Chapter Five: Questions and Evasions
I thought I could avoid Marcus for the rest of the day. I was wrong.
I was walking through the castle gardens, trying to clear my head, when his voice cut through the afternoon air.
"Chloe. Wait."
My whole body tensed. I wanted to keep walking, to pretend I didn't hear him. But something in his tone made me stop.
I turned around slowly. Marcus stood a few feet away, his hands shoved deep in his pockets. For the first time since I'd met him, he looked... uncertain.
"What do you want?" My voice came out colder than I meant it to.
He took a step closer, then stopped like he wasn't sure if he should. "I need to talk to you."
"I think you said enough yesterday."
His jaw clenched. "That's what I want to talk about."
I crossed my arms over my chest. "If you're here to reject me again, save your breath. I got the message the first time."
"I'm not..." He ran his hand through his dark hair, messing it up. "Damn it, this is harder than I thought."
"What's harder?"
He looked at me for a long moment, and I saw something in his grey eyes that confused me. Pain. A real and deep pain.
"I'm sorry," he said quietly.
The words hit me like a slap. I'd been expecting anything but an apology.
"Sorry for what exactly?" I asked. "Sorry for rejecting me? Sorry for humiliating me in front of everyone? Sorry for saying you'd rather see me dead?"
Each word made him flinch like I was hitting him.
"All of it," he said, his voice rough. "I'm sorry for all of it."
I stared at him. This wasn't the arrogant man from yesterday. This was someone who looked like he hadn't slept all night.
"Why?" I asked. "What changed?"
"I found out about your accident."
My blood went cold. "What about it?"
"That you lost your memories. That you don't remember..." He stopped, shaking his head. "I thought you were ignoring me on purpose. I thought you were angry about what happened between us."
"What happened between us?" I stepped closer, my heart racing. "What are you talking about?"
Marcus looked at me like I'd punched him. "You really don't remember anything about us?"
"There is no us!" The words burst out of me. "I've never met you before yesterday!"
"You have." His voice was barely a whisper. "We spent weeks together last summer. We talked, we laughed, we..."
"We what?"
He closed his eyes tight. "We made a promise."
My chest felt tight. "What promise?"
"You really don't remember."
"Stop saying that and tell me what promise!"
Marcus opened his eyes and looked at me with such sadness that it made my heart ache. "I can't."
"You can't or you won't?"
"I can't. Not until you remember on your own."
Frustration exploded through me like fire. "That's not fair! You can't tell me we had some relationship and then refuse to explain what happened!"
"It's not that simple..."
"Yes, it is!" I was practically shouting now. "Either tell me the truth or leave me alone!"
Marcus stepped closer, and I could smell his scent. Something woodsy and warm that made my wolf-less heart race.
"The truth is complicated," he said softly. "The truth is I've been an ass, and I don't know how to fix it."
"Then start by being honest with me."
"I am being honest. I just can't tell you everything yet."
"Why not?"
"Because..." He struggled with the words. "Because if I tell you and you still don't remember, it'll hurt both of us more than it already does."
I saw the pain in his eyes again, and for a second, I almost felt sorry for him. Almost.
"So instead you'll just keep me in the dark?"
"For now."
"That's not good enough." I turned to walk away.
"Chloe, please..."
"No." I spun back around. "You rejected me in front of everyone. You said horrible things to me. And now you want me to trust you just because you say we had some past I can't remember?"
"I know how it sounds..."
"It sounds like you're playing games with me."
Marcus's face hardened. "I don't play games."
"Could have fooled me."
We stared at each other for a moment, and I could feel the tension crackling between us like lightning. There was something there, something that pulled me toward him even when I wanted to run away.
But I was tired of being confused. Tired of feeling like everyone knew something I didn't.
"Stay away from me," I said finally. "Until you're ready to tell me the truth, just stay away."
I walked away before he could respond, my hands shaking with anger and something else I didn't want to name.
Behind me, I heard him curse under his breath.
---
"He said what?" Roslyn's eyes went wide as she helped me change out of my garden clothes.
"That we made some promise. But he won't tell me what it was."
"How mysterious." Roslyn's voice had a dreamy quality to it. "Maybe it was a love promise? Like you promised to wait for each other?"
I shot her a look. "Whose side are you on?"
"Yours, of course! But..." She bit her lip. "I have to admit, both Shadow Pack brothers are quite handsome."
"Roslyn!"
"What? I'm just being honest. Marcus is all dark and mysterious, like a character from one of those romance books. And Lucian is so gentle and kind. They're both attractive in different ways."
I flopped down on my bed. "I don't care how attractive they are. Marcus rejected me."
"But now he's apologizing. Maybe he realized he made a mistake?"
"Or maybe he's just feeling guilty."
Roslyn sat beside me. "Would that be so bad? At least it means he has a conscience."
Before I could answer, there was a knock at my door.
"Come in," I called.
