Part 59

DOUBLE UPDATES!!!

(POV - Aria)

For a beat, neither Aria nor Meredith moved a muscle, the silence in the aftermath of that roar unsettling. They both breathed hard, eyes fixed on one another while they waited for any other sounds. There was a muffled commotion, and Aria swore she recognized the new scent in the house.

Aria and Meredith raced out, knocking into one another in their rush to get downstairs to see what the hell was going on. The air rattled in Aria's lungs, Meredith's shallow, panicked breathing close behind her.

The overwhelming scent of fear and rage had blanketed the packhouse, muffling any other familiar scent that Aria could pick up. They reached the foot of the stairs and rounded into the main common room, both of them screeching to a halt at what awaited them.

Marcus.

Marcus was there, his scent suddenly so obvious that Aria couldn't believe she hadn't picked up on it before. He was seething, his lips pulled back over his teeth in a vicious snarl. He growled up at Aiden, who swung from his neck, held up in the air by just one of Marcus' hands wrapped tightly around his throat.

The reality of the situation hit Aria square in the face, her elation at seeing Marcus taking a back seat as she rushed forward, her hand steadying on Marcus' waist while Meredith stayed rooted in place.

"Please" Meredith screeched, her hands covering her mouth. "Let him go, don't do this!"

Marcus didn't move an inch, he didn't even acknowledge that she'd said anything. Taking a small breath, Aria pressed her palm to his ribs, feeling the wild hammering of his heart under her palm. "Marc," she murmured softly, fingers flexing in his muscle. "Marcus, look at me, please."

At the sound of her voice, Marcus' hand went limp, sending Aiden crashing to a heap on the ground. He coughed, his hand massaging his neck. Meredith ran to his side, but Aria didn't care. She only had eyes for Marcus, who had slowly turned to face her, the pain in his eyes enough to send her stumbling backwards.

He'd smelled it; Aiden's claim on her. Her scent was nothing but Aiden and his violent claim, the mark on her neck feeling obscene, like something she should hide.

She took a step back, tears filling her eyes. He followed her every move, stepping forward when she stepped back. His eyes slid in and out of focus, nostrils flaring, and his lip curling in displeasure. For a long. terrifying moment, his eyes lingered on the exposed mark on her neck, and she fought the sudden urge to clamp her hand over it. To hide it and pretend it never happened.

"Marc," she mumbled wetly, tears blurring her vision. But she saw the hurt in his eyes clear enough, and it cut like a knife.

He said nothing, walking closer and closer until she backed into a wall, the wolves in the room deadly quiet, almost too scared to even breathe. The wall pressed to her back, her breath shuddered in her lungs and he stopped just a few inches from her.

"Little one," he murmured, the pain lacing his voice making it hard for Aria not to burst into tears herself. "Is this... is this your final decision?"

Her breath caught in her throat, and she blinked up at him, eyes wide.

What was her final decision?

She thought back, turning each memory of Aiden over in her mind, every moment she'd shared with him.

From the very first, when he'd stepped in and run those bullies off. To the moments they shared while he was training her. She remembered how he had begun to smile, albeit a little reluctantly, around her. She'd known back then that her feelings were a little more serious than a crush. And she'd nurtured those feelings for the years Aiden had been away training to be the next Alpha. She hadn't known about Meredith. She hadn't imagined that he had been disappearing everyday to see her. He hadn't said anything, not that he would have. He had always been aloof and mysterious, keeping his thoughts and emotions close to his chest, never letting anyone know what was really going on in his head.

When he'd returned from his training and had brushed her aside, it had been devastating, more so when he'd kissed Meredith in front of everyone. The month that followed his rejection had been awful. Aria had endured everything as best as she could. She'd tried to convince April and her own parents that she was okay when all she wanted was to wither away into nothingness. All she could smell was their scents twined together as one the way she believed his and hers never would. And the pain had suffocated her.

She still couldn't think about the way he'd used her outside the library without tears springing to her eyes unbidden.

And then she'd met Marcus at that ludicrous sex club, and even through the haze of his rut, he'd taken care of her. He'd never fully allowed his wolf to take over, always making sure to pull back before he ended up going too far or hurting Aria.

When she'd left three days later, and come back to Aiden's fury, she'd wanted desperately to be back in Marcus' embrace, despite only knowing him for a few days. And still, she'd had to face Aiden and Meredith, even when it had been painfully clear that Aiden's wolf ached to be with Aria.

She hadn't expected to run into Marcus the night of the banquet, and after the searing pain of realizing that Aiden had mated Meredith, she'd wanted nothing more than for him to take her away from the agony of her own home.

The week she'd spent with Marcus had been... bliss.

And she knew that there was a lot that they'd needed to work on, both of them. His past obviously still haunted him with a vengeance, and she had her own insecurities to work through. But it had felt right, like he was her new path.

Like he was a new beginning for her, and she was his.

And all the possibilities that her and Aiden's potential mating bond held, any affection that she felt because of it, paled in comparison to the peace Marcus had given her. Where she'd felt unsafe and scared, he'd opened a door for her, offering her an escape when she believed she'd never get out.

And he'd taught her it was okay to be free, to breathe in without hurting, and he'd showed her that she could stand up for herself, even if it was against him. He'd encouraged it, egged her on until she snapped and told him exactly what the issue was. It was something she didn't think she'd get with anyone else, least of all Aiden.

And her wolf... her wolf had so readily accepted him, and never once had she raised her hackles at him. She'd only waited and watched him, studying his behavior until she was satisfied and craved no one else but him.

And looking up into his stormy, indecipherable eyes, she realized that he would let her go if she told him to. He would respect her decision, no matter how much it hurt him.

And she made her decision.

Slowly, deliberately, she reached for his chiseled face, ignoring the way he flinched in response, and pulled his forehead to hers. His eyes slipped shut, and her wolf reached out to. She felt her eyes flit from human to wolf, flashing amber.

"Marc," she whispered, her fingers fisting in the hair at the base of his neck. "I would never leave you. You've been more of a mate to me than he ever could."

His eyes opened and she locked eyes with his wolf for a brief second before she was engulfed in a warm, tight embrace. Marcus buried his face in her neck, trying desperately to breathe all of her in. She melted in his arms, every inch of her body relaxing under his immediately.

This was where she needed to be, where she yearned to be. By Marcus' side.

Not a second choice.

But the 'only' choice.

"And no mark could ever change that," she whispered into his skin, one hand cradling the back of his neck and the other wrapped as far as it could go around his broad shoulders. His heart thrashed so hard she could feel it against her chest, her own heart matching his rhythm.

"Really?" he breathed, the word spoken on a soft sigh of relief and apprehension. She smiled into his shoulder and nodded.

"I told you that I'd come back to you," Aria said, her wolf snapping her jaw happily. "I just didn't expect you to create such a scene when you came to get me."

He growled softly, a gentle warning for her to keep from pushing him too far just yet. They were still surrounded by wolves, and Marcus was technically trespassing 'and' had his hands all over the Alpha's true mate whose mating mark was far too visible.

Almost as if she could read his mind, Aria glanced down at Aiden, who was still lying on the floor, a hand circling his throat. Meredith knelt at his side, her hands fluttering over him like she didn't know what to do to help him.

His wolf peeked out at her, those familiar eyes glinting sadly from his position on the ground. Aria only shook her head, her own wolf surfacing enough to warn Aiden off rather than call out to him.

They both needed to understand that they may have been true mates, but their souls were never meant to be together in this lifetime.