The rejected bond of Alpha Marcus

a quizzical brunch

Marcus POV

“Oooh, I found another good one,” Alexander held his finger to the line he was reading in his book, “Write this down,” He ordered Noah, “In 1521 a law was passed stating it was no longer allowed to kidnap unaccompanied woman,”

“What? No way, that was not a thing!” Benjamin crooked an eyebrow, yanking the book out from under Alexander’s nose.

“Did you know that the Lycanthrope code, written in 1105 A.D., forbade the worship of any other God other than the Moon Goddess? It forced all of the churches in the Kingdom to convert to Selenism. It’s still in effect to this day.” Noah stated in astonishment.

“Selenism? You just made that up,” Marcus remarked. “It does explain that creepy church service, though,” He mused, thinking of the Sunday service they had been forced to witness. The Pastor was an… interesting man, to say the least.

“If only we knew what they were going to ask,” Benjamin sighed, slamming the book he had been reading shut.

The guys had been going through the history books in the library for hours on end while Marcus was on his date. They had gone on well into the night and were at it again this morning, only hours before the quiz.

“I bet I could get some information out of that Penelope woman,” Alexander said, wiggling his eyebrows, making Benjamin roll his eyes.

“She’s alright,” Noah shrugged, continuing his reading.

“Alright? Have you seen those legs? I bet she’s a scratcher too,” He chuckled.

“How was your date anyway?” Alexander asked when no one responded to his lewd remarks. The guys had been too preoccupied preparing for the quiz to question him about his one-on-one with Sarah.

“It was better than expected….ending on a high note for sure,” Marcus smiled. Goddess, that woman…He didn’t know if he wanted to yell at her or f**k her half of the time. She was definitely something else.

“Are you in love or something?” Alexander chuckled.

“What? No, why?”

“You just got this really goofy smile on your face after I asked you about your date,” Alex remarked, looking at Marcus with a crooked smile.

“It was just nice, that’s all. She’s a nice person…sometimes,” Marcus replied with a grunt.

“Guys, come on, the quiz is in one hour. We really have to get this right if we want to keep the pack and keep Marcus out of jail,” Benjamin interrupted.

Marcus sighed. Only two more challenges after this one and he would have kept his end of the deal.

“Gentlemen, welcome to the third official trial. Today is a test of knowledge. During brunch, you will be asked questions about the history of the werewolf Kingdom. For every right answer, you will get points, for every wrong answer, points will be deducted. Mind-linking is not allowed.” Miranda began explaining. Marcus noticed that Penelope woman was seated next to Miranda.

“However, today’s challenge will be a bit different than the last one… Today, the two candidates with the worst scores will be sent home.” She paused for dramatic effect while a few people in the background gasped.

“The rest of you will keep your scores from here on out. Points will be added and deducted with every challenge. During the last challenge, Princess Sarah will decide which of the top three Alpha’s she will marry,”

The thought of someone marrying Sarah didn’t sit right with him, but he quickly shook it off and decided to focus on the task at hand. He looked around the table, taking in his competition when his eyes landed on a figure he hadn’t seen these past few days. Someone he had nearly forgotten was here although they shared a wing.

Christian Hatchett.

Where had he been? Had he just not noticed him during the last challenge? He had been quite distracted over the last few days. Maybe he had just missed him?

Noticing someone watching him, Christian looked his way and winked at him. He returned the gesture with a nod.

A few omegas brought out the food, placing it around the table. There were scrambled eggs, bacon, croissants, scones,... Marcus stomach growled in anticipation.

After they all started eating, Miranda suddenly looked around the table.

“How about we start with….Alpha Marcus,” she looked straight at him. Marcus paused, his croissant halfway to his mouth.

“In what year was the lovely castle you all are currently staying at built?” Miranda asked.

“1524. it was built by King Charles the First. He wanted his Queen to have the castle of her dreams. If you look closely at the stones above the entrance door, you can still see the word ‘my little dove’ carved into the stone. It was the nickname he had given her,” Marcus explained as if he were a local tour guide. He surprised even himself.

Miranda whispered something to Penelope, who nodded.

“Very well! 5 points for Alpha Marcus! Extra information will be rewarded with extra points,” The quiz continued, with some Alpha’s answering right, some answered wrong. When they got to Christian, Marcus started noticing a pattern.

“What is the hair color of Princess Sarah?” Miranda asked. It was almost as if she too, was bored with the questions.

“Easy, blonde. Blonde curly hair.”

“Great. Two points.”

And while the other Alpha’s got complicated questions, when it was Christian’s turn, once again, he got a ridiculously easy one. “How old is our Princess?”

“28,” Christian shrugged, biting into his scone.

At the end of the quiz, Marcus was left was 32 points, while there were two Alpha’s who ended with 5 and -12. Miranda drawled on, thanking the Alpha’s for participating, and sending them back to their rooms to pack.

“And the winner is, Alpha Elijah, with 33 points. Congratulations, you have earned yourself a date with Princess Sarah,” Miranda smiled at him.

“Gentlemen, you all have done a wonderful job and have earned the opportunity to spend time with our lovely Princess, who will now be joining you all out in the garden,” Miranda said.

Marcus couldn’t help but glare at Elijah. One point. He had been one point short of spending time with her. But when Sarah appeared, all the thoughts of jealousy completely disappeared from his mind.

She walked into the garden wearing a long flowing floral dress. Her blonde curls framed her beautiful face. When their eyes met, Marcus’ breath caught in his throat, but before he could step towards her, Sarah’s attention was claimed by another Alpha, who began speaking with her.

“So, what do you think you’ll be doing for your date?” Marcus’ attention turned to Alpha Julian, who asked Elijah the question. The two stood only a few feet away.

“I don’t know. I think the Princess will probably decide.” Elijah smiled.

“You’re a lucky bastard.” Julian smirked, slapping him on the back, “If I were you, I would ask to go on a horse riding trip to the beach,” Julian’s eyes connected with Marcus as he spoke, “I hear she really likes… horses.” The way Julian kept smirking at him, caused Marcus to get an unsettling feeling.

“What do you think, Marcus? You think horseback riding will excite the Princess?” Julian continued to taunt.

Marcus grunted a response, but when he turned away, Julian was suddenly by his side.

“When I have my date with her, I’m going to ask for the Marcus treatment. Do you think she’ll put out for me too?”

Marcus let out a ferocious growl, causing all eyes to turn to him and Julian. Julian quickly stepped back, holding his hands up in surrender, the smirk still in place.

“Gentlemen, there’s no need to fight,” Miranda let out a nervous laugh, stepping between the two men. Marcus was still glaring daggers at Julian.

Deciding he’d had enough for one day, with one last glance at Sarah, who was also looking at him curiously, Marcus turned around and left the event.