“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.