Fiona peeked inside, then entered when she saw Roslyn and me talking.
"What are you two gossiping about?" she asked with a smile.
"The Shadow Pack brothers," Roslyn said cheerfully.
Fiona's smile faltered slightly. "Oh. Them."
"Roslyn thinks they're both handsome," I said.
"Well, Lucian is pleasant enough," Fiona said carefully. "He's polite and gentle. Very different from his brother."
"What about Marcus?" Roslyn asked innocently.
Fiona's face darkened. "Marcus is arrogant and cruel. I don't understand what anyone sees in him."
Something about the way she said it made me look at her more closely. There was real dislike in her voice, more than just protective sister anger.
"He did apologize to Chloe today," Roslyn offered.
"Too little and too late," Fiona said sharply. "You can't humiliate someone in public and then expect a simple apology to fix everything."
"He seemed genuinely sorry..." I started.
"Don't." Fiona's voice was firm. "Don't let him manipulate you with fake remorse. Men like Marcus only care about getting what they want."
I wanted to argue, but part of me wondered if she was right. Maybe Marcus was just feeling guilty and trying to make himself feel better.
"Besides," Fiona continued, "if you were going to choose between the brothers, Lucian is obviously the better option. He's kind, he's a healer, and he actually treats people with respect."
"I'm not choosing between anyone," I said quickly.
But even as I said it, I found myself thinking about Lucian's gentle smile at breakfast. How different he was from his aggressive brother.
"Good," Fiona said, looking satisfied. "You deserve better than either of them anyway."
After Fiona left, Roslyn and I sat in comfortable silence for a while.
"Miss Chloe?" Roslyn said finally.
"Yeah?"
"Do you think you'll ever remember what happened between you and Marcus?"
I touched my temple where the scar was. "I don't know. The healers said some memories might come back, but there's no guarantee."
"What if they do come back? What if you remember that you loved him?"
The question made my chest tight. "Then I guess I'll have to figure out if that person still exists inside me."
"And if she doesn't?"
"Then Marcus and I really are strangers."
---
Dinner was awkward. Dad spent the entire meal glaring at the Shadow Pack table while making pointed comments about unwelcome guests.
"Some people," he said loudly enough for the whole hall to hear, "don't know when they've overstayed their welcome."
"David," Mom warned softly.
"I'm just saying, when someone disrespects your family, you don't invite them to stay for dinner."
I could see Marcus's jaw clench from across the room, but he didn't respond to the obvious provocation.
"Dad, please," I whispered. "You're making it worse."
"Making what worse? That arrogant boy needs to learn some manners."
"I actually think Lucian seems lovely," Mom said diplomatically. "He helped old Mrs. Rose with her arthritis pain this afternoon. Such a kind young man."
Dad grunted. "At least one of them has some decency."
I glanced over at the Shadow Pack table. Lucian was indeed sitting quietly, looking uncomfortable with the tension. Marcus, on the other hand, looked like he wanted to start a fight.
"Lucian would make someone a wonderful mate," Mom continued, and I had the distinct feeling she was hinting at something.
"Mother," I said, embarrassed.
"What? I'm just observing that he's polite, helpful, and handsome. Unlike his brother."
More pointed comments. I was starting to feel sorry for Marcus, which was ridiculous considering what he'd done to me.
After dinner, I escaped to the training grounds behind the castle. It was one of the few places I could be alone with my thoughts.
I picked up a practice sword, testing its weight in my hands. Even without my wolf, I still remembered how to fight. Dad had made sure of that.
I started with basic forms, letting the familiar movements calm my racing mind. Swing, block, thrust, parry. The repetition was soothing.
But as I trained, my thoughts kept drifting back to Marcus's words.
"We made a promise."
What kind of promise? And why couldn't he just tell me what it was?
I swung the sword harder, imagining Marcus's arrogant face.
"We spent weeks together last summer."
Weeks? How was that possible? I would remember spending weeks with someone, wouldn't I?
Unless my memory loss was worse than I thought.
I spun and slashed at an imaginary opponent, my frustration pouring into the movement.
What if Marcus was telling the truth? What if we really had known each other before my accident?
But if that was true, why had he been so cruel yesterday? If we'd made some promise, if we'd spent weeks together, why reject me so publicly?
I stopped training and lowered the sword, breathing hard.
None of it made sense. Marcus was arrogant and rude, nothing like the gentle man in my dreams. How could I have ever chosen someone like him?
But then I remembered the pain in his grey eyes when he apologized. The way his voice broke when he said he was sorry.
Maybe there was more to Marcus than his arrogant exterior.
Or maybe I was just being naive.
Either way, I needed answers. And if Marcus wouldn't give them to me, I'd have to find them myself.
I raised the sword again and continued training, working through my confusion with each swing.
Tomorrow, I decided, I would start looking for the truth about my past again.
With or without Marcus's help.