Chapter Three-Marcus

"Well now you've went and done it," Axel said, letting out a huff of air. "You just had to come inside, didn’t you?" he asked, pacing back and forth in the cell opposite of me. 

I sat in the corner, my elbows braced against my knees, my body humming in adrenaline and need. My wolf was hurting, burning in despairing need to get to Lilly. 

"Way to go, Marcus," Axel said, scoffing and tossing his hands into the air. "I was wearing him down, and then not only do you sneak inside—against your alpha's wishes—but you get caught." 

Shut him up, my wolf growled. 

"Shut up," I said. "I've thought my mate was dead for the last fifteen or so years. I couldn't stop my wolf." 

Which was half a lie. I likely could have stopped him, but I couldn't wait to see her. And it didn't disappoint.

She looked beautiful. Her hair was much longer, and my fingertips yearned to touch her porcelain skin. 

"Right," he barked. "Now we're both stuck in here. Luther can't get us both out, Marcus. How could he? There are hundreds of lycan out there looking for him. If I could get through these bars I'd strangle the life out of you right now."

The cell door opened, footsteps descended around the curved staircase and toward us. I stood, surprised to see Jason walked into the room. He looked out of place in such a dingy spot, with his prestige clothes. 

He grabbed a key hanging from a nail on the other side of the room, and went to unlock Axel's door. My first thought was that he was toast because he'd betrayed his own kind, but something didn't seem right. 

Axel gave me a side-glance as he walked out of the cell. Jason hung the key back onto the hook, and marched Axel back up the stairs. 

Neither of them spoke on the way up, and I was left in the dark with no way out. I sighed, sitting back down; I tried to listen to hear if they attacked Axel. But all I heard was the random lycans running near the cell windows above me, or someone yelling across the yard. 

Ten minutes past when the door opened again, and Lilly's scent wafted down the staircase, sliding over my skin like velvet. Her footsteps were hurried, her breathing frantic, which told me she wasn't supposed to be here. 

It was obvious that Jason held claim on her. My mate. The way she tensed when he neared her told me it wasn't returned affection. 

Not being able to see in the dark, she walked along the line of moonlight, using it as a guide, and reached on her tiptoes to grab the key from the hook. She knew enough to know where they kept the key. 

Slowly, she walked toward the cells. "Hello?" she whispered. 

"Lilly?" I asked, walking over toward the bars to see her. 

Her eyes swept me from head to toe when I wrapped my fingers around the bars of the cell. Her blue gaze met mine. "I'm—I'm here to save you." 

My heart flip-flopped in my chest at the sight of her. My wolf relaxed, almost becoming a pup being near her. 

That built up anger I'd gathered over the years disappeared—evaporated. I felt like myself for the first time in over a decade. 

"You're here to save me?" I asked, my voice gravely. 

She stepped forward, with shaky hands; she shoved the key into the lock and turned it. "I am," she said, opening the door and stepping back so I could exit the cell. 

I chuckled while bubbles of lust formed in my chest. She stepped back, her blue eyes lifted toward mine slowly. "I'm here to save you," I said, stopping in front of her. "Not that I've made a good impression so far, since I ended up here." 

Silence enveloped us, and I found myself fighting the urge to touch her. I balled my hand into a fist, and watched as she shyly gave me an onceover. "Do you know why I'm here?" I asked softly. 

She nodded. "Jason told me," she whispered. "That I'm your mate," she said, lifting her gaze again.

I reached forward and pushed a piece of hair off her forehead. The skin on skin contact sent a rush of electricity up my arm. "You are. That's why I'm here to save you, Lilly. I haven't been able to stop thinking about you." 

"Are you going to take me with you?"

My gaze dropped to her mouth, and the way she held her bottom lip between her teeth. "Are you happy here?" 

My wolf growled, and called me every name in the book for even giving her a choice, but my mate would always have a choice. 

Slowly, she shook her head. "No. I want to leave."

"Do you want to come with me?"

"Yes," she said breathlessly. 

Nodding my head, I offered her my hand, and watched as she slowly took it. I began toward the stairs but she halted me. "What is it?"

She swallowed. "I've been promised to him," she said softly. "His father raised me here so that I could marry Jason. Jason isn't going to let me go easily. He'll track me down and try to kill you. Am I worth that to you?"

I slowly turned to face her, watching the hope dance in her eyes, while pain rested on her face. "Lilly. I've waited so long to have you here with me. When Axel told me you were alive, I told myself that nothing would stop me from bringing you home. Jason can try to do what he likes, but my pack will demolish him, and I plan to rip him apart if he so much as thinks about taking you away from me. You're worth every day I had to spend away from you. Don't doubt my determination or my need for you. You're safe with me."

