Willow in the Woods: Guarding the Willow

Chapter 29

Marcus

He had waited and watched. He would only step in if he felt there would be no other option. It wasn't that he hadn't wanted to interfere. There were moments when it had taken everything he had not to take a few good old boys out to the parking lot for admiring parts of Willow that weren't theirs to be admiring. It also wasn't that Marcus hadn't been admiring those same assets. But these boys were damn near drooling and falling all over themselves, like animals.

Marcus had a beast inside of him. A wolf that hungered and craved for her perfect imperfections. The wild beauty that he had seen with his own lustful eyes laying naked in his arms. He, over any man, in any bar, knew exactly just how extraordinary of a woman she was, and yet he was still man enough to give her the respect she deserved.

Accidently attracting the attention of their significant others by pretending to hit on them, was the least he could do. The women had been chatting away by the bathrooms like a flock of cackling momma hens. Marcus had walked up to them and flirted a bit, and then apologized sincerely for the misunderstanding when they had told him they all had husbands with them that night. Marcus confirmed what he had already known by pointing the men out and asking if those were their husbands, because surely, as a gentleman, he should apologize for ogling their wives. The woman confirmed it of course. And then, a brief moment later, they saw what Marcus had seen. One of them was even whistling at Willow. Marcus didn't have to get his own hands dirty on this one. The women thanked him for being so sweet, and told him he had no need to apologize. One brunette in her mid 30's even gave him a kiss before she left with her friends to storm their way to their table like soldiers in cowboy boots and high heels.

One man had a beer poured on his head, and he was damn lucky he wasn't hit with the empty bottle when she was done. She most certainly looked mad enough to do just that.

Another man was drug by the ear out the door.

The third guy, Marcus never got to see what happened to him. But there was a good chance he was couching it that night, while his beautiful mid 30's brunette wife, was dreaming of kissing a tall dark stranger.

Marcus had stood against the wall drinking his own beer watching it all go down in merciless glee. Hell hath no fury.....

Marcus remained in the back of the bar out of sight of Drew, Willow and the spirit they were helping. He didn't want to spook the spirit if it was residing in one of them. If it knew of wolfborn, it could easily read the surface thoughts of the person it was possessing, and if that person saw him and thought of him as the wolf.... Well... People did stupid things when they were afraid. It didn't matter if they were alive or dead. And if they were possessing a person when they became panicked, that's how accidents happened. Those that were being possessed would be mere puppets in a bronco busting, ring of chaos.

Marcus considered chancing it, when Drew was holding Willow so closely during that slow song, that you couldn't have fit a straw of hay between them. In the end that was just jealousy talking. He had already had to indulge it once today. He had made it through that particular jealous rage without stepping over any bounds. The thought of calling Drew on his cell earlier and even in the bar to ask him to save room for Jesus or he was bound to meet him, had once or twice slipped in through Marcus's more rational thoughts.

Marcus knew this job was what she was meant to do and it made her happy. That didn't mean he had to like it. At least not all the time. And damn those ancestors for blessing and cursing him with this job. If they knew their descendent at all, surely they would have given her someone who was more qualified. Perhaps a drill sergeant or a therapist. She was both bull headed and needed help Marcus was not trained to provide. The only thing he knew was that he had to protect her, which wasn't easy with her clumsy nature. He was also aware that he couldn't be overbearing, which wasn't easy with how he felt she needed to be protected. He really couldn't win for loosing here. Damn those decrepit, nosy ass, spirits and their twisted sense of humor.