I Love You

Alice walked back to her house as the moon once more hung in the sky and she sighed. The day with Harris made her skin crawl. If she couldn't stand to be with her mate, what would the future hold?

Once more she found Mark waiting for her at the entrance to her home, in his human form of all things. "Mark? What are you doing here?"

Was Justa still there? Had he stayed for her? Her traitorous heart picked up pace at the thought.

"Not for the reason you're thinking," He admitted with a soft sad smile to her. "I took him where he wanted to go. I wanted you to know he was safe." His eyes were questioning, but he didn't press.

Alice knew what he wanted to ask. "I bear no claim bite, and neither does Harris. I couldn't bring myself to do it this time."

Mark sniffed and frowned. "But-"

"I know, I smell like him." She turned away. "It wasn't what I intended and it's not what I want. I can't just follow the rules of the Goddess like that. If I have to die soon, so be it. I wanted to say goodbye to you."

Mark's eyes flashed a dark color. "Alice, no matter what happens, I won't let the pack take your life."

Alice was wrenched from her thoughts as she stared at her second. "Excuse me?" she questioned. She couldn't have heard right.

"I'll never let anyone hurt you." He glanced away from her and let his breath out slowly. "I talked to Justa a lot on the way back, and he convinced me of something. Something important."

Alice continued to stare at him. What was going on? Mark never stared at her with eyes like that.

Eyes that made her tremble. Her of all people!

"Mark?"

"Alice, I need to confess something. Something I have kept to myself for years now. We're not mates, we both know that, but despite myself, I can't stop this part of me. Justa saw it, he called me out on it, so I'm telling you now. I love you, Alice."

Alice blinked. This had to be a dream. Maybe she had stayed with Harris too long and had fallen asleep. "You're kidding, right?"

"No, it's why I'll protect you with my entire being. I'll stop this pack from ever going against you no matter what happens. All I've ever wanted was for you to be happy."

"Mark, if you have any feelings for me, which I doubt, it's because I saved you. That's all. It's a savior complex. Don't get your feelings mixed up."

"Alice, I'm serious," Mark moved toward her and captured her face in his hands as he looked down at her.

"This isn't some crush, this isn't some complex. I've had a long time to think about my feelings. You make me feel that I don't need a mate in my life, I just need you."

"Why are you even telling me this now?" Alice demanded. "I have a mate, remember?"

"A mate you don't love, someone you're willing to die to get away from. I don't care if I have to battle the Goddess herself. I'll never let anyone else hurt you."

"I can fight my own battles." Alice scowled at the man.

How could he do this to her? They had been together so long on the same side she never considered the possibility that he might fall for her.

They weren't mates!

Then again Justa wasn't her mate either.

"I know you can, you can fight anyone one on one. My worry isn't that, my worry is that the pack would try to swarm you. I just want you to know that I would fight to the death to keep you safe. I'm not asking you to return these feelings."

"Then why shove them on me?" Alice demanded. "If you didn't want to burden me, then don't. There's no reason for you to confess unless you expected something to come from it."

Mark winced and looked away. "Okay, I was hoping it would do something. I won't lie to you. But I am serious that even if it doesn't I'm always going to defend you. I know that Harris guy is your mate but I don't like him."

"Can't say I do either," Alice muttered.

Mark chuckled. "And if you don't like him, then don't let anything stop you. You fell for Justa somehow, didn't you? Despite him being a human."

"I did," Alice's words were soft. It was hard to admit this out loud. "I do love him, Mark."

"And you want to be with him?"

Alice didn't have to think about it, she nodded.

"I'll take you there when everyone is sleeping, and you two can run away. Your wolf will call for the kill, but I won't let them find you, ever."

"Wait," Alice whispered. "Are you telling me that you're just going to stay behind after that?"

"I told you, whatever it takes to keep you safe."

"But, even if I had accepted you, you would have just stayed here?"

Mark nodded. "Just knowing that you're safe will give me peace. I've heard you say it more than once before, I don't need a mate. No one will ever compare to you."

Alice couldn't turn away. "Mark," she whispered again. Her wolf had given up on abusing her for now. It was letting her have this moment.

"I'll always love you, Alice."

A wolf's howl reached their ears and Alice turned to the sound as she shifted back into her wolf. Mark did the same and both watched as the wolf slipped into the building. "Alpha," the male greeted as his eyes flicked from one side to the other avoiding her own.

That wasn't a good sign.

"Speak," she demanded. She would deal with Mark and his confession later. Even her wolf was speechless about that one.

"I have something I overheard about these new wolves, something that I found far too worrisome to keep to myself."

"Stop teasing me with it and just talk," Alice growled as she bared her teeth.

The wolf jerked his head in a bow as he clenched his eyes shut. "It's about your mate, Alpha."

"Go on."

The smaller wolf glanced around again taking long peeks over both his shoulders. "There has been talk among some of those other wolves. Talk that has me worried."

"Stop being cryptic, just spit it out," Alice demanded.

"He wants to kill the humans," the wolf whispered. "And not just the ones here that we've had problems with, but all humans, everywhere. He wants to wage war on them."

Alice's ears pinned to the back of her skull. "I'll kill him," she growled. "I won't let anyone touch a finger on my pet-"

"Alpha," the wolf interrupted and she resisted the urge to attack this one as well. "If you kill him you will have to die too, please, don't do that."

Mark had been silent up to this point but he was beside her a dark towering mass of rage. "Alice, I will handle him. I'll kill him so you won't have to worry about anything else. It'll be my pleasure."

The other wolf's ears perked up but it chose to not bring attention to the casual way Mark addressed her.

"No, if this is true, I will handle it. I'm the one that led this thing into our pack."

The wolf bowed before her. "No matter what happens you have my loyalty, Alpha. I'll do whatever I can to help you." He glanced over at Mark. "That includes chasing these monsters away."

"I'm confronting him about this. Mark, I need you to do something else. I know you want to be there with me, but I need you to be in the pack."

Mark frowned at this information but nodded. "Howl if you need me, I'll always come for you."

His words warmed Alice and she couldn't stop the smile that came. Mark really was always there for her. "Fine, I'll howl if anything happens. But I'm worried that these others might try a coup. Please, keep our pack safe."

Mark nodded.

Alice paused as she turned to go. The other wolf was waiting for her but she went over to Mark and rubbed her cheek against his. She wasn't about to kiss him, not yet, but if this was going to be her final time seeing him...

It was important for him to know that she did care about him. And it surprised her to find out how much it did.

She left the big wolf in shock and followed after the other. She'd follow the apple scent that tickled her nose and confront Harris directly. And if he dared to lie to her? Well, it would be worth her death in order to put down an animal such as that.

She only hoped that Justa would forgive her and have a happy life when she was gone.