Lilly's bottom lip trembled. My wolf begged me to bend down and finally kiss the mouth I'd dreamed of for years, but we were wasting time. "We need to get out of here," I said, gesturing toward the stairs. 

She followed me up the steps and out of the dungeon. The distant sounds of shouting told me they were chasing Luther's scent, while Axel made his way back to the pack house to strike a bargain. 

A bargain that I prayed Luther didn't fall into. 

We needed to run the opposite direction. They would surround the pack house, and look for us there when they realized we were gone. We hurried across the courtyard, slinking behind buildings as female lycans stood around whispering about the sirens. 

Lilly looked scared to death as we made it to the wall. "Climb on my back," I said, bending down to let her climb up. She hadn't grown much in height, maybe 5'2 or 5'3, so I helped her up.

She wrapped her arms around my neck, and her thighs around my waist. The contact had my wolf in a frenzy, spinning circles inside of me, causing too much havoc to focus. 

"Hold on tight, don't let go," I whispered. 

She clung tightly, her scent enveloping me as I scaled the wall, and jumped from the top. A soft sigh escaped her as I landed amongst the forest we'd hid in before sneaking into the kingdom. 

I went to put her down, and noticed she didn't have on any shoes. "Wait," I said. "I'll carry you."

Even in the night, I could see the blush crawl up her cheeks. "I can make it—,"

I nearly chuckled at the thought of making her walk through the woods with no shoes. "Come here," I said, picking her up into my arms. I started into the trees, listening to the noises on the other side of the kingdom and the silence that surrounded us. 

Her uneven breaths picked up the further we made it into the woods. She clung to me as I swatted branches out of the way, and drew us further into the darkness. 

"Did someone else come with you?" she asked softly. 

I glanced down at her face so close to mine and quickly turned my head, wanting to push away all the urges my wolf fed me. "My brother Luther, you remember him? He was with me. He came to find Caterina; she's his mate's mother. He got her, but I'm not sure how far away he made it before they went after him." 

"I remember Luther," she said. "I remember that day like it was yesterday."

So did I. How could you forget? 

Thankfully she changed the subject. "Where are we going?" she asked. 

"I don't know," I said honestly. "I'm going to get us through the forest, and hopefully we can find somewhere to rest for the night. I don't think they've realized we're missing yet, and hopefully we'll be long gone by then. We can't go to my pack, they'll look there. Luther has a few houses in the city we can use, and I know someone that can help mask our scent. But as of right now, I'm winging it."

"Are you scared?" she asked. 

I looked down at her. "No, are you?"

She swallowed, her plush mouth opened in a soft sigh. "Yes. I know how mean Jason is, and I don't want you to be pulled into that. I don't want you to hurt because of me."

I readjusted her in my arms and smiled into the darkness. I knew she couldn't see me well, not as well as I could see her, and I liked her trust in me. "That's what mates do, Lilly. Until the day I die, I will put myself at any risk to save you. Plus, I've been hurting for over a decade, today is the first time I've felt relief." 

She smiled softly and rested her head against my shoulder. 

I wasn't sure how long we walked before I saw the edge of the woods, and the first house since we started walking. Lilly had fallen asleep an hour before, and I needed to rest. 

The house was occupied, but there was a small shed in the back that looked like our best bet. Lilly stirred awake, and jerked up in a panic. "Hey. Hey," I said. "Are you okay?"

She closed her eyes and swiped the sweat from her forehead. "I'm fine. Where are we?"

"Close to civilization. I'm going to rest here for a while, and then we'll call Luther." 

When I opened the shed, I let Lilly down on the floor, and realized it looked more like a man cave than an actual shed. Which was good for us, because it had a beanbag and a blanket in the corner, and a small futon in front of the TV. 

I shut the door behind us, and flicked on the light. "Are you thirsty?" I asked, bending down to check the mini-fridge. 

She sat on the corner of the futon. "I'd love some water."

I handed her one, while I downed two of my own. The clock said it was 3 am, which gave us a couple of hours before daylight. "I'm going to try to sleep for a couple of hours." 

I glanced around the space, noting our only two options. "You can have the futon, and I'll take the bean bag." 

She stood up awkwardly, and glanced around the room. She looked like she'd been plucked from heaven, even in her dirty dress with branches in her hair. "Okay," she said, lifting her gaze. She held my stare, and I felt she wanted to ask something. 

I stepped forward, watching her watch me. "What is it?"

Nervously, she pulled a stick from her hair and smoothed her palms over her dress. "Would you lay with me?"