Part 24

(POV - Dual)

Aria stirred, her body sore and tired. It must have been the early hours of the morning, although she couldn't be sure. There were no windows in Marcus' room, and all she could rely on was her own body clock. It told her that there were a few hours left before sunrise.

Marcus hummed in his sleep, and she looked up at him. She lay on his chest, her cheek pressed close to his collarbones and her palm flat on his sternum. The muscle there rippled with each of his deep breaths, and she ignored the urge to run her fingers over the hard planes of his stomach.

She sensed his rut was over, his face finally smooth and free of the tension that had drawn almost each of his expressions into a harsh frown. His scent had lost the overpowering edge that had made her more drunk than the alcohol had, and she wanted to stay there, curled up against his side, and go back to sleep.

But the stickiness between her thighs had grown far too uncomfortable to be ignored, and she knew she needed to clean up before she left. There was no way she could go back home, not only smelling of another Alpha, but reeking of his cum.

And even though she kind of liked the idea of it, she squirmed out of Marcus' hold as slowly as possible, trying so hard not to wake him. It was pointless, though. He had practically fallen asleep inside her as soon as he'd hit his very last high and hadn't woken up since.

She got to her feet and cringed as the thick mixture of her arousal and his slid down her inner thighs. She tiptoed into the restroom, that was thankfully also equipped with a shower. She didn't have time to wash as thoroughly as she would have liked, but when she stepped out again, only a small part of her mourned the warmth between her thighs.

She walked back into the room and quickly got dressed. She grabbed her heels and her purse before casting one last glance at Marcus, who hadn't even moved since she woke up.

She sighed wistfully, thinking that Marcus was possibly the best partner she could have had after Aiden had broken her heart. She wished they could have been something more than just a one-night stand.

'Well, three nights,' she supposed, but that was beside the point.

She'd finally met a male who hadn't looked at her with pity in his eyes, who didn't know she'd been cast aside by her true mate. And who had seemed genuinely interested in her when they were talking at the club.

Even in the throes of his rut, Marcus had been lucid enough at times to speak to her, and they talked about so much while his cock was still buried inside her. They waited out those moments between the waves of intense rutting together. His fingers traced soft shapes on her bare back while he told her old stories he'd heard growing up. And when she sensed another wave coming, she'd cradled him close, letting her wolf guide her, soothing him through the agonizing pain until he was too far gone to notice it.

And when he came back down, he licked at her throat, nipping at her skin in a gentle show of appreciation before they started the cycle all over again.

Aria had always heard that when males, especially Alphas, went into rut, it could be a terrifying experience. But she had felt at ease with Marcus, even though he'd been a stranger just a few days ago.

Maybe that was why her heart panged as she slipped out, grateful that someone had already unlocked the door from the outside. She ghosted through the packhouse, letting her nose guide her to the front door and feeling a little sad as she slipped out. Marcus' potent scent faded away the further she got.

She sighed again and pulled out her phone. It was dead, although it shouldn't have surprised her. She'd wanted to text April, but had been otherwise... preoccupied with Marcus.

She put her phone back in her purse and kept walking, waiting until she was far enough from the Marcus' packhouse before shifting.

Back at the packhouse, Marcus blinked his heavy eyelids open, his vision still blurred with exhaustion.

His body was heavy with sleep, his limbs turned lead after sleeping for what felt like eighteen hours straight. He rolled over with a grunt, expecting to find Aria and feeling conflicted to see she wasn't there. He was grateful that she'd left before he woke up, so he wouldn't have to ask her to leave now that his rut was over. But he found himself wishing she'd at least woken him up to say goodbye.

He realized it was, again, crossing the line and ignoring the point he'd been so adamant about a few days before. He just hadn't expected that small connection to grow through their little conversations between fucking. He'd discovered all these things about her that made him want her even more, his wolf finding release and then peace in the circle of her body, something he'd never really experienced before.

He felt guilty for admitting it, even to himself, but he hadn't even experienced that kind of peace in the arms of his mate.

