Part 70

(POV - Marcus)

Marcus had taken so much pride in watching Aria settle into her new pack over the next couple of days.

He'd slowly begun to notice her leaving his side to find her own food as she became more comfortable and familiar with the whereabouts of her favorite cup ramen in the kitchen. He started to feel a little more at ease, leaving her asleep in his bed while he went out for the early morning patrols.

He did miss having her beside him all the time, but he knew it was important for her to establish her own place in their pack, especially considering she would soon be his Luna.

The pack needed to meet her and see what Marcus saw, because the role of a Luna was somehow so much more difficult than that of an Alpha.

While an Alpha only had to rely on being physically stronger and smarter than his opponent, a Luna had to work to win over the members of the pack, regardless of how loyal they may be to her Alpha.

He had slowly introduced her to his pack members, each of them practically beaming when they met her, and he couldn't help the tiny flutter of pride in his chest.

Of course, they would see just how amazing she was; he'd seen it himself from the moment they'd met. She'd been able to capture his attention and hold it long enough for his head to break the surface. The grief that had held him captive for five years receding the longer her hand stayed clasped in his. And watching the way his pack members fell for her the way he had was something that he hadn't seen with Helena.

"Where is Jaden?"

Marcus blinked out of his thoughts and looked up from his paperwork. Aria sat on the edge of his desk, her legs bare and swinging off the mahogany enticingly.

"Must be off with Inara and Mercucio running some training," he explained, watching her face carefully for any change. She hadn't asked about Inara since the morning she'd seen him walking out of his top sentry's room, and he'd honestly been a little surprised by her silence on the matter.

He'd expected her to question him about his relationship with Inara, and he was even more surprised by his willingness to share it with her. He didn't feel secretive or protective of his past with Inara, and he wanted Aria to feel at ease around Inara.

Perhaps they could be close friends.

With April having fallen off the face of the planet, Marcus had worried that Aria would feel lonely or isolated in a brand-new pack. He had hoped that Inara and Aria would become close, so that Aria would have someone to trust when Marcus was away.

He also still carried a heavy fear that something would happen while he was away, the same way everything had gone to hell when Helena had gone into labor. He knew that Inara would give her life for Aria, but there was something deeper about the bond between wolves who trusted one another.

And he just wanted Aria to be happy. Always.

But Aria had simply nodded and hopped off of his desk, her hips swaying as she walked towards the door, offering him a secret smile before she left.

He had a long afternoon of patrols ahead and she'd known that, probably hanging around him because he'd be gone for a while. She wanted to make sure he smelled like her.

And, if he knew her at all, she'd stuck around to make it exceptionally difficult for him to leave because he could already feel the tightness in his slacks. There was a tingle in his gums that screamed at him to claim, to take. With a clenched jaw, he swallowed a smirk and tried to smother the burning thoughts that tempted him to follow after her and pin her to the nearest wall.

He shrugged it off with more difficulty than he cared to admit, and walked out, trying to ignore the scent that lingered after her. He met Jaden and Mercucio out front, both of them wearing matching, shit-eating grins and looking like the cat who got the cream.

"Keep your thoughts to yourself," he warned, refusing to make eye contact with either of them. "We have a long evening ahead of us and I'd rather not be put down for a double homicide before my dinner.

Jaden snorted and shared a secret glance with Mercucio, something that tickled at the edge of his memory. He'd meant to ask about it, or at least pay more attention to it. He had his own suspicions and theories, but he didn't want to work on assumptions. They were his best friends and he should be able to confront them to find out what the hell was going on between them. Marcus wondered if maybe they'd fought about something that had altered their relationship.

He only knew that something had changed.

"What?" Jaden asked, his brow pinched in sudden confusion, although there was a hint of concern clouding his eyes.

"Nothing," Marcus mumbled, rolling his shoulders. "Let's head out."

They didn't shift, something that lay beneath his skin like an itch that begged to be scratched. He pushed it aside, focusing on the length of patrols ahead of them.

It wasn't often that they refrained from shifting during patrols, but he had a group of sentries ahead of them to scout and cover their scent. It was easier to mask in human form, but he felt infinitely more vulnerable to his claw-tipped paws and corded muscle rippling beneath his fur. It was a small price to pay, he imagined, considering the pay-off would be an extra length of patrols that no one would be able to get through.

The three of them jogged alongside one another, saying nothing and focusing on their breathing to keep their body temperature stable. It was a chore, but it got the job done.

By the time they'd finally returned, it was after 10 and he needed a shower and food. And he needed Aria.

"G'night, Marc," Jaden yawned, his joints popping when he stretched his arms above his head. Mercucio nodded his own farewell and followed Jaden into the packhouse. Marcus stayed out in the front yard, staring up at the inky black sky.

Agitation sizzled in his veins, and he knew it was because he'd forced his wolf back when he'd been growling to get out. There was also the heavy thought of when he would share his past with Aria. He wanted to tell her everything, and she deserved to know it all. He labored over when he should tell her.

A run would do wonders for him, especially because all he wanted was to wrap himself around Aria's warm, sleeping body and let himself fall into a silent slumber. He breathed a long, deep sigh of intense relief as he shifted, briefly feeling the cool grass on the pads of his paws before being tackled to the ground. A startled growl slipped through his snarl at a very familiar scent.

Aria's wolf pinned him to the ground, her snout playfully snuggling into his neck, and he let her. Even after their weeks together, he was always so surprised by how easily his wolf calmed around her. He was sure she could coax him out of a fit of rage in a way no one else could.

He huffed out a garbled laugh, and she growled, wriggling around, trying to egg him into playing. And even though it was long after 10 pm, and he'd been itching to shower and sleep, he immediately chased after her as she darted through the trees. His agitation was melting away like it never existed.

As he chased after her, he couldn't help but marvel at how different Aria was to Helena.

Aria had quickly earned the trust and admiration of the pack, while Helena had struggled with it. She'd always been a lot more private, preferring to keep the company of very few. It was one of the reasons their home had been so removed from the rest of the pack, and why she'd insisted on a home birth instead.

Aria had just... taken his breath away with how easily she fit in with his pack, how easily she had accepted them. How hard she worked to understand them. In the last few days, he'd seen her become that strong wolf he knew she was, and he took a sick sort of pride in seeing it happen.

Helena had been so reserved that he'd gotten used to being with someone who despised her wolf form. Helena hated everything about being a wolf. She had been very uptight, sometimes too uptight, and it had forced Marcus to find comfort in isolation while he went on lonely runs when his heart yearned to be with his mate.

But with Aria, everything was different.

She relished in the feeling her wolf gave her, the freedom that had helped Marcus live through the soul-shredding agony of losing Helena. She took every chance to shift and was often the one who taunted him into shifting so that they could play together. She loved to lose her worries in the trees and didn't mind getting soaked in the streams further south. She would race after the birds like she was the most carefree wolf, and it endeared him endlessly.

And for the first time in years, Marcus felt the weightless joy he'd once felt as a pup.