My Jolly Alpha - Burgov Series V

5. Markella

"Hi, I'm Kimmy, Orson's Luna." - those were the five words that ruined my life.

I stepped into this pack, this home, feeling extremely relaxed, as if I had reached my final destination. Everything about this quiet, snow-covered pack seemed almost magical. But when we stepped through the threshold of the house, I even thought to myself that I wished to one day have a home like that. With family photos covering each inch of a wall in the hall, to the most amazing smell of musk and leather mixed together, as if the owner of the house wanted to tell it was a man's pad. But this place was much more homey than anything I could have imagined.

Cilia has been telling me her Mom was originally from this Pack, yet in my head I created an image of a lifeless museum with golden knobs, not the place that when you enter, you immediately want to curl up on the sofa with tea and a good book in hand.

But my initial fascination with this place became clear when I returned from the bathroom, only to find the most attractive man standing next to Cilia. He had dark, almost black hair just like my friend, so you could immediately tell they were related, and boy what a gene pool that was. But his eyes were completely different. His weren't icy-blue, but held that dangerous shade of deep gray that seemed to be sucking you in like a cyclone's eye and when they landed on me they became even darker, making me swallow hard. Oh, and he was undeniably the cause of the moth-watering aroma lingering everywhere around.

I immediately wanted to run to him and be picked up by those strong arms, but I just couldn't take my eyes off of him, afraid that if I did, he'd disappear.

There was no denying that he was my perfect man. A man who was created especially for me, and I couldn't believe I was standing in front of him. In front of my mate.

But then everything happened so fast, with him hugging me, taking my breath away when I finally got to touch him, all the way to his Luna's arrival.

When the beautiful blonde introduced herself and I got to see two red dots on her neck, I knew one thing. I was too late. He had already sworn his love and life to another, and I didn't even suspect it would hurt like that. After all, I never kept finding my mate high on my agenda. I went on this trip mostly because Cilia looked desperate to have someone on her side, that was it.

So why do I feel like I'm ready to suffocate right about now?

I tried to avoid looking at the woman with perfect wavy hair and a smile that could go on par with Hollywood superstars. I tried not to compare myself to her, but it was futile, because here in front of me stood a woman who had won my mate's heart, and I couldn't really blame him for choosing her.

I watched her politely shaking Cilia's hand, and then coming to me and doing the same, yet I could respond to her pleasantries with anything other than a nod, because the urge to throw up was too strong in me.

This must be a meeting from hell, and I think my parting ways with Cilia will happen sooner than we'd planned it to.

"Lunch is served if you're hungry." - the woman, Kimmy, said, motioning with her soft hand towards the dining room at the other end of the open family room, and I don't know how my legs got me there. Actually, it felt like someone was steering me, and strangely so, I didn't mind, as long as that someone wouldn't embarrass me even more.

I sat by the table, next to Cilia, trying to avoid eye contact with absolutely everyone, even the funny Beta who brought us here, because I was too afraid of them noticing my distress and asking too many questions.

So here I was at lunch with my mate and his chosen woman, in their home. Could there be any other circumstances bringing you instant nausea?

"So where's David? Have you already chased him away, or something?" - I heard Cilia asking and I was pretty sure she had spoken to Orson, yet I wasn't gonna raise my head and check, I could feel his eyes on me well enough.

"Am no. He, just like the rest of the family, is in Night Walkers at the fundraiser Ellie's throwing."

"And you haven't gone there? I hope it isn't because of me? You know I could manage just fine on my own." - Cilia urged him, and I felt torn. On one hand, I wanted to hear his smooth, deep voice with no end. On the other hand, I didn't want to know anything about his life because the knowledge that he didn't wait for me was like a knife to my heart.

"Um, no. You're not the reason." - he answered shortly - "So where have you two met?"

"Well, it was a rather coincidence really." - Cilia said joyfully and I plastered a fake smile on my face and turned towards her. - "You know how there's one main Pack in Australia right?" - she asked her cousin, and he must've nodded, because she continued - "So while I was there, I heard about another group of werewolves that lived in a Western Australia and I decided to check."

"I never heard of a pack in Western Australia, what is it called?" - Orson asked, and from the burning sensation on my neck I knew he was asking me. So, against all my better judgment, I raised my head and met his gray eyes, filling like they were holding me captive.

But then his Luna put her hand on top of his, stealing his attention and smiling sweetly at him, and I felt like crying again.

I looked down at my plate and focused on cutting meat while I answered him.

"You couldn't hear about us, Alpha. We aren't a Pack per se, at least not in the League's sense of that word."

"Orson. Please call me Orson." - he said sternly, making me look up, just to notice his eyes getting a shade darker, as if he was mad at me for using the title, and I had no other choice than to nod. - "So what's the story there? You're a pack, but not a pack. What does it mean?"

