My Jolly Alpha - Burgov Series V

15. Orson

The following morning, I woke up feeling my cheeks completely numb. Was it possible I went to sleep with a grin on my face? The sore facial muscles said as much, but I always thought it was impossible. But was anything really impossible with Markie?

I turned to look at her side of the bed. She completely lost touch with the base yesterday, but it was still my favorite evening in a long while.

Only that she wasn't where I left her last night.

I patted the bed trying to figure out how long she was up, only to find the sheets cold as if she never really slept there.

That discovery had me jumping off the bed, as if my ass was on fire, and rushing to the family room to look for her. I breathed in relief when I found her sitting by the window, watching the snowflakes dancing behind the glass. But something in her expression was different. She seemed lost in her own world, completely unaware of her surroundings or the man currently staring at her.

I may not have any legendary experience with committed relationships, but when your woman happens to be this pensive after more or less intimate interaction with you, that can never bode well, and even I know that.

I replayed yesterday's events in my head, cringing a few times in the process. That's not exactly how I planned the evening to unfold, but I won't lie that I enjoyed every second of it. Markella surprised me more than once, showing that my perfect girl also has a wicked side. But maybe it was too much, or happened too fast, or not the way she pictured it. Women seem to put a lot of thought into the right timing and grand gestures, and I could never understand why that happened. Mother always told me that important moments need to be celebrated, and she somehow found a reason to be festive almost every other day. Perhaps Markie was the same and I somehow managed to turn something important into a rushed and lustful moment she now regrets?

Fuck, only I could f**k up the moment that in my head was supposed to be perfectly innocent yet sexy.

I sighed, full of guilt, and I pushed my legs to move towards her. Here goes nothing.

"Markie?" - I called her name, and only then her head turned towards me, and the biggest smile broke on her beautiful face.

Okay, that's a good sign. She wouldn't be smiling if she found me cruddy, right?

She outstretched her hand towards me, and I rushed to take it, and sat behind her back on the carpet, spreading both my legs on each side of her and resting my chin on her shoulder. I smiled when she leaned back, making herself comfortable against my torso.

"It's so beautiful." - she said, looking out the window.

"Not as much as you are." - I said, nuzzling her neck. - "I missed you in bed when I woke up."

"I'm sorry. I had the strangest dream, and I just couldn't go back to sleep after it." - she admitted.

"Do you wanna talk about it?"

"No." - she shook her head and her wild curls tickled my nose. - "I'm sure it's nothing. Just one of those weird dreams without any sense or meaning." - she sighed heavily and I had the urge to ask more, but she gave a loud statement that she didn't want to talk about it, so I let the topic go.

"I, on the other hand, slept like a baby." - I admitted - "But waking up without you was like a cold shower."

"How come?" - she looked up, knitting her brows.

"I thought you had some regrets about yesterday and I actually came here to grovel." - I chuckled, wrapping my hands around her.

"So let me get this straight, you thought that I left you alone to sulk after having a true first night together with you?" - she asked, raising her brows, and I wasn't certain of the answer she was waiting for, because of that strange edge in her tone.

"Well, yeah." - I admitted truthfully, feeling like nothing I would say could take me out of this now.

Markella closed her eyes and shook her head, and then she pointed her finger towards the kitchen.

"Jar." - she ordered.

"What?" - I frowned.

"You're doing it again, you're doubting yourself. So now go and pay a dollar." - she explained.

"Are we seriously doing it?"

"Well, you are." - she deadpanned - "And just so your insecure brain gets some rest, I loved everything about last night."

"As did I." - I grinned at her, and she could help her own smile to bloom in her face.

"Don't try to charm me, VanWoert, you're paying that dollar."

I chuckled, glad that we were once again back to normal.

The day went by lazily, just like I dreamed it would. I don't think I've ever thought of what having a mate really meant. I figured it would be great, with the pull, uncanny connection and everything else. But with our circumstances, when most of the physical aspects are off the table, I found myself positively intrigued by how good a simple conversation might be.

I was never a great talker, a rather mediocre conversationalist, and the most beautiful words that ever left my mouth were probably those which didn't have more than one curse in the sentence. But with her, I felt like I could talk for hours and never get bored. Markella seemed like the only person who could truly understand me, and she wasn't judging, she wasn't grimacing, she simply saw the true me. And I think that's the biggest power brought by a bond. I wonder if I would have discovered it so soon if we were able to enjoy more aspects of our company.

After lunch, Ellie FaceTimed me, telling me that they had cut their stay short, and they were on their way home, and I'm welcome to come anytime now. She, of course, couldn't pass on the opportunity to haul Markie into a brief conversation, assuring her how absolutely thrilled she was about having her, and asking all sorts of strange questions like, for example, if she preferred mango or papaya. I mean, who in their right mind asks those kinds of questions to a newly met woman? Apparently, my cousin.

