Leaving the couple to argue, Marcus turned to Eli. “Why are you all so worried? If you don’t trust that Roni’s going to shift back any time soon, something must have happened. She was calm when she left me yesterday.”
Eli sighed, clearly troubled. “After we got back, she vanished, and we thought she’d disappeared in her wolf form. When it happens, she never goes far, but she mostly avoids people; eventually, she makes her way back, but it can still be months before she shifts again. She hasn’t done it since moving here, and we were concerned that seeing the vid—reliving the memories—would act as a trigger. As it turned out, she hadn’t shifted. She was just hiding in one of the lodges. We tried assuring her that it was okay to be upset—”
“Did she look upset?”
Eli seemed surprised by the question. “What?”
“Did she look upset? Did she say she was?” Because her family had a nasty habit of “assuming” when it came to Roni—assuming they knew what she was feeling, what was best for her, what her limits were, and what she wanted.
“No, she kept saying she was fine. But there was no way she could possibly be fine. Still, it looked like she might not bolt on us. But then she and Nick clashed over the decision of whether or not to tell Mom everything. I think it acted as the cherry on the cake—she was dealing with enough already—and that just made it worse, so she broke and shifted to escape it all.”
Maybe. But none of that added up to Marcus. It didn’t fit with the Roni he’d come to know—she didn’t “break.” In any case . . . “Shaya, you should have called me sooner. Has Kathy been told about the vid being on the website?” Marcus might just have to hurt Axton if he’d done something so fucking idiotic.
Shaya assured him, “I convinced Nick not to say anything.”
Good. “I want to see her.”
Nick took a step toward him. “Wait a minute—”
Shaya grabbed his arm. “No, you wait a minute, Nick. There’s a good chance he can do something.”
“Like what? He has no significance to Roni’s life.”
Derren cleared his throat. “She marked him.”
The air suddenly chilled. Slowly, Nick turned to face his Beta. “You did not just say that she marked him.”
“Look, Nick, we know you want her to be happy,” said Shaya. “And that’s great and all, but right now, she’s far from happy. We haven’t been able to help her. What’s the harm in letting Marcus try?”
The words “letting Marcus try” made him bristle. This wasn’t a negotiation. “I won’t leave without seeing her.”
Nick snarled at him. “You don’t have any authority here, Fuller. This is none of your business; it’s a pack matter—”
“This is a Roni matter, which makes it my business. I know you’re worried for your sister, and I know it will gall you if another male can help when you couldn’t. I get it. But this is about Roni—not you, not me, and not anyone’s pride.” Marcus returned his attention to Eli. “Where is she?”
Eli glanced from Nick to Marcus, and then sighed. “Follow me.” He led Marcus out of the lodge, into the forest, and deep into Mercury Pack territory. Nick and Derren came along, but they remained silent. Eventually, Eli halted near a fallen oak. “If you keep walking straight ahead, you’ll come to a clearing. That’s where she is. We’ll have to stop here or she’ll scent us. Her wolf won’t let any of us near her—not even Shaya.”
Derren scratched his nape. “Her wolf is clearly as pissed off as Roni is. And since Roni’s frustration will be feeding hers . . .”
“She has no tolerance right now,” finished Marcus.
Eli nodded. “We’ll wait here for you, just in case she warns you off.”
“She won’t.”
“What makes you think her wolf will allow you close, when she’s keeping everyone else away?” asked Nick. The hostility was gone; it was a genuine question.
“Because as far as the wolf’s concerned, I belong to her.” The brand might only be temporary, but that wouldn’t matter to the animal—their wolves were fiercely possessive.
Leaving the others, Marcus walked on ahead, letting the twigs beneath his feet snap loudly so that she would sense his approach. Startling a wolf was never a good idea. Soon enough, he stepped into the clearing. The dark-gray female was lapping at the small stream there, but her eyes—so alert, intelligent, and watchful—were honed on Marcus with lethal precision.
He’d encountered Roni’s wolf during the battle against the extremists. She was even-tempered, but she was also vicious when the situation called for it. And that was the very reason why he had no intention of releasing his own wolf—the male’s natural reaction would be to attempt to dominate her into calming. That wouldn’t work. The female would sooner fight him than submit.
Marcus took a few steps forward. “Hey, gorgeous.” Of course the wolf wouldn’t understand the words, but his calm, cajoling tone would assure her that his intention wasn’t to throw his dominance around. Also, he knew Roni could hear and understand him.
The female lifted her head, but didn’t otherwise react. To his relief, she wasn’t warning him to leave. That meant she’d at least accepted his presence, though she might not particularly welcome company right now.
He squatted and tapped the ground with his hand. “Come here, sweetheart.” She didn’t. She just continued to watch him with that hunter stare that missed nothing. Making his way to her wouldn’t earn him any points. To the wolf, he was already invading her private time uninvited. There was no sense in pushing it.
A minute or so later, she finally moved. He remained still as she prowled toward him, looking both graceful and dangerous. She didn’t halt until she was up close, eating up his space, clearly believing it was her right.