I didn't want to explain that to him, because I didn't trust my own voice, so I was more than relieved when Cilia jumped in to help me out.

"They're more like a tribe. They don't have one designated territory, they are more like nomads moving from spot to spot in this enormous wilderness. And their hierarchy is not what we know." - my friend explained.

"So the rogues." - the Lune, Kimmy said, and I heard an undertone of judgment in her voice.

"No, not the rogues." - Cilia said pointedly, sounding a bit irritated - "They just move around their land depending on the season, living mostly off what nature offers them. It's really unusual, and you can really feel closer to your animal counterpart that way. Not to mention all the rituals they have. It's another world really."

"It's not that special." - I said, taking a sip of my water, trying to swallow the lump in my throat and stop them from snooping around my upbringing and, with that, looking down on me.

"I'm sure that if it impressed my cousin it must be a special place." - Orson said with a soft smile, and I had to look away, it was too hard looking at him.

His damp hair, intense stare and a face that made him look like he was carved in marble were too intense for my poor sanity.

"Oh trust me it is. Have you heard of Esperance beaches? They live there in summer and fall and during winter they move to the mountains. It's amazing, all this space makes you feel so free." - Cilia said with a smile.

"But if you're not a pack, then what are you exactly?" - Kimmy asked, and there was again that damn judgment in her tone.

"Someone likes to put labels, I see." - Cilia commented and even though she was smiling her tone made Kimmy shift uncomfortably in her seat, and I felt like I could kiss my best friend right about now. - "You know Luna, not everything you don't understand is a bad thing. Sometimes it's good to get out of your comfort zone and explore." - Cilia's saccharine voice could cut like the sharpest knife. - "The fact that their traditions are hard to understand, doesn't give you the right to look down on my friend. I'm sure that in this room alone are people who could look down on you, and how would that make you feel? That's definitely not the famous VanWoert hospitality I know."

I once again looked down to hide the smile on my face. There was the Cilia I know, the feisty b***h, who wouldn't take s**t from anyone. Not even her cousin-in-law.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't trying to offend anyone." - Kimmy said after a while of deafening silence, visibly perplexed, glancing at Orson to help her out, but he hid his smirk behind the rim of his glass, and I felt like I was missing something here.

"Well then, try harder." - Cilia said, raising her brows at her, and then, as if announcing to Kimmy she had lost her air time, she turned towards Orson. - "They move to the mountains during the Winter Solstice to feel the power of the Moon more. It's amazing, and I actually regret we haven't stayed for December's full moon. It must be glorious." - my friend said, catching my hand and squeezing it.

"That sounds great." - he smiled so genuinely that I knew he meant it.

"It does. And the most refreshing thing is that they have almost no hierarchy. They are like one big family, and they took me in right away." - Cilia continued with a smile.

"In that case, it makes them our family as well, and they have our utmost gratitude for taking care of you." - Orson said, looking at me so intensely that I had to get away from him. Now.

We were no family and I have no idea why he would say that. In our current circumstances, those words make him look rather cruel. Maybe he was just one of those men who loved toying with women's feelings, but sadly for him, I will never allow that.

I put my fork down, and stood up from my seat.

"Thank you all for your hospitality and lovely meal, but I think the jet lag is getting to me." - I said to them all.

"Hun, are you sure?" - Cilia asked, watching me with worry in her eyes and I smiled weakly at her.

"Yes, I'm sure. I just need to sleep it off." - I assured her.

"You want me to go with you?" - she offered.

"No, enjoy the time with your family."

That said, I left the dining room hoping it wasn't too obvious how hard this meal was for me, and I went to the gorgeous guest room I was previously shown to by Orson's young Beta.

Only after closing the door behind me did I allow myself to slip a few tears over my poor timing.

It's funny actually how the one thing you thought you didn't care about starts meaning a lot to you when it's no longer an option. Like the great sale that went on for ages just to end on the day you felt like shopping, or the craving for strawberries when you first learned about being allergic to them. But I never thought I would want a man like that, a man who was meant to be mine, but was out of my reach now.

I was always very skeptical about the mating concept. Sure, there are great love stories out there, sickeningly sweet, full of grand gestures and all. But I heard just as many of those sad ones, those filled with heartbreaks and soul-splitting grief. So, in my head, it was always more of a matter of meeting a man who gets me. A man who would be a partner to me, no matter what was written in the stars.

Then why am I crying?

That's a great question, because I'm not that kind of a girl.

I took three deep breaths and wiped my tears away. That's it, this small meltdown is all he'll get from me. After all, it's his loss. If he prefers a judgmental blonde, with ridiculously great hair, that I'm pretty sure are extensions, then fine by me.

