Chapter 18

It's Monday, which means it's an Alpha Meeting day. Marcus sighs to himself. These meetings are important, and he'd never miss one, but he's not particularly looking forward to this one.

It's the first Alpha Meeting after Daisy's wedding, which makes Marcus the only unmarried Alpha child. It weakens his position – an Alpha must be part of a mated pair bond, someone who can offer the strong promise of heirs.

Daisy is already pregnant, which strengthens her position quite a lot when paired with Charles's substantial role within the pack. Joel has been married for three years already, with one small son.

Marcus is the youngest, and he's the only one without even the hint of a mate on the horizon. In fact, he has a reputation as a bit of a playboy, which works against him. He's put off sorting out that side of his life for far too long, and he knows it.

He knows that his family thinks he's cavalier about it, that he's neglecting that side of his responsibilities, but nothing could be further from the truth. In reality, Marcus has dated so many women because he's been looking for that spark.

But no one speaks to him. Every time he's tried, he's felt his wolf inside him, dissatisfied and restless, turning away from every woman he's tried to court. He knows he needs to get this problem under control, but he's not sure how.

"Marcus?" Daisy says sharply. "Are you listening?"

They're sitting in the meeting room, a hidden chamber within the Alpha family mansion. It's entrance is a bookcase in the library, which swings open on a hinge when the small gold statue of a wolf mounted on the wall is turned downwards.

The room is warm and comfortable, but it's also stern and somewhat overbearing. The walls are dark walnut paneling, the carpet a thick, plush red beneath their feet. A massive cherrywood table takes up most of the room, and the walls are lined with bookcases that hold Alpha family records going back centuries.

A massive fireplace stretches along one wall, the fire in it crackling merrily in contrast to the somewhat apprehensive mood that Marcus can feel blanketing him.

"Of course I'm listening, Daze," he says. "And I quite agree with you all. Father has seemed withdrawn lately. I worry about him."

Joel snorts under his breath. Marcus is annoyed; just because they're all vying for the position of Alpha doesn't mean that they shouldn't care about their father's health and wellbeing. Marcus genuinely loves his father, as much as he also wants his position.

"He's not as robust as he once was," Daisy agrees, lounging in one of the straight-backed, antique chairs that surround the meeting table. "I think he's probably looking to retire soon."

"I agree," Joel says. "I mean, take right now, for instance." Joel checks his watch. "I don't think Father has ever been late for a meeting before."

"Perhaps his previous meeting ran over," Charles suggests smoothly from his seat next to Daisy. "He's been making so many arrangements recently."

Charles reaches over to squeeze his wife's hand, Daisy beaming at him. They're both hoping that those arrangements involve announcing an official Alpha heir soon, Marcus knows.

"Well, if anyone is going to be named heir soon, it's surely going to be one of us," Joel says to Daisy, reading between the lines of Charles's statement as well as Marcus can. "Marcus, I don't know what you're playing at, being single still at your age, but Daisy and I do thank you for lowering the competition." He barks a laugh.

Marcus frowns. Before he can respond, Daisy cuts in.

"What about that woman you brought to my wedding?" she asks. "I must say, I was very surprised to see you show up with a date, Marcus. I thought you said you weren't bringing anyone."

"I wasn't planning to," Marcus says. "It was more of a happy accident, really."

Daisy leans forward in her chair, eyes gleaming with interest. "Really? Do tell."

"There's nothing much to tell," Marcus says slowly, wondering how much to give away. "She's a doctor; I first met her after that last battle a few years ago. She's a wonderful surgeon."

"She was a doctor," Charles snaps with impatience. Marcus looks at him in annoyance. Charles is always butting in like this; Marcus finds it irritating. And who is Charles to talk about Nicole, anyway? He's the one who discarded her.

"She's interesting, anyway," Marcus admits to Daisy. "I find myself quite taken with her at times. I became reacquainted with her at the soup kitchen, during one of my public relation assignments."

"Ah, yes," Joel interjects. "You've always been very good at staying on top of your PR appearances, Marcus. In fact, I think you put more effort into those than just about anything else, so I'm not surprised you managed to find a pretty young doctor date at one of them."

Marcus ignores him. Joel is always mocking him for being so committed to cultivating his public image, preferring battlefields and behind-the-scenes scheming himself. It's shortsighted, is what it is. Half of being an Alpha is maintaining a strong public image, and Marcus wants to be Alpha as much as either of his siblings.

What's truly troubling Marcus at the moment, however, is the extent to which he can't get Nicole out of his mind. He's only seen her a few times in his life, and only twice in recent times, but the thought of her has burrowed its way into his head and his heart.

Marcus thinks about the way that Nicole jumped into action during the medical emergency in the soup kitchen. She didn't hesitate for a moment; she was fast, efficient, and professional. She knew exactly what to do to help, and she did it smoothly and with authority.

He doesn't know what possessed him to invite her as his last-minute date to Daisy's wedding, but he's so glad he did. His breath had caught in his throat when he saw her coming down the steps of that wretched little hotel she's staying in.

She's beautiful, stunning. The way her gown hugged every elegant, slender curve of her body, the way it draped across the pavement as she nearly floated to the car. The jewelry at her throat and ears gleamed with subtle, tasteful grace – nothing like the flashy diamonds that Daisy and her friends like to show off.

But it's more than that. More even than her gleaming waterfall of dark hair or the lovely curve of her lips when she teases him. It's something deeper, something that radiates from the heat of her skin and the kindness in her eyes, straight into his heart.

Something that makes his wolf quiet, still, take notice. Something that draws him to her.

It's nonsensical. Nicole isn't a werewolf, and she's not one of the connected families that Marcus has always assumed he'd marry into. She has no money, no connections, no bloodline. On paper, she's nobody.

But Marcus's wolf won't be dissuaded, and Marcus learned early on to always trust his wolf. Nicole may not be royalty, but she's certainly not nobody.

He just doesn't know who or what she is.

Marcus checks his phone under the table, for what must be the tenth time that afternoon. She still hasn't called him, either. That surprised him, too, and it's made her even more mysterious. Usually, women fall all over themselves to reach out to him when invited.

Maybe he needs to be more forthright with her. Take some initiative. It's not what he's used to, but he likes it. He likes being the one to do the pursuing for once, instead of feeling hounded by women he just can't seem to connect with, no matter how much his family tells him he should.

The door opens, and everyone stops talking to look up as Marcus's father strides into the room, followed by a few assistants.

"My apologies for being late," the Alpha says, looking around at all of them. "But I have an important announcement for you all."

The air is so thick with tension and suspense that Marcus feels like he could cut it with a butterknife.

"It's time for me to retire," the Alpha Wolf says.