it’s worth, I think you guys make a cute couple.” Then she was gone too, with an amused Trey at her side.
Marcus’s wolf finally relaxed. “That went well.”
Roni gawked. “Are you kidding me?”
“No blood was shed.”
“You would have fought him, wouldn’t you?”
“If I had to, yeah. I wouldn’t have been happy about it—he’s your brother. I don’t want to put you in an awkward position. But I don’t back down. It’s not in my nature.” He dabbed a kiss on her way-too-alluring mouth. “Your wolf’s calmer. How are you doing?”
She sighed. “Pissed, but I’m no longer interested in punching the shit out of that tree over there.”
“Once Rhett and Donovan find out who uploaded that video, I’ll hunt them down and I’ll deal with them.”
“We’ll hunt them down and deal with them,” she corrected. “Promise me something. Promise me you won’t watch it.” Maybe it was stupid, but she didn’t want him to see her that way—helpless, terrified.
Understanding why she’d ask that, Marcus cupped her neck. “Roni, I will never see you as weak.” She was far from it.
“Promise me.”
A part of him wanted to watch it, wanted to know what she’d been through. But he couldn’t deny her this, not when there was so much pain in her eyes. “I promise. And I won’t let the others watch it either.”
She swallowed hard. “Thank you.” His arms engulfed her, and she instinctively tensed, not really sure what to do with the contact. Her wolf settled, satisfied. Roni decided to follow her lead and allowed herself to relax. It strangely felt . . . good.
Marcus kissed the top of her head. “Come on, I’ll walk you to the car.”
“To flaunt this in front of Nick?”
“To remind him that I’m not going anywhere.” Smoothing his thumb over his mark, Marcus felt a sense of self-satisfaction he hadn’t experienced before. He held those dusky green eyes that always seemed to be filled with wariness. “And neither are you.”
“I should have known to search for you in an obvious place.”
Sprawled on the sofa, Roni looked to the doorway where Derren stood and shot him a “fuck off” glare. She’d been hiding in one of the guest lodges for hours, wanting some alone time. That was what Roni did when things went to shit: she looked for space and privacy, explored the matter in her head, got her thoughts straight, and faced the problem head-on. But she’d known it would be hard to do that if she had anxious pack members hovering, wanting to comfort and fuss over her, panicking that seeing the video had “traumatized” her.