Marked Mate

22

ROMAN

I felt slimy agreeing to work with Nyx, but I had to remind myself that this was all for a good cause. I wasn't going to be hunting any gifted wolves for him. Instead, Scarlett and I were going to take him down.

He'd shown up at my pack - unannounced. He knew our location, and that irked me. It meant that keeping Scarlett safe was going to be harder than I thought. I cursed to myself as I shut my laptop, bouncing my muscular leg under the table. Perhaps this would be easier if Brandon and Erica knew? They'd be able to monitor Scarlett and I was sure they'd have some good advice.

However, I wouldn't burst her bubble without her permission. This was her secret to tell, and I was going to respect her wishes. She would tell people when she was ready, and I had no doubt they'd accept her when they did come to realise she was actually a gifted wolf.

She hadn't socialised much with the pack, but the people she had spoken to loved her. There was something about Scarlett that just made you want to smile. She was warm. Sarcastic and sassy, but bubbly and kind-hearted. She looked at everyone she met with kind eyes - being open-minded and judging no one.

Nyx had been emailing me over the past few days. I was yet to respond to any of them - they didn't interest me. However, I knew I needed to keep up the facade that I was interested in working with him, so I quickly opened up my laptop and shot him a blunt but responsive reply. I didn't want to come across too keen. Otherwise, he'd see right through me. I needed to show some hesitancy.

That way, he'd reveal more information in order to get me to trust him.

I hummed as someone knocked on my office door, and I cocked my head to see Erica peek through.

"Is Brandon here?" she questioned, her hands covering her slightly swollen belly.

I shook my head. "He left about ten minutes ago."

"Oh, okay, thanks. Is it alright if I quickly photocopy some stuff?" Erica stepped into the room after seeing my nod, moving over to the photocopier in the room's corner, shuffling some papers around. "So, how's it going with Scarlett?"

I arched an eyebrow. "Fine. Why?"

Erica shrugged. "Well, I know you said she was acting a little strange. Lying about some stuff."

I clicked my tongue. "I think I was overreacting a little." The lie fell from my tongue with ease. "I was just worried about her." I didn't want Erica suspecting Scarlett - not when my mate wanted to keep her identity hidden for the time being. I needed to play it off as if I was just being overbearing.

"I know how you feel," Erica sighed, staring blankly at the files the photocopier was working on.

"What do you mean?" I moved from my desk to stand next to her.

"I don't know. It might just be the pregnancy hormones talking, but Brandon's been a little distant the past week or so. I don't know why, and whenever I try to talk to him about it, he claims he's just stressed with work and doesn't have time to discuss it." Erica's bottom lip quivered. She never cried. She wasn't an overly emotional person, and the sight made my throat tighten.

I hadn't noticed my brother's distance myself, but that was because we were always working together. Erica was pregnant and needed her mate more than ever, and although I appreciated his help with keeping the pack running smoothly, he couldn't abandon his mate when she was in need. She had to come first - I had the pack work covered for the most part.

"Work has been taking over our lives recently," I stated, suddenly realising how much I'd also been throwing myself into it. Scarlett and I hadn't done anything couple-like. Guilt swarmed over me. "How about I organise an evening together? We can have a fire and have drinks?" My eyes flickered down to Erica's stomach. "Well, you can have some mocktails."