Page 59 of Marked

Maria muttered something in Spanish that sounded suspiciously like a curse, her hands tightening around her herbs.

“Edmund Blackwood would rather see Kai dead than accept what he represents.” Derek’s voice hardened. “A living challenge to everything their pack believes about pure bloodlines.”

“Over my dead body,” Caleb snarled, all traces of the charming youngest brother gone. “They don’t get to murder our family and then come sniffing around our mate.”

“They won’t get near him,” Derek promised darkly. “I’ve doubled the patrols. No one gets within a mile of the property without my knowledge.”

On the couch, Kai’s small fists clenched tighter under his chin, his pre-mark responding to their rising anger with pulses of silver light. Shadow’s ears flattened, his massive form shifting closer to their sleeping mate.

“Let them watch.” Caleb’s grin was all teeth. “Let them see exactly what happens to anyone who threatens what’s ours.”

“They invaded our territory that night,” Derek added quietly. “Killed our parents, our grandparents, just to try to destroy what they saw as an abomination. Maybe it’s time we showed them exactly what that ‘abomination’ has made us become.”

Marcus nodded slowly, his phone chiming with yet another pack requesting an audience. “The Blackwoods started something nine years ago they couldn’t finish. If they want to try again…” His eyes gleamed crimson. “This time we’ll end their line permanently.”

“They want to see if the rumors are true.” Caleb leaned back, some of his usual mischief returning as the tension eased. “A quarter-wolf mate, claimed by three alphas? That’s not just rare, it’s unprecedented.”

“They can want all they like.” Derek’s voice held steel. “Kai is—” He broke off as Marcus suddenly went rigid, attention snapping to the doorway.

Anna, their petite maid with the perpetually escaping braid, was carrying an armful of silk pillows from Marcus’ room. The alpha’s demeanor changed so fast it was almost comical, from deadly predator to possessive mate in an instant.

“Stop.” His voice cracked like a whip.

Anna froze, nearly dropping her burden, though her pretty face showed more amusement than alarm. After three years of service and dating Miguel, she was used to the Stone brothers’ peculiarities. “Something wrong, Marcus?”

“Put those back. Exactly where you found them.”

The abrupt shift in atmosphere was palpable. One moment they’d been discussing territory wars and ancient vendettas, the next their fearsome alpha was obsessing over pillows that carried their mate’s scent.

Maria rolled her eyes heavenward, muttering “Dios mío” under her breath as she continued sorting her herbs.

“But Marcus,” she said, lips twitching with barely suppressed amusement at his intensity over pillows of all things, “they need to be cleaned after…” She hesitated, trying to find a polite way to describe the chaos from earlier. “I’ve already put fresh ones on the bed.”

“I don’t care about fresh ones.” Marcus stood, his chair scraping against the floor. “Those pillows go back. Now.”

Derek and Caleb’s nostrils flared simultaneously, catching their mate’s lingering scent on the silk. Their reactions were instant—Derek’s eyes darkening to amber while Caleb’s playful grin turned predatory. The scent of Kai’s earlier fear and adrenaline still clung to the fabric, along with something sweeter, more intimate.

“Well, well,” Caleb drawled, “looks like our little ma—friend left quite an impression on your bedroom decor, brother.”

“The wolves did herd him there rather effectively,” Derek added, his voice rough, the scent making his wolf stir with possessive need.

Anna glanced between the brothers, her eyes dancing with amusement at their intensity over pillows. Her gaze drifted briefly to where Kai slept peacefully in the living room, surrounded by the massive dogs. “I… don’t understand. They’re just pillows.”

“Just pillows?” Caleb gasped in mock offense. “Those, my dear Anna, are now precious artifacts of Kai’s first—”

“Finish that sentence,” Marcus warned, “and you’re doing tax reviewandquarterly projections.” Turning to Anna, he said, his voice deceptively calm, “The pillows, Anna. We’ll handle their… cleaning… personally.”

Anna’s lips quirked into a small smile as she adjusted her grip on the pillows, stealing another glance at Kai’s sleeping form. “Right. Of course. I’ll just… put these back.”

They watched her retreat, still hugging the pillows that carried their mate’s scent. In the living room, Kai shifted again, his pre-mark pulsing softly as he responded to their heightened emotions even in sleep.

“So,” Caleb drawled once she was gone. “About how our little mate ended up naked in your room—”

“Eat your chicken,” Marcus ordered, though his own eyes tracked Anna’s progress up the stairs. Those pillows weren’t leaving his room. Ever.

His phone chimed again. Another pack wanting to discuss territory now that word of Kai’s return had spread. Marcus deleted the message with more force than necessary. Let them demand. Let them scheme and plot. Kai was theirs to protect now.

“The Blackwoods and Knoxes won’t be the only ones testing boundaries,” Derek said quietly, reading his brother’s tension. “Every pack will want to stake a claim, establish dominance.”

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