Her Chosen Mate

Part 48

(POV - Marcus)

Three days.

Aria had asked him for three days to sort through the mess in his head, and for her to sort out the mess in hers.

Three days had passed and he still hadn't heard anything from her.

He had told himself it was only because he'd been watching every second pass, the clock on his desk taunting him by moving slower. At least, that's what it felt like. Every minute passed slower than molasses, and Marcus had been close to the end of his tether by the time Jaden had returned.

"She's returned," Jaden told him, running a hand through his dirty blond curls. Marcus grunted, glancing up at his Beta before looking away again, his mind lost to memories of Aria.

"Is she safe?" he'd asked. It was all that mattered to him in that instant, and Jaden's resounding silence had bothered him. "Jaden, is she safe?"

"I can't confirm that," Jaden said sullenly, his hands clasped behind his back.

"What the hell does that mean?" Marcus snarled, his fingers squeezing the arms of his chair tight enough to make the metal whine in protest.

"I dropped her off a mile out, she asked me to," he explained. "And I stuck around until she'd crossed into her territory. But I heard a... scuffle, when she crossed the border. I'm guessing Aiden had sentries watching and waiting for her return, they were on her in a second."

Marcus stood up so fast that he sent his chair flying back and smashing into the wall, but he didn't care. "This was a bad idea. Get Mercucio, we're bringing her back. Right now."

"Wait!" Jaden insisted, holding his hands up to stop Marcus from doing something that was possibly, if not definitely, very stupid. "If Aria is what he wants, don't you think she'd be taken care of there?"

"I don't care," Marcus snapped, feeling his canines grow as his wolf fought for release. "I don't trust the little fucker or the rest of that pack, for that matter. I'm bringing her back."

"Don't, Marc," Jaden sighed, even though the strain in his voice was audible. "Let Aria handle this. You should know better than anyone that she's fully capable of going back there and doing exactly what she said she would."

Marcus deflated slightly, finally looking at his Beta.

She was capable. More than capable, but just because she was strong enough to handle anything that came her way didn't change the fact that Marcus wanted her to experience none of it. Just because she was strong did not mean she had to endure it.

Marcus would make sure of it.

"Marc," Jaden whined, his head flopping back in exhaustion. "It's like 2 am, man. Give it a rest? She's fine, she is going to be fine, and I already told her I'd be there to pick her up in three days, okay?"

Reluctantly, Marcus had let the fight drain from his veins, forcing his wolf into a restless slumber.

That had been the first night, mere hours after Jaden had dropped Aria off at home.

On the third day, Marcus had begun to feel the tug of senseless impatience, and his anxiety had soared higher than ever.

It was too overwhelming to think, and he knew he'd neglected quite a few of his duties these last few days but there was no room in his head for anything else. He'd lost so much sleep over it as well, finding it impossible to sleep soundly without Aria by his side. Her scent hadn't even disappeared from his pillows and sheets, but his wolf pawed at the front of his mind, agitated and restless, wanting him to shift so that he could race across their territories to bring her home.