I went to the ensuite bathroom and washed my face from the last signs of my distress, and I started thinking about my next move.

For some reason, he didn't want me to tell Cilia about our bond, so it would make things a bit hard to explain to her, but either way, it's obvious that I can't stay here.

Cilia is deposited back to her family, so she will be fine. There's no point in me tagging along anymore just for the sake of her not being lonely. From what she said, in the States wherever she throws a rock there's a good chance she will hit one of her relatives or at least someone who knows them, so it's time to take care of myself.

I pulled out my phone and checked the airlines, and I found one to Perth that leaves tomorrow around noon. Perfect!

I immediately booked it, but when I was in the middle of typing down my card number, the door to the bedroom opened and no one other than Orson himself slipped in, locking the door behind him.

I swallowed and narrowed my eyes on him, wondering what kind of sick game he was playing at, but I didn't speak, too afraid that my voice would betray me.

"I knew you weren't tired." - he said with the most sexy smirk that, to be honest, made me a little angry. So I showed him just that, by crossing my arms and giving him an unimpressed look. - "Markella, listen, we have a few things that should be discussed." - he said much more seriously.

"I don't think we do. The situation is quite obvious and I get it. But don't worry, I will be off your hair by tomorrow, so if you want we can go through rejection right away." - I offered, trying to sound as confident as I could muster, but I was never a good actress, so he probably found my voice squeaky and uneven.

"Rejection?" - he frowned at first, but then his face quickly morphed into anger. - "Not a chance in hell!"

"Orson…" - I sighed, but even his name on my lips sounded too good, so at that moment I decided not to use it again. Yes, hey you, is a perfectly fine way to address your ex-mate. - "I don't feel like coming between you two, and whatever the heck you assumed in your head, it would never happen. One, I never was and never will be someone's side piece, and two, if you marked her without waiting for your mate, you must've been convinced to do that, so let's not make things even more complicated now that you've seen what you've been giving up on, okay?"

He clenched his jaw, and fisted his hands glaring at me, and a masochistic part of me appreciated how good he looked.

But when he started walking towards the bed I was sitting on, I felt the urge to move as far away from him as I could, because I simply didn't trust myself to be around him. I can have my strong morals, but something tells me that this man, with those deep gray eyes, has the power to make me forget about them.

Orson, however, hasn't breached my personal space, instead, he took the chair from a small vanity and brought it closer to the bed to sit in front of me.

"Some things need to get straight. And I will try my best to explain the situation, but I need you not to interrupt me and listen till the end. Could you do at least this much for me?"

To say I was a little taken aback by his request would be a big understatement. I was bat-s**t confused. Was he really trying to talk his way out of marking another woman? Well, that should be fun.

"Go ahead." - I said almost challengingly, but in my head there was nothing he could have told me that would change my opinion about him.

He released a big breath, as if he was holding it in from anticipation, and he wiped his hands on his jeans, looking nervous and adorable. Okay, I would like to change my statement, not angry, but insecure Orson is the most sexy one.

"Okay, I know it will sound a bit crazy, and I don't understand it myself, but please stay open-minded." - I rolled my eyes, having an idea what he would like me to stay open-minded about. Maybe every guy is secretly a fan of having a cookie and eating it too. - "So I'm not sure if you've noticed that, but Kimmy has almost an identical scent to yours, and before I met you I was convinced she was my one true mate."

My eyebrows shot up, because I had expected many things to be said, but not this. And to be honest, I haven't even picked up on it.

"Does she?"

"Yes, you both smell like caramel, but yours is… I don't know how to say it. Richer, more perfect." - he said with a little smile forming on his lips when he was looking for the right word. - "I know you're probably confused or angry right now, but you have to believe me that I was waiting for you. Okay, I wasn't a saint, but I always wanted to build a life with a woman destined for me. You will probably think that's a lie, but I never meant to put my mark on a different woman than you. I'm mumbling now, am I?" - he asked, rubbing his face.

"A little yes." - I nodded - "So let me get this straight. You thought she was your mate and that's why you've marked her and made her your Luna?"

"Yes." - he said, energetically nodding his head.

"And now, after you have met me, you no longer think that?"

"Yes! Look, I know it sounds crazy, but I swear it's true."

I gave him a long once over, thinking at first that he was a mad man if he thought I would buy it. But the honesty and the plea in his eyes made me doubt myself, or maybe I just wanted to believe him. I'm not sure.

"Okay, let's say I believe you." - He grinned immediately and I raised one hand to stop him. - "I'm not saying I do, because I would have to check that out myself." - he nodded - "But let's say that for the purpose of this conversation I do. What does it mean to me?" - he knitted his brows together and c****d his head to the side looking like a labrador puppy who hadn't understood the command.

