Page 111 of Fated to the Lone Shifter
His breath catches like I’ve punched him.
“That message was for me. His punishment. I knew. And then he sent Marsha.”
The way he says her name—raw and venom-laced—sends a chill down my spine.
“She said she was there to help. But she was my leash. A test. Bode wanted to make sure I stayed in line. The motel fire? I destroyed the camera. That time, I did what he asked. I didn’t want anyone else I cared about to get hurt.”
“And the firetruck?” I ask. I picture him coming out the back, the hose failing mid-response.
“I was trying to switch it off,” he says. “Pressure was too high. Thought I could re-route it, sabotage it just enough to give him a window. But the valve snapped. Before I could fix it… you were there. You turned me around, and I thought that was it. You knew. I thought it was over.”
Why did you rejoin him?I hear Noah reaching out to Marcus telepathically.
He shakes his head, ashamed. “After the fire at your parents’ place… something snapped. I ran. Didn’t think. Just shifted in the woods and let the wolf take over. I thought maybe—maybe if I gave into the shift, I could outrun it all.”
“But they found me.”
“Bode’s crew?” Noah presses.
Marcus doesn’t have to answer. I feel it ripple through the bond—yes.
“They couldn’t read my thoughts. Not in wolf form. But they knew I was vulnerable. Knew I was desperate. So they gave me a test.”
His hands shake harder now. “They brought a man to me. Some homeless guy, passed out by the creek. Said he didn’t matter. Said no one would miss him. Said if I was serious about proving my loyalty, I’d do it.”
My heart drops.
Marcus swallows. “I didn’t have a choice.”
“That’s what I told myself,” he says, staring through me. “I was surrounded. Outnumbered. He was unconscious. I thought it would be quick. But it wasn’t. Because I hesitated. And the man regained consciousness and started to cry out. One of them was going to get him. We couldn’t let him go. So I… took the guy out and saved myself. I’m not proud of what I did, but I would do it again under the same circumstances.”
“I’m sorry you were in that position.” Noah puts a hand on his shoulder. “I wish you would have told me what you were facing.”
Marcus’ face twists. “I didn’t want you know about my past. I really wanted to leave all that behind.”
He rises slowly, grimacing. “When I saw you and Sera in that clearing—saw Bode coming for you, and the way she stood in front of you like she’d die first—I knew what side I was on. Knew what side I’d been on all along.”
You're still pack, Noah sends.
Marcus’ eyes widen. A slow tear leaks out of the corner of one eye.
And you’re not dead yet. That means you get to make it right…for Natalie.
A moment of silence fills the space, as if honoring Marcus’ fated mate.
Then he nods.
“I will.”
And with that, he shuffles over to check on the Bensons, who are now being cared for by Tori.
Noah and I sit in silence for what seems like days, but it’s only minutes.
I turn to him. "You okay?"
He shakes his head. A jolt of pain runs through his leg as his wolf heals the last of his injuries. As he relaxes into the night, he stands and holds out his hand to me. I rise and share the final secret I’ve been postponing all evening.
"There were seven adults and a child at the camp," I say, voice low. "But only six bodies." I nod in the direction of where the bodies had been piled.