But that call made Markie a little bit more at ease about staying with the Huxleys. She even stated that Ellie was lovely. Lovely?! The adjective had never been used in reference to my cousin, but correcting her now seemed not that smart, so I just nodded.

Markella even suggested we leave right away, probably tempted by the hot springs, Ellie had listed as one of the activities she had planned for them. So, since I was a sucker at not giving in to her wishes, an hour later, with another rather pleasant shower in between, we climbed to my brother-in-law's SUV and we drove off towards the Night Walkers.

The change of vehicles was actually Boris's idea, in case mine had some additional tracker on it, I wasn't aware of. And his reasoning has never let me down before, especially his tech knowledge. I was concerned if including more and more people from my family was a wise decision, but in this case it was already too late, because Cilia blabbed everything as soon as she saw Uliana.

Markie was busy marveling at the snow-covered Washington almost the entire time. She actually looked giddy, which only confirmed my mate was a woman of a curious mind. She was full of surprises. Yesterday's stash of herbs threw me a bit off, but I won't deny that a woman with a hobby was sexy. The way she talked about her studies and experiments made me realize how smart she was. She had her beloved field and she even made it all sound interesting, proving that yet another generation of VanWoerts would become famous by bringing an extraordinary woman into the mix, and strangely so, I felt absolutely fine with it.

The navigation said we were fifteen minutes from our destination, when my mother started calling. I sighed and looked at Markie.

"The downside of having a big family is that they blow your phone constantly."

"Just answer it." - she said with a small giggle.

I pressed the button and almost immediately the truck filled with my Mom's voice.

"You took your sweet time, son. Is this a bad time?" - she asked.

"No, Mom. We're on our way to Ellie, and you're on speaker, by the way." - I said.

"That's fine. What I have to say is actually for both your ears. But tell me first, how's your weekend?"

"Fine." - I said shortly.

"Dear Goddess, Orson. You are sometimes just one level above being mute." - she groaned at my off-handed answer. - "Markella honey, maybe you could tell me more."

"It's been wonderful. Orson picked the most beautiful cottage for the night and I can't believe how amazing the lands here are. It's like a completely new world to me." - Markie said with a warm smile fornion her lips.

"Oh sweetie, that's good to hear. And I'm sure you will love my niece's home too." - Mom said.

"I'm sure I will, she seemed great when we talked earlier."

"She is. And if she gets out of hand, you call me. Her father told me a lot of things that could prove useful to tame her."

"I'll be sure to do that. Thank you, Sasha." - Markie said with a giggle.

"Why are you calling Mom?" - I cut their chitchat, because it started to feel like my mother was stealing the precious time I had left with Markie, and that wasn't making my mood any better.

"Is he this exasperating with you too?" - Mom asked, completely ignoring my question.

"Not at all, he's been the perfect gentleman since we left. You raised him well, Sasha, I have absolutely no complaints." - Markie assured her, taking my hand and I smirked at her, knowing that no gentleman would do what I did yesterday.

There was a brief silence on the other side, and I almost laughed, because my mother was the kind of woman who was never at the lack of the words, yet Markella practically killed her with kindness, and if not killed, then at least threw her off.

"That's… That's wonderful to hear." - Mom's voice was softer, less teasing and if I know her well, and I believe I do, a little shaky. - "So, I'm calling your kids with more or less good news, depending on the results, but at least we will know what we stand on."

"To the point, Mother." - I said.

"Well, I figured out a way to find out if Kimmy is pregnant."

Markie and I shared the look of shock. Well, mine wasn't as much of a shock as hers, but she didn't know that my Mom was like a bloodhound on the chase when she was after revealing someone else's secret.

"What did you do? Threw a few pregnancy tests into her toilet?" - I snickered.

"Don't be ridiculous, that would never work." - she said in outrage. - "I put the entire Pack House under a quarantine."

"You did what?!" - I boomed, because there was no way it wasn't suspicious.

"Exactly what you heard, son." - she said smugly, making me shake my head in disbelief.

"Mom, with all the respect and love I have for you, I think you're losing your mind."

"Let's see if you feel that way after I explain the whole situation, shall we?"

"Alright." - I caved with a heavy exhale. - "Hit me."

"Yesterday evening I started wondering how to drag Kimmy to the hospital and do a blood test on her without her being suspicious, and that's when I figured Ben should start faking an illness."

"Wait, you made Dad pretend he was sick?" - I asked.

"Yes, we told everyone he had some exotic fever. And I must admit that Tammy proved to be really helpful in this plot. She made the whole scene really realistic by hauling him to the hospital and ordering tests for everyone that had contact with him since we returned." - Mom continued and my eyes grew wide.

"That's…" - I started.

"Genius." - Markie finished for me, completely in awe.