He hated himself for it, felt wretched for betraying Helena's memory by sleeping with another female, but his body had never felt lighter despite the heaviness in his limbs. He was still surprised by the small part of him that wanted Aria to stay with him, and he couldn't really face what that might have meant. What scared him more was that his wolf seemed to feel the same. It was obviously a little put out by her leaving without saying goodbye. Maybe he'd just wanted to fuck her again, because even though his rut was over, his body yearned for hers.

Did he want her to stay for a little while longer or indefinitely? The implications scared him, and he didn't want to think about any of it. He wanted to bask in the afterglow of a good rut. His needs and urges finally sated. He shifted in the sheets, attempting to get up so he could shower and leave. Then he caught the scent of Aria's slick, still soaking the soft fabric beneath him. A wave of dominance surged inside him, suddenly overwhelmingly possessive of the wolf who had long since left his bed.

His wolf urged him to run after her, to claim her and make her his for good. He entertained the idea briefly. He contemplated that she might have made a good Luna before he shook his head clear of those thoughts, doing everything he could to restrain his wolf and calm himself down. It would be a bad idea to chase after her. No matter how much he wanted to taste her again, she had likely already left his territory and crossed into her own.

He let his mind stray to thoughts of Aria, how she would sound outside of his rut-induced haze, how he would be able to savor her, tease her and torment her the way he wanted to. He'd be able to take his time, to discover all the ways she loved to be touched, to find the spots that drove her beyond sanity.

He jerked off in the shower, his cock hard and heavy and definitely too visible to ignore.

With a mournful tug on his heart, he left the room, locking it behind him. He knew he didn't need to keep it locked, but something possessive had taken hold of him. He wanted to keep Aria secret, to keep the memory of her scent unique to him alone. He was beginning to think that the no strings attached rule had been more for his sake than hers, given how quickly he'd fallen for someone he'd never met before.

His stomach grumbled and pulled him back to the presence, demanding his attention. With a sigh, he walked down the quiet hallway and into the communal kitchen, where Jaden stood in front of the stove, frying up some eggs and bacon.

"Well, well, well," he said devilishly, arms folded across his chest and cocking a hip. He leaned against the countertop, his brows raised and waggling like some old Hollywood villain. "He finally emerges from his dungeon. How was it, Alpha?"

Feeling light-years better than he had three days ago, Marcus laughed for real and opened the refrigerator, grabbing the orange juice.

"Yeah, whatever, man," he chuckled. He took out a glass and poured himself some orange juice, and downed the whole thing in one gulp. He hadn't realized how dehydrated he was until just then. "What can I say? You were right."

"Jaden is always right," he said smugly, turning back to his eggs. It smelled amazing and Marcus' stomach growled again, giving away just how starved he was. "Woah, okay, I'll fry you up some food too, damn."

"Sorry," Marcus said, pulling out a seat at the empty table and sitting down. Jaden wore only a pair of very loose basketball shorts, his hair still wet from what Marcus assumed was a quick shower after his daily jog. "I kind of forgot to eat during those last few hours."

He didn't need to see Jaden's face to know he was grinning like an idiot.

"I bet," he chuckled. "Did you at least let her eat?"

That possessive dominance surged in his chest again and he had to bite back the venom on his tongue before answering Jaden. "Of course I did, I'm not an animal."

"I don't know, Marc," he poked, probably knowing he was pushing at the protective instinct that had flared up again. "I heard the way she screamed. I thought you were killing her at one point."

"Jaden," he warned, trying so hard to calm his suddenly racing heart. "Be careful, man. I haven't gone through a rut with someone in years and this is how you want to test me?"

"Yeah, whatever, it's just great to see you smile again, Alpha," he teased, adding more eggs and bacon to his pan. Marcus didn't particularly approve of the way he slapped everything together, but seeing as he was getting free food, he figured beggars couldn't be choosers.

"Are you looking for a thank you?"

"It would be nice," Jaden admitted, grinning slyly. "But I don't need to hear it for it to be true. Just like I don't have to say 'I told you so'."

"Bite me."