Page 82 of Marigold Run

Back to Izan…who I just tried to kill.

Searching the Woods

Dassy

“I’ve got her!” Hutch’s voice calls out in the dark. I stop running and listen.

I recognize Izan’s feet pounding somewhere to the right of me, and Hutch is on the left. Both of them sound like they’re going straight for the house. I join in, running as fast as my legs will allow. I duck and swerve, navigating my way through the thick forest. A few thinner branches whip out, slapping against my bare chest, but I ignore the sting, letting it fuel my desire to get home faster.

I break the treeline a fraction of a second after Izan. My pack alpha looks like he feels better, running like his life depends on it. His feet are bare and he’s wearing nothing but a pair of black gym shorts.

One minute later, Hutch appears from out of the shadows. Mari clings to him, legs wrapped tightly around his torso and her arms around his neck. I want to cut a line directly to them, butthere’s no point. I know he won’t let me examine our precious omega until we’re safely inside.

The race across the garden feels like forever, my heart breaking with every second I don’t get to hold Mari, but we finally make it inside. Izan immediately yells for Everly. The beta yells back, her voice incredibly distant, in some far-off part of the house. But Hutch doesn’t stop. He keeps running through the house, racing up the back staircase, down one hall then another. Izan and I share a look as we come to a stop right outside Mari’s room.

Hutch stands next to Mari’s alcove, still holding our omega. She looks so pale and slack in his arms. There’s blood on the collar of her oversized dress shirt, but her mating bite doesn’t appear to be bleeding. It looks good. I assume Hutch cleaned it since Izan didn’t get a chance, and I can’t help but feel proud of my brother. He did an excellent job.

“We have a problem,” Hutch says as Izan and I step into the center room.

“What is it?” Izan stops in his tracks and I do the same, scanning the room for threats.

Hutch’s voice drops to an urgent growl. “Mari is about to start her heat. She’s pouring slick all over me.” It’s then that I notice the tremble in my brother’s hands as he holds her small body to his. “But you can’t touch her,” Hutch says. “Not yet.”

Confused, Izan and I both growl at the same time. Izan takes another step, and Hutch angles his body away from us, making it clear we’re not allowed any closer. I’m so stunned, I don’t even know how to process it. He’s never pulled rank on me before, and definitely never defied Izan.

“What the fuck are you doing, alpha?” Izan’s tone is a vicious warning.

I don’t know what Hutch is thinking, but it’s not smart. Mari is Izan’s mate. They’re bound, and she’s on the verge of fallinginto her first heat with him. This is a very dangerous time to be playing games.

“Izan, please.” Hutch’s throat works as he swallows, and a bead of sweat drips down the side of his face. Mari shivers, then lifts her head off of my brother’s shoulder. There’s so much pain in her soft brown eyes.

“Answer me!” Izan barks in his commanding pack alpha tone. My back instantly straightens, but Hutch seems to buckle slightly from the force of his order.

Then, as if gathering all the strength in his body, my brother snarls, before sucking in a sharp breath. “She needs answers, Izan,” he grits out. “No one touches her until she gets her fucking answers.” Then he tosses Mari into her nest.

Our precious omega yelps as she flies through the air. Thankfully, the bedding is soft and plush and she sinks when she lands. Safe and sound. Where none of us can go without her permission.What the fuck is wrong with him?

Izan stares at both of them, examining the alpha and omega carefully. I have no idea what he’s looking for.

“Where is she?” Everly bursts into the room, her eyes darting all over the place. The beta looks beyond frantic. Her usually smooth brown hair is a frizzy mess, there's sweat on her brow, and her glasses sit low on her nose. “Mari!” Everly runs to the alcove, dropping to her knees right next to Hutch. “Are you okay?” She leans as far forward as she can without entering Mari’s nest. “Your neck looks awful!” she gasps. “You need to be tended to. Izan!” Everly turns and yells as her panic bubbles over.

“Everly.” Hutch circles an arm around the beta’s middle, pulling her body flush with his chest. “Mari needs answers.” He closes his eyes, dropping his head against her shoulder. “She needs to talk. I promised her we’d talk.” His voice is far off like he’s in a trance.There’s something wrong with him.I take astep toward my brother, but Izan slaps his hand out on my chest, stopping me.

“She might already be in heat.” Izan’s eye cut to Hutch’s pants. I squint, finally seeing a small dark patch on his jeans.Slick.

I glance at the ceiling, wondering how potent the room would be without the air purifier. Mari’s perfect peppermint scent is everywhere despite the device humming away, but it’s not overpowering. It’s just tempting. Delicious. Exciting. While we don’t know how far into her heat, Mari is, she’s got to be in at least the first stages, and even that is hell for an alpha to ignore. But my poor brother is sitting right next to the omega, torturing himself by not letting himself indulge in any of his desires. But that’s Hutch. He was forged out of fucking steel.

“What did you promise her, Hutch?” Izan speaks a little louder, making it clear that we’re not coming any closer. “What does our omega need right now?”

“She needs…” His voice drops to a growl as he paws at Everly’s hips, bringing the beta impossibly close. He’s officially useless, practically rutting the poor beta, humping her through their jeans.

“Alpha?” I look at Izan, not sure what to do. My pack alpha nods once, letting me know he’s going to handle this.

“Talk to me, Mari.” Izan moves around the edge of the room, keeping his distance from her potent aroma. I follow him, deciding it’s better than standing in the doorway. “What do you want to talk about?”

“I need…” Mari lifts her head, forcing herself to sit. Her cheeks are bright red and her hair sticks to the sweat on her forehead. “I need to know why.” Her dark eyes land on me, and the hair rises on the back of my neck. I can’t tell if I’m being challenged or scolded, but either way, I don’t like it.

“What do you mean?” My body instinctively moves to take a step toward her, but Izan grunts, telling me to stay next to the wall.

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