"Why, thank you, dear! I'm pretty proud of this plan too." - my mother said joyfully - "Anyway, I just wanted to inform you that Kimmy had her blood drawn thirty minutes ago, and we should have results soon. But one way or another she's confined in the Pack House, so whatever she had planned for your absence won't happen."

"Wow." - Markie muttered in astonishment - "Sasha, I promise to you now that I will never ever cross you. You're diabolical."

My mother's laughter filled the car and I couldn't help the smile that spread on my lips as well. s**t, it felt good to have people supporting you like this, even if their actions were very unconventional.

"No, I'm not. You'll understand when you become a mother."

"I sincerely doubt I will have to. With Grandma like you, my future pups would be fiercely protected." - Markie said, and I started wondering if she even thought about starting a family. I must admit that with Kimmy I was in absolutely no rush, but watching Markella's smiling face does strange things to me.

"Oh, honey, that's a given." - Mom said. - "But anyway, I just wanted to let you kids know about the situation here."

"Thanks, Mom." - I found my voice again - "That's really something."

"That's nothing, honey. You would do the same for me. Anyway, I have to go. Markella, call me if you need anything or simply feel lonely."

"I will, Sasha, thank you."

"And don't unpack too much. We're working on solving the issue and bringing you home. You have my word for it."

Markie muttered her thanks, and I noticed her eyes watering from the emotions.

"You have a great family, Orson." - She said solemnly after we disconnected with my Mother.

"Yeah, I guess they are something else entirely." - I agreed, bringing her hand to my lips.

"They are perfect, just like you." - she said, looking out the window.

Only a few minutes later, we arrived at the Night Walkers gates and we were let in right away. Although, I was very much aware Maddox, Ellie's mate and Alpha to this Pack, wasn't my greatest fan, and it made me a bit fearful of how much he could twist my image in Markie's eyes. The last time I was here was at Ellie's Luna ceremony and that event hasn't left us on the beat of terms. Huxley was furious that we had all helped his mate to put her life in harm's way, and I haven't talked with him since. Not that we had many common interests.

The two of them, together with their Beta couple and Gamma, Ellie's little protege, waited at the bottom of the few steps leading to the massive Victorian mansion serving as their home.

Markie watched the building in astonishment, gaping at the endless rows of windows on all three storeys. It was quite impressive. Not the most, because if someone had the pleasure of visiting the Dark Woods, he knew what real splendor looked like.

We climbed out of the car, and I took Markella's hand for mental support, as we walked towards the awaiting group. My eyes stayed focused on Ellie, as she opened her arms waiting for a hug, with the biggest grin on her face.

I rushed without a hesitation to greet my cousin, but it was a big mistake. With Ellie you should hesitate, always, no matter what you do. And I got my lesson, when instead of hugging me, she fisted her hand in the blink of an eye and punched me straight on the sternum. My cousin possessed surprising force in such small fists that made all the air escape my lungs as I doubled over trying to catch my breath.

I only heard Markella gasp in shock, and a male chuckle, most likely Huxley's, before Ellie started speaking.

"That's for missing out on the gala, and calling only when you need something. That's a shitty thing to do, Ors, and I know you've been taught better than that." - Ellie said with her usual wit, and I straightened up just in time to see her averting her eyes to Markie, smiling brightly at her with no sign of hostility. - "Sorry for that, but otherwise he'll never learn." - Ellie shrugged - "Welcome to our home, Markie. That's my mate, Maddy. Our Betas, Banks and Devina and Gamma, Daniel."

Markie was a little taken aback as she shook hands with everyone. I probably should have explained more about Ellie before we arrived, but I don't think it would still do her justice. It's hard to describe craziness in all its glory.

"And you're Dave's sister, right?" - Markella asked after gaining back her voice.

"The one and only." - Ellie grinned - "Let's get inside, I have a room prepared for you guys, if you want to freshen up before dinner."

"For us?" - I frowned - "Cuz, I'm afraid I'm not staying."

"Yes, you are." - she said flatly - "It's already evening and you won't be home before midnight, so you could as well spend the night and take a jet tomorrow with my folks from Stonewall. I'm sure Markella would feel much better having you by her side for at least a night longer in an unknown place."

"But what about the car? It's not even mine." - I asked.

"I talked with Uliana, she said it could stay here for a while and Boris would simply use hers. You know how she hates driving, so it was more of her suggestion." - she said, giving me a knowing look.

"You thought about everything, didn't you?" - I asked, chuckling.

"When have I not?" - she said smugly. - "Now let's go, or you will have to explain to my Head Omega why we're late for dinner, and trust me, that's not something you would wanna go through. Shelby can glare like a champ."

We started following them inside and I could tell Markella was a bit nervous. Not that I blamed her, the semi-warm welcome was probably hard to digest. But things were always like that with Ellie. She was more like one of the guys than my sister or any other girl cousin I have. She believed in settling things once and for all, rather than throwing a hissy fit and being miffed for long. And I found it refreshing, she was hands down the easiest woman to understand in my family. At least for me.