"Hmm. I have thought of that." - he stood up, and started pacing in front of me looking lost in his thoughts. - "Well, it's unlikely, but possible that you have a similar scent, but if I'm not her real mate, she shouldn't be able to get any reaction to me. So I assume the smell and everything else is completely fake. And it explains so much right now."

"What do you mean?" - I asked and he stopped looking like a deer caught in the headlights.

"Well, she's been here for over three months, and we kinda…"

I raised my hand again to stop him.

"Spare me the details." - I asked, closing my eyes, because hearing about my Mate's conquests with another woman was probably as pleasant as fighting with a shark. Although I might have chosen a shark after all.

"But she never looked that much into me. Which makes me think either she or someone through her wants to f**k with me." - he ended his statement and I opened my eyes, frowning at him.

"Do you have that many enemies that they would go above and beyond, sending you a fake mate just to f**k with you?" - I asked a little mockingly, but he was too busy analyzing the last couple of months of his life to take offense.

"Up until yesterday I would have said I had no enemies at all. But I'm not so sure now."

Great, not only did I find my mate already with another woman, but also with someone after him. No wonder I never won a dime in my life. With luck like this, it's a miracle I'm still alive.

"Okay. So where does that leave me? Because you know, whether you intended it or not, you marked her, you made her your Luna. That's official. And it doesn't matter if she's your true mate or not, you made her someone very important here, and you can't just take that back." - I pointed out the elephant in the closet.

"Like hell I can't!" - he boomed at me, stopping in his tracks. - "Markella, don't you see. She tricked me. She's an imposter, who I wouldn't even think about marking if it wasn't for the smell that played with my senses."

I don't know why, but I kind of believed him. Not only because this story was too crazy to be made up, but because of how he acted. He was lost and agitated, like a man whose entire life had turned upside-down.

But the fact is still a fact. She bears his mark, she's his Luna, and that's no place for me.

"Orson, tricked or not, it doesn't matter, you have to let me go." - I said softly, feeling like my heart was breaking all over again.

"No. Absolutely not! I will figure it out. I swear it, just give me some time. There are too many questions to be answered and I need to know the truth. She's planning something and you coming into my life now, unmasked her. I need to know what she's up to. Quietly." - he said with such determination that now I had absolutely no doubt he was telling the truth.

"Okay. Then you do that. And then we can meet and see what we stand on."

His eyes bore on me with a whirlwind of emotions in his gaze.

"You want to leave?" - he asked in disbelief.

"Of course I want to leave. You obviously have too much on your plate right now. And forgive me, but I don't feel like staying in the same house where you share your bed with her. Just settle whatever that needs to be settled, and…"

"We don't share a room." - he cut me off.

"What?" - I asked, because I was fairly sure I heard him wrong.

"We don't sleep in the same bedroom. Yes, I marked her, yes, I've been intimate with her, and for that I'm sorry. But it was never… right, and it happened a total of maybe four times."

I gaped at him, thinking that this must be a joke. Which woman marked by this man, and free to make all the money nasties in the world, wouldn't jump on that opportunity? And it kinda crosses out the possibility of her doing that stunt because she was enamored with him.

"Please stay. Now that I found you, I can't think of you leaving, that would be too much." - he pleaded with me, and I think all my rational thinking flew out the window when I saw this broken look in his eyes. All I wanted was to make it all better for him. But the real question was how?

"Okay. I'll stay. For now." - I whispered and he smiled so genuinely that my own lips started curling up.

That was crazy, right? Which self-respecting girl would agree to that?

"I want to kiss you so badly right now." - Orson said, and just like that my body reacted to him. I was ready to jump on the opportunity, but the remains of my clear judgment stopped me.

"You've marked her. So we can't without her knowing." - I pointed out and his expression got even more broken than before when realization of that fact downed on him.

He hung his head and rested his hands on his hips. I stood up from the bed, wanting to do at least something, but not sure what I could actually do. Where was this fine line between an acceptable and forbidden touch? Could I even hug him without her knowing and upgrading whatever the hell her plan was? I wasn't sure.

So, standing there, in the guest bedroom of his home, the home, I fell in love so instantly, I raised my hand to my lips, kissed my two fingers and I brought it to his lips.

"That must be enough for now." - I said, feeling stupid for doing that. But Orson smirked in that lopsided, sexy way as his gaze got heated.

"You probably don't know that, but you just gave me my first ever real goal. And once this is over you're not getting out of my bed for at least a month." - he said, and it was my time to smirk.

"Is that a threat?" - I asked.

"No, Sweetheart. That's a promise."