Maximus

Past

Annie

After Max Marked me I felt so tired, I must have passed out because the next thing I knew I was being carried through the forest in his arms.

“Max?” I groaned out, still half asleep

“I’m here Little One.. Go back to sleep..I got you” He kissed the top of my head, I closed my eyes, shoving my head into his neck. 

I woke in our bed. He was not here with me. I slowly got up. I was very sore and still tired. As much as I wanted to go back to sleep, I got up. I went to the bathroom, having a shower. I looked in the mirror and saw my Mark for the first time. It was gorgeous, a lone wolf howling under the moon, with a crown above it. I felt proud to have it on me. I need to show Helen, Max’s mom. I quickly got dressed, going to her room. I knocked lightly. 

“Who is it?” She answers

“Annie, may I come in? I have something to show you”

“Yes dear, come in..” She coughs as she is talking, it must be a bad day for her. I will make my visit brief.So she can rest. I walk over and give her a quick hug.

“You smell like Max, did you two mate?” She asks

“No, but he did Mark me, I wanted to show you” I turn my neck showing her the Mark.

“It’s beautiful dear. Congratulations.. Now all I need is some grandpups!”

“I’ll work on it” I laugh as I say my goodbyes, letting her rest. 

I went to find Max but ended up bumping into Trixie first. She is one of my good friends an omega.

“Trixie! I haven’t seen you in a while, where have you been? How are you today?” I asked 

“I-I’m well Luna…I apologize for being absent..” She takes a step away from me 

“Is something the matter Trixie?"She’s acting strange. Did I do something to offend her?

“No Luna. Please excuse me” She scurries off in a hurry, leaving me alone.

I go to Max’s office, before I can knock a voice in my head says

‘Come in Little One’ It’s Max, but how did he get in my head?

‘We can mind link now that you are Marked.’ He answers my question, it’s like he can read my mind!

‘I can, if you focus, you can read mine too’ 

I push the door open and walk into the room, Max is by himself, sitting at his desk, smiling at me. 

“I’m so glad to see you are finally awake Annie, How do you feel?” He moves his chair out so I can sit on his lap. I crawl onto it like a small child, he cradles me, giving me a soft peck on the lips.

“I feel…. Different..” I admit. Since I woke up, I have felt like there is something stirring inside me.

“Well, that’s no surprise. When I Marked you, I transferred some of my power into you. Your heart has been working to mend itself, you’ve been asleep for three days Annie. I’m sorry I was not there when you woke up, to explain this to you. I’ve been very busy. Please forgive me, my love.” He looks ashamed of himself. 

“Of course, you are a very busy man, I know...So what kind of powers do I get now?” 

“Well, according to Trixie, you’ve already been using your Luna powers. So you have the Alpha command.”

“What do you mean I’ve been using my powers?” I am confused. 

“When you spoke to Trixie earlier, you used your Alpha command on her. I know you didn’t mean to love. She was just taken back as you never had the power to command people before now. Don’t worry” 

I hope she doesn’t hate me now.. I didn’t mean to command her, but her behavior makes more sense to me now. 

“She doesn’t Love. It will take some time for you to get used to your new powers” 

“How do I do that?” 

He looks at me for a long time before answering. “Try and be as casual as you can when talking to people, unless you are actually needing to be serious. It’s all in the tone..”

I ponder this for a moment. “Alright, I’ll give it a try… You never answered my question when we first met…Why are you called King?” 

“That...is because I came into power at such a young age. I am not proud of my past, I’ve done a lot of scary things. I am the most powerful werewolf of our time. That is why I am King, I have earned the respect of each and every pack” He looks at his hands, 

“How did you become Alpha?” I immediately regret asking the question. He looks so sad all of a sudden.

“My father died protecting my mother and I in a surprise rogue attack. We survived, but at a great cost.” He turns lifting me off of him as he stands and lifts his shirt, revealing four long deep scars across his back. It is the first time I’ve seen his back. 

“Oh my…” I whisper, I don’t know what else to say..

“It was a long time ago, but it serves as a reminder.” He pulls his shirt back down, sitting down pulling me back onto his lap.

“Reminder of what?” 

“Who the real enemy is, a reminder of what is truly important.” 

We sit in silence for a while before Max speaks again.

“Want to go for a run with me?” 

“Yes, I love running with you. Let me grab a sweater, I’ll meet you outside” I jump off his lap and run out of the room. 

I get to our room, grabbing a sweater. I feel myself fall to my knees, sobbing for a few minutes. He must have been in so much pain for so long. He feels so ashamed of who he was. I want to make him forget his past, to lead him into the future. I pull myself together and wipe away my tears, putting on a happy face as I make my way outside. 

Max is standing there waiting for me. I don’t even think about it, I rush into his arms giving him the biggest hug I can muster. He hugs me back, knowingly. Did he hear my thoughts upstairs?

If he did, he doesn’t say anything. He pulls me away from him, holding me at arms length.

“Ready?”