The Jealousy

Marcus's POV

I punched the tree so hard my fingers split open and started bleeding.

"Damn it," I whispered, shaking my hand. But the pain in my fingers was nothing compared to the ache in my chest.

I'd just seen Drake leave Maya's cabin. Again. For the tenth time this month. My cousin had that pleased look on his face, like a cat who'd caught the biggest mouse in the barn.

And Maya? She was glowing. Happy. More beautiful than I'd ever seen her.

It was killing me.

I pressed my wounded hand against the tree bark and tried to breathe. Three years I'd been watching Maya from far away, caring about her, wanting to tell her how I felt. Three years of being the good friend who listened to her problems and brought her books from my personal collection.

Then Drake noticed her, and everything changed.

"Marcus?"

I spun around. Maya was walking toward me through the woods, a worried look on her face. She must have seen me from her window.

"What happened to your hand?" She grabbed my wrist before I could pull away, looking at the cuts on my fingers.

"Nothing. Just being clumsy." I tried to smile, but it felt fake.

"This doesn't look like clumsy. This looks like you hit something." Her fingers were gentle as she examined my hand. "Come on. Let me clean this up."

"Maya, you don't have to—"

"Yes, I do. You're always taking care of everyone else. Let someone take care of you for once."

She led me back to her house, and I followed like a lovesick puppy. I always followed Maya anywhere she wanted to go. That was my trouble.

Inside, she made me sit at her small kitchen table while she got her first aid kit. The cabin still smelled like Drake's cologne, and it made my stomach turn.

"So," Maya said as she cleaned my cuts, "want to tell me what really happened?"

I couldn't look at her. If I did, she'd see everything I was trying to hide.

"Just had some extra energy to burn off," I lied.

"Marcus." Her voice was soft but strong. "I've known you since we were kids. You don't hit trees unless something is really bugging you."

She was right. Maya knew me better than anyone, even better than Drake. She knew I liked to read instead of fight. She knew I preferred quiet walks to loud parties. She knew I always tried to fix things with words instead of fists.

But she didn't know the most important thing about me.

She didn't know I loved her.

"It's nothing important," I said finally.

Maya finished bandaging my hand and sat down across from me. "Is this about Drake?"

My head snapped up. "What?"

"You've been acting strange ever since he started coming around. Are you mad at him about something?" Mad? That was too easy a word for what I felt. I was jealous. Heartbroken. Furious. Scared.

"I'm worried about you," I said honestly.

"Worried? Why?"

How could I explain? How could I tell her that I'd been in love with her since we were teenagers? That I'd spent years building up the courage to tell her how I felt, only to watch my cousin sweep in and take her heart in a matter of weeks?

"Drake isn't known for staying with the same woman very long," I said carefully.

Maya's face lit up with a smile that made my heart break all over again.

"But I'm different," she said. "He keeps coming back to me. Every night, Marcus. He can't stay away."

"Maya—" "I think he might love me." She was nearly glowing with happiness. "I think he might make me his Luna."

The words hit me like a physical blow. Luna. Drake's mate. The job I'd dreamed of Maya holding, but with me, not him.

"Has he told you that?" I asked quietly.

"Well, not in so many words, but—"

"Has he said he loves you?"

The smile faded from her face a little. "Not exactly, but I can tell. The way he looks at me, the way he holds me. You don't understand, Marcus. What we have is special."

I wanted to shake her. I wanted to tell her that Drake looked at every woman the same way when he wanted something from them. I wanted to explain that my cousin was selfish and careless with people's hearts.

But I couldn't. Because Maya was happy, and I'd never been able to stand seeing her sad.

"I hope you're right," I said instead.

"I am." She reached across the table and squeezed my unhurt hand. "Thank you for thinking about me, though. You're such a good friend."

Friend. The word felt like a knife twisting in my chest.

"Always," I managed to say.

Maya stood up and started putting away the first aid items. "I should probably get some sleep. Drake is coming by early tomorrow morning before his Alpha meetings."

Another night. Another morning. It never stopped.

"Maya," I said quickly. "What if... what if there was someone else who loved you? Someone who would never hurt you?"

She turned around, confused. "What do you mean?"

This was it. My chance to tell her how I felt. To fight for her before it was too late.

But then I saw the happiness in her eyes when she talked about Drake. I saw how much she wanted this fairy tale to be true.

"Nothing," I said, standing up. "Just thinking out loud."

"You're acting really weird tonight." Maya walked me to the door. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine." I stopped on her steps and looked back at her. "Maya? Promise me something."

"What?"

"If Drake ever hurts you, if he ever makes you feel like you're not enough, you'll come to me. Okay?"

She looked confused. "Marcus, why would you say that? Drake isn't going to hurt me."

"Just promise."

"Okay, I promise. But you're worried about nothing."

I walked home through the dark woods, my bandaged hand aching with every step. Maya was wrong. I wasn't worried about nothing. I was worried about everything.

Because I knew Drake better than Maya did. I knew he was engaged to Lila Cross. I knew the wedding was in three days. And I knew my cousin well enough to guess exactly what he would do when the time came to choose between love and duty.

He would choose honor. He always did.

And Maya would be left with a broken heart and nothing else.

Unless...

I stopped walking as an idea formed in my mind. A bad, desperate idea that could ruin everything between Drake and me forever.

But if it saved Maya from grief, it might be worth it.

My phone buzzed with a text message. When I looked at the screen, my blood ran cold.

It was from Elder Morrison: "We need to talk. Tonight. The big oak tree by the river. Come alone, and don't tell anyone. Especially not Drake."

What could the pack's oldest elder want with me at midnight? And why the secrecy?

As I headed toward the river, one thought kept running through my mind: whatever Elder Morrison wanted to talk, it was going to change everything.

And I had a terrible feeling that Maya was going to be caught right in the middle of it.