Alpha Bully (8 page)

She had relaxed a little in the car but not enough for
his liking.

It has only been two days.

He needed to stop forgetting that little fact. Two
days was not enough time to make up for the years of torture he’d put her
through.

“Yes, she is.”

“I can sense it. I don’t know what it is, but when I’m
around her, I sense the pack. She’s family.”

“I know.”

“How are you holding up? I mean, you can’t even get
close enough to her, and yet you’re holding it together.”

Marshall blew out a breath. “I’m taking it one minute
at a time.” If he tried to go any faster he’d crumble.

“So what’s your big plan?”

“Trey may think he’s completely in love with my woman,
but we’re going to show him there’s more than one woman out there for him.”

“Who do you have in mind?”

“Cheryl. She likes taking on new men. The moment Trey
falls for
her,
Scarlett will be out of the picture.”

“And you’ll be there to sweep up the mess?” Jack
asked.

“Something
like
that.”

“How is your wolf going to handle it?”

Marshall frowned. “Handle what?”

“If Scarlett has
feelings for Trey and she’d upset, how is your wolf going to handle that kind
of pain?”

He’d not thought of that. Marshall ran a hand down his
face as he pulled up outside of his home. There was no sign of his parents or
Jack’s. “Are you coming in?”

“Yeah, I think you need me.”

Jack followed him inside his home.

“I’m going to have to handle my wolf. There’s not a
lot I can do.” The moment he thought about Scarlett, he felt all control over
his sanity slipping. She called to him in ways that he really didn’t
understand. The bond that was forming inside him demanded that she feel the
same way. It wasn’t fair of him to demand anything from Scarlett. She didn’t
know about his kind or the burning need that worked its way through his body
whenever they were close.

“So we’ve got to get close to Trey. He’s not just
going to fall under Cheryl’s spell.”

Marshall clapped his hands together. “Then that’s what
we’ve got to do. It’ll take time, but I want Trey as far from Scarlett as
possible.”

“If we hang out with Trey it’ll mean you’ll be close
to Scarlett.”

“Exactly.”

“Son, I hope you’ve got a better plan than this,” Luke
said, appearing around the corner.

“Dad, I didn’t know you were there.”

“Your mother used the car to nip to the hospital.
She’s checking out your mate’s parents and should be back shortly. I promised
I’d be home for you.”

His father leaned against the doorframe into the
kitchen.

“I’ve got to do something, Dad. I can’t let her slip
through my fingers.”

“You’re going to hurt your mate before you claim her.”

“Dad, I’ve not got a choice.”

“Why don’t you let this friend fuck up on his own
without helping him? While he’s getting to know other people, you sweep in and
become the best friend.”

Marshall rubbed the back of his head, thinking about
his father’s idea.

“I’m going to warn you the once, son. You hurt her and
she finds out it’s going to be harder to win her back than the first time. She
won’t trust you or have faith in anything you say. You’ve got to know when to
back away from a fight.”

His father slapped him on the back before he headed
back into his study.

“I’m sticking around to see what your mother says.
I’ve not met her parents.”

Marshall made them both a drink before heading
upstairs. He thought about what his father said. His father was the alpha of
their pack and knew what he was talking about. He had to listen to him. If he
risked hurting Scarlett more and severing any kind of bond then he’d be in a
worse place than he was now.

Sitting on his bed, he waited for Jack to take a seat.

“What’s that?” Jack asked, pointing to his bedside
cabinet.

On the cabinet beside his bed was a stack of the
pictures he found of Scarlett.

“They’re pictures of her.”

Reaching out, he grabbed the pile and placed them
between them. Jack took the pictures, looking through them.

“Do you notice how she’s close?” Marshall asked.

“Do you think this is some eerie pack shit or
something?”

“I don’t know. I wonder if I knew something about her
or if I’m just looking for some sign that I knew she was going to be mine. I
really don’t know what I’m hoping to find to be honest.”

Jack looked through each picture. “She’s always close
to you, and I know it’s not because she tried to either. I remember half of
these pictures, and she did everything to stay away from us.”

Cruel to our mate.

Marshall rubbed his chest, wishing there was something
he could do or say to himself that would take away this heartache, but there
was nothing.

“I’m sorry, man. I know you don’t want to hear about
this.”

“It’s okay. My dad he warned me all the time about
hurting the wrong people. I wonder if he knew what I was setting myself up
for.” Marshall shrugged. “Either way, I’ve got to live with it now.”

Jack put the pictures down. He didn’t have one of her
from recently. The sound of the door opening put them both on alert. In the
next instant he heard his mother talking. They both charged from the room in an
attempt to get downstairs. He pushed Jack back into the room, rushing
downstairs with his friend following behind him. They were both laughing by the
time they got into the kitchen. His mother was already putting dinner on,
walking from the fridge to the counter.

His father had his arms crossed over his chest.

“What?” Marshall asked.

“She is human, and they don’t have a clue about our
kind,” Carla said. “I’m sorry, son. We’re going to have to approach the family
together in time.”

Shit, he’d hoped that Scarlett’s parents would at
least know something about the wolves. Sometimes humans were privy to information
on some packs. Scarlett’s family was not on the radar.

No one expected you to mate with a human.

Marshall was going to make sure Scarlett was never
hurt again. He’d do everything to make her life good once again.