They showed us to one of the biggest guest bedrooms they had, filled to the brim with things that Ellie thought Markie might need, including cosmetics, bath salts and that crap women used to feel relaxed. But the gesture was nice. I knew Ellie well enough to know that, despite her unpredictability, she wouldn't disappoint me in making my mate feel good here. And by the time we went down for dinner, I could tell Markie was starting to relax.

"I must say you really smell similar to Kimmy's, but her scent was more sickening. But it's probably because of the lickerish undertones she has." - Ellie said, cutting her meat.

I frowned at her words.

"Dave hasn't mentioned that." - I pointed out.

"It's really subtle, so he could have missed it." - she shrugged, showing another forkful into her mouth. - "Anyway, Markella, a little birdie has told me that you're a scientist."

"Was that birdie dark-haired with big boobs?" - Makie asked, making Ellie burst with laughter.

"Yes, I guess your description is on point."

"The little birdie forgot to tell you that I'm not a real scientist, but my people depend on natural medicine for generations, I just like to expand my knowledge." - Markie said humbly.

"That sounds interesting, would you be willing to see how our doctors work and leave us some notes?" - Maddox chimed in, and I was surprised that he would offer that to my mate. To be honest, I was expecting only scrutiny and mockery from him in our situation.

"Of course , but I'm not sure how they would react to my methods."

"Then it's a good thing, I'm their boss." - Huxley winked at her, and I couldn't help the growl that escaped my throat. He set his amused eyes on me and smirked. - "What's up, Orson? Something wrong with your steak?" - he asked, making Ellie snort. Yeah, those two were probably my worst picks.

"Stop winking at my mate, especially with my cousin sitting right there." - I pointed my hand at Ellie, but her unbothered shrug made it clear whose side she was on.

"Looking isn't cheating. And even I saw the legs on her. She's definitely out of your league, Ors." - my cousin deadpanned, cutting another piece of steak. But she didn't know her words meant something entirely different to us. Especially after yesterday's events.

I discreetly glanced at Markie, but her cheeks were already red from the embarrassment, and unfortunately, Ellie's sharp senses and professional eye picked on the sudden change in her.

"Uuu, I bet there's a story behind this blush." - she said, grinning.

"Do you know what subtle even means?" - I asked her suggestively.

"No." - Maddox, his Beta and Gamma all muttered at the exact same time, while Ellie shrugged smugly.

"You little traitors!" - she yelled at them in disbelief, but I was glad they took the attention off of us.

Ellie was good at many things, but making the atmosphere casual was probably her best quality. Not to mention, my stress concerning leaving Markie here was slowly disappearing when I saw how she started letting loose and even joining the friendly banter and teasing that took place at the table. It turned out to be a f*****g awesome evening, and I knew I had my cousin to thank for that.

Later at night when we were getting ready for bed, there was a knock on our door and I went to open it, hoping it wasn't Ellie crashing our last moments together. But it was me and my luck, so who else could have been on the other side of the door?! Of course it was Ellie.

"You're not coming in." - I told her straight away, and she threw her head back laughing hard.

"I'm not going to. But thanks for not opening up naked, I really appreciate that." - she smirked - "Anyway, I have some gifts for you guys. And you can thank me later." - she said, handing me the box and a few loose pages on top of it.

"What is it?"

"Well, you know that my father-in-law was one sick fucker, right?" - I nodded, remembering everything I learned about the guy. - "But he did some serious research before he started cheating on his mate, and while I despise his every action, I figured it might be useful in your situation." - she grinned - "Go nuts, Cuz." - she said before turning away and marching towards the Alpha's suite.

I looked after her before closing the door with my foot and walking with the strange gift towards the bed. I sat down and started flipping through the pages she gave me, with my eyes getting wider with every word as I started realizing what this document was. Then I peeked into the box, only to find a few toys that shocked me even more. My baby cousin, ladies and gentlemen.

Markie walked out of the bathroom, towel-drying her untamed hair, and she looked at me quizzically.

"What's this?" - she asked.

"A gift from Ellie." - I said simply, spiking Markie's interest. She got closer, first looking into the box filled with s*x toys, and then her shocked eyes landed on me. I handed her the paper and watched with amusement how her face became more and more flushed as she read all the creative ways known to our species for avoiding the betrayal pain, felt by your other half while you go loco elsewhere.

"Your family is… something else." - she muttered.

"I know, but they mean well." - I said, standing up and placing my hands on her hips, and then I briefly glanced down at the manual of how to cheat without being caught in her hands. - "So… You wanna try it?"

Markie bit her lip in the most sensual way possible and she slowly nodded. Guess I owe Ellie two favors now.