Weres

38. Half-truths

Marley tapped her fingers on the wooden table impatiently, waiting for Eden to walk in through the door. She was in the same room where only a night ago she had learned her reasons for being abducted by Odis. A lot had happened since then—which Marley didn't even want to think about—but to her at least one good thing came out of it. Eden. 

Eden was finally here.

The door opened and Eden barged in, his eyes immediately finding Marley. Not even a second later, they were in each other's embrace.

"Did they hurt you? Did they do anything to you?" Eden questioned, inspecting every inch of Marley. He wanted to rip out the heart of every last monster who had dared to hurt his mate.

Marley shook her head, pacifying him. "No, they didn't," she answered and looked into his raging orbs. "They didn't." She repeated, before enveloping him into another hug. 

Her actions not only calmed Eden but also herself. They both needed it.

Eden buried his nose into her hair, breathing in her scent. He had longed for it these last few days.

They stood like that, none of them taking the initiative to pull away.

"Thank you for not showing up naked," Marley murmured, trying to lighten his mood as she could still hear his heart thumping violently.

A small smile tugged up on Eden's lips, who was in a plain grey t-shirt and a pair of khaki shorts. 

"Our cars are just on the outskirts of the town. You should've seen Matthew's angry wolf face when I asked him to fetch my clothes. Although I believe it would've been a nice present for you to bask in my naked glory yet I prefer it in our bedroom... or shower."

"I can't believe I missed this." Marley mumbled with a small sniffle, referring to his stupid flirting, and pressed herself more—if it was possible—into Eden's warmth, making him in return tighten his hold around her.

"I'm sorry." Eden's words took Marley by surprise. She pulled away slightly and looked at him. His eyes were puffy and red with unshed tears. "I'm sorry, I should've been more responsible."

"It's not your fault, Eden."

"No, it is. You're my mate, my responsibility. I wasn't careful and handed you to that bastard. You are here because of my negligence—"

"Stop it! It wasn't your fault. I don't blame you, so you better stop blaming yourself."

"I thought I was never going to see you again," he confessed. Finally, a tear trickled down his cheek and Marley's heart clenched seeing him like this. "It was horrible, not knowing where you were. Not knowing if you were safe. Not knowing if something happened to you."

"I'm okay. Nothing happened to me," she reassured him. 

When Eden ran his thumb gently on her cheeks, she realized she had been crying all this time too.

Once again anger flared up inside Eden. "They'll pay for messing with us. I'm going to kill every one of these fucking bastards!"

"No, you're not."

Eden looked at his mate incredulously. "Why the fuck are you taking their sides?!" He gritted, but Marley knew that his harshness wasn't directed at her.

"Eden, they were being controlled by their leader. His name was Odis and he ordered the attack on our pack." Eden's grip tightened on Marley on hearing Odis' name. "You know, how your pack cannot resist your alpha tone, similarly these lycans couldn't go against Odis. But now he's dead. He was killed last night."