****

Scarlett couldn’t handle her parents’ concern at the
state of her face. It was badly bruised, but other than the initial pain,
everything else was fine. Her father offered to drive her to school today, but
he’d been called away and her mother had an urgent call. She would have to
drive herself to school, which wasn’t that much of a problem. Closing her front
door, Scarlett came to a stop when she saw Marshall standing there, leaning
against his car.

“What are you doing here?” she asked.

Last night she had dreamt about him and a wolf. The
dream had felt so real, and yet she knew it wasn’t. Wolves were not real, and
neither was a nice Marshall. She couldn’t trust him, and even though she really
wanted to, she fought that innermost need.

“I thought you’d like a ride into school.”

“I’ve got my car.”

Her heart was pounding as she stared at him. He wore a
pair of scruffy jeans and a white shirt that showcased his rock hard muscles to
perfection. His hair fell a little over his face, and the urge to run her
fingers through the length struck her hard. Scarlett wanted to touch him. She
forced all of those feelings down as she stared back at him.

“I gave you a promise yesterday that I wasn’t going to
hurt you. How do you expect me to live up to it if you don’t give me the
chance?”

She stepped down her garden path until she was only a
couple feet away from him.
“A promise?”

“I’m not going to hurt you. I’d really like for you to
give me the chance to prove to you that I mean exactly what I say.” He turned,
opening the passenger door. “Get in. Let me take you to school.”

Nibbling her lip, she tried to find a reason not to go
with him.

“I won’t bite unless you want me to.”

“Why would I want you to bite?”

The smile on his face vanished.

“I was joking around.”

An image of a wolf entered her mind. Pushing those
thoughts to the back of her mind, she looked at his car.

“What about after school?”

“I’ll bring you home.”

“Can I trust you?”

He let out a breath. Everything in her was telling her
not to give him this hold over her, yet a small part of her wanted to get into
that car. She wanted to be sitting next to him, and that very thought was
foreign to her. In all the years she’d known Marshall, not once had she ever
wanted to be alone with him. He scared her, hurt her, and made her wish she
wasn’t the same age as he was. Everything was confusing her. She wished to
spend time with him while also hating herself for even wishing anything when it
came to him.

“I know I’ve not given you a reason to trust me, and
I’m sorry about that. It’s my fault, and I shouldn’t have treated you like the
asshole I was. You can trust me, but I know it’s going to take you some time to
learn to trust me.”

Marshall stepped closer to her. She didn’t step back
even though every part of her was screaming at her to step back.

He reached out, taking her hand. Staring at his much
larger hand, for the first time in her life, she felt small, delicate against
him.

“See, nothing bad is happening so far.”

His touch was doing things to her body. She didn’t
understand what was happening, and she gave him a gentle squeeze, trying to
bring some focus to her chaotic world. Marshall squeezed her hand back, and
something switched in her brain. Taking a step toward him, then another, she
found herself in the car within seconds with the door shut.

Great, Scarlett, what are you going to do now?

The drive to school was quiet. Neither of them spoke,
and she noticed he was taking several deep breaths. When his foot wasn’t on the
brake or gears, he was tapping his foot wildly while also tapping the steering
wheel. He seemed to be having a lot of trouble controlling
himself
.

“Are you okay?” she asked, finally speaking.

“Good, just focusing on driving.”

“You don’t seem to be doing a good job of it.”

“You’re in one piece, so we’re doing okay so far.” He
reached over and squeezed her thigh. Scarlett gasped and jerked in her seat.
“Shit, sorry, I was just trying to reassure you.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

On the way into school she noticed several of their
peers were looking into his car. They were blatantly staring.

“Ignore them,” he said, grabbing her hand.

“It’s hard. They’re wondering where the joke is.” She
forced a laugh even though she didn’t feel it.

“I know it’s hard for you to think like this, Scarlett.
There’s not going to be a joke or even a small giggle.”

He pulled the car into the spot next to Jack, who hit
the hood of his car.

“It’s about time you got here. I’ve been saving this
spot for you.”

Trey was leaning against Jack’s car, laughing.

Scarlett saw how comfortable he was around Jack and
Marshall. Last night he’d come around to her home and admitted he wanted to be
friends with them. She told him she wasn’t going to stop him from being
friends.

Climbing out of the car, she looked over to Jack, and
he smiled back at her.

“I’m going to head inside.”

Before anyone got a chance to say anything she was
already walking off in the opposite direction. She wanted to put as much
distance as possible between her and Marshall along with the confusion.
Scarlett didn’t trust this nice guy. She was used to being the butt of the joke,
and if she stayed away, then there was no risk of that happening.

The day passed with her going from class to class. By
lunch break the gossip had changed the story up of her being in Marshall’s car.
It had gone from him offering
her a
ride to her
begging for his attention so much it had been sick to see. She walked into the
girls’ toilet and stared at her reflection. One side of her face was still
badly bruised, and there was no way of hiding it. When Marshall looked at her,
she forgot about the bruise. The moment his gaze was on her, it was like it
didn’t exist. Marshall had started to see more to her than the bruise.

Get a grip, Scarlett, you’re thinking crazy thoughts.

The door opened, and Cheryl walked in. She was alone,
and Scarlett turned to look at the other girl.

“You’re seeing if you’re still fat and ugly?” Cheryl
sneered
the words at her.