Page 31 of Marigold Run

“My sweet beta,” Izan says, his voice soft and apologetic. “I didn’t mean to say that.” He looks deep into my eyes as tears gather in the corners. “Mari isn’t Brea. She’s not going to die.”

The mention of Brea’s name pushes me over the edge and a single tear slips down my cheek. We don’t talk about her anymore. Not since we started talking to Mari. To be fair, Brea was in our lives for such a short amount of time, but it was still so horrible watching her wither away. I’ll never forget how hollow her eyes were and how sunken her cheeks were.

I’ll spend the rest of my life regretting not saving her.

“Mari came from a good institution,” Izan continues when I don’t say anything. “A team of the best doctors in the country looked over her for two years. She’s healthy and willful. She might have some scary memories locked up inside her, but she’s strong enough to handle them.”

I shake my head, hating that he’s not taking Mari’s condition more seriously. “You don’t know that.” I wipe my face, pushing my glasses up to rub my eyes. “You don’t know that Mari isn’t suffering right now. It feels like she’s shutting down.” I drop my gaze and a few more tears fall. Then I press my hand over my mating bites, wishing like crazy I could feel my mates inside me. “You don’t know what’s going to happen with her.”

“I do know,” Izan says with a shocking amount of confidence. “And Mari is going to be just fine.” He straightens his back, standing at full height. The alpha is only a few inches taller than me, but his thick muscles and powerful stance make him seem so much bigger. “Trust me, Everly.” He pops a few buttons on his shirt, displaying his broad chest. Angry red marks cut across his tan skin. Most of them are shallow scratches, but a few look like they might have bled. It takes a few seconds for me to realize exactly what they are.

Scratch marks from an omega.

How did I not notice them last night?

“Oh my.” Hope blooms in my chest, and I reach out, touching one thick, puffy line. She marked him well. “Mari did this?” I ask as if in awe.

“Yes.” Izan holds his head up high, obviously very proud of our girl. And I am too.

“Sexually aggressive omegas are more likely to create strong bonds with their packs,” I say, filled with renewed excitement. “She might even grow more confrontational with other members of the pack, needing the same kind of connection.” Izan smiles as I throw the few medical facts I know at him. “This is really good,” I say, thrilled at this new development.

Izan had shared with me how Mari disconnected from him the first night she was here. It gutted me to hear that, but this…this gives me hope.

“Mari is going to be okay.” Izan kisses the top of my head. “She might be a little more quiet or subdued right now, but she’s only been here for a few days.” He moves around the kitchen island, grabbing a knife and fork, then one of the three plates Andre prepared. He stands at the end of the island, cutting into his steak. “She needs time to acclimate.”

The kitchen door swings open and Hutch steps inside. I quickly turn to the fridge, pretending to look for something inside. I don’t want him to see the tears on my face. It’ll only worry him. Trying not to be too obvious, I lift my glasses so I can rub my eyes and cheeks.

“What’s going on?” Hutch asks in a tense voice, and I freeze. “I smell tears.”

Shit.

“I’ve got a task for you and Dassy this afternoon. Everly can stay with Mari while you’re gone,” Izan says, ignoring Hutch’s question. “We also need to figure out what to do about Mari’s sleepwalking.”

I close the fridge, ready to rejoin the conversation.

“She should have never been able to leave her room without us knowing,” Izan says. He sounds so angry, but I know him toowell. He’s more upset than anything else. “She could have hurt herself. Or…” Izan lets out a long sigh.

“I’ll watch over her room at night,” Hutch says, but then he pauses, his gaze flickering between Izan and me. “Are we sure she was sleepwalking?” he asks, and I draw my brows together.

“What else could it be?” I ask with a short laugh. I love Hutch but he’s always so suspicious. Maybe it’s the nature of his job, but omegas aren’t deceptive like alphas. They’re too good.

“I don’t know,” Hutch says, looking from Izan to Dassy. “Maybe she was looking for a way out and she got lost.”

“You think she was trying to run away?” I snort at his ridiculous statement.

“I was just posing a question.” Hutch flashes me a half-hearted smile, but I can see it in his eyes—he thinks she was trying to run away. But why would she leave us?

“My only concern is keeping her in her room in the middle of the night,” Izan says as Hutch walks past him, grabbing his breakfast off the counter. “Talk to Dassy about what he recommends to keep track of her at night.”

“I think he's still in her room,” Hutch says, sitting on one of the stools at the kitchen island. There’s a perfectly good breakfast nook in the corner of the room, but no one ever eats there. It’s really more for show. A place to display flowers.

“Dassy isstillin Mari’s room?” Izan’s voice is tense, clearly not happy. I understand his suspicions. Dassy has always struggled to think with anything other than his dick. He’s a wild alpha with zero inhibitions. It’s something I love about him. But it’s also been known to get him into quite a lot of trouble.

“I assumed you gave him permission to fuck her,” Hutch says without a trace of jealousy or anger. Any other second in command would be livid right now, but not Hutch. He and Dassy act as if every experience is a shared one.

“I didnotgive him permission,” Izan says, followed by a long sigh. After a second, he shakes his head, looking down at his plate. Thinking. “But maybe I should,” he adds in a deep murmur.

Hutch’s expression brightens at that, obviously happy with the idea. “I take it that things went well last night?”

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