Page 22 of Marcello
“What?”
“Hint around things? Fish for things?”
“It’s an honest question. You liked your siblings. Well, at least in your memories you did.”
I shook my head. “They were okay when we were younger, but as we got older and it became apparent to them that I was an omega while they were alphas, they treated me no different than the rest of the family. I want nothing to do with them.”
“Your father. He sold you.”
I nodded.
Those weren’t memories that I relived often. Maybe I should, though, because they always pissed me off, and then little things didn’t bother me.
“Where are we going?” I asked Dad as I tried to keep up with his longer stride. When he opened the trunk, I tried to fight, but even for a fox alpha, he was so much bigger and stronger than me. I was shoved into the trunk, and then it was dark. I didn’t know how long we were driving around, but when he stopped and opened the trunk, I thought he had finally realized how horrible he was being, but I should have known that would never be the case. He pulled me out and shoved me toward another group, who immediately put tape on my mouth.
“He’ll bring a good price,” the wolf shifter said as he gripped my chin in a harsh hold and stared down at me. I felt others running hands over my body and tried to move away from their touch, but it was no use. There were too many of them, and they were all large alphas.
“Here’s your fee. Let me know if you have any other tasty morsels you want to be rid of.”
My father looked in an envelope and smiled. He’d sold me and didn’t care that I knew. I fought to get away, but I felt a prick in my neck, and seconds later, everything went dark. When I woke up, I was in a cage in a room with others.
I shook my head. “I don’t ever want to see my family again. It might be wrong of me, but I don’t care what happens to any of them. They didn’t ever care about me, so why should I about them?”
Marcello smiled before he pulled me closer and kissed me. I wouldn’t open my mouth though. I couldn’t tell you the last time I’d brushed my teeth, and I was certain my breath was absolutely horrid.
“Mio angelo, you are worried about your breath? You should know that I did help you brush your teeth, among all of the other things, while you were in heat.”
I started to smile but stopped. “What do you mean, all the other things? What things?”
Marcello’s smile slowly faded a little. “Do you not realize that despite the fact that you are in heat, your body still has all of its other functions going on? I helped you to do all of those things. I carried you to the bathroom to relieve yourself, to help you brush your teeth, and to help you bathe. I fed you and spent a lot of time with my dick in you. You were insatiable.”
I winced. “Fox shifters are highly sexual. Our heats come every nine months instead of every twelve. We often have multiples when it comes to pregnancies, and if you thought my heat was intense, wait until the middle of my pregnancy. Oh, and our gestations are only ten weeks, but I’m sure I told you some of that already.”
Marcello nodded. “I would gladly do it all again next week.”
I shook my head at how ridiculous this all was. “Do you think it’s like this with all new couples? Or maybe at least some?” I sighed. “I’ve seen people at the council find their mates. They gomissing for a month or two, and then you see them again, and they’re always smiling. They’re so happy.”
Marcello touched my cheek tenderly. “I want to make you happy. I know I’m going to upset you at some point, but that is not my goal in life. Now that I have you, I want you happy and well taken care of.”
I smiled. “It’s not difficult to make me happy. I don’t have a long list of requirements. Just treat me right. Don’t lie to me, and don’t cheat on me.”
Marcello scowled. “You know that I can’t do that, right? Once we’ve claimed one another, I cannot get it up for anyone else. Also, I will no longer be able to drink from another. From a glass will still be possible, but the thought of taking another donor churns my stomach.”
“Which is even better.” I grinned and turned back around, leaning back into Marcello’s chest. “Just treat me right, and we won’t have any issues.”
Marcello wrapped his arms around me and gave me a hug from behind. “I wouldn’t dream of doing anything but.” Marcello’s hands absently rubbed up and down my arms, bringing water with them, which I found relaxing. “Do you think there is a possibility that you would stay here? That we continue to live here with my coven? It is where I can best protect you and any children we have.”
I didn’t need to think too hard about that one. “I’ll stay here. But I need to figure out how to get my things here to me. I don’t have much, but not having any clothing that will fit beyond what I was wearing is going to get old.” I felt a sense of relief through our bond. “Is it all right if I don’t like what you do? That I’m not happy with your job?” I would try. Desperately. But everything I’d ever heard about people in Marcello’s line of work was always bad. Even he said it wasn’t nice or pretty and that he did terrible things.
“As long as you try not to hate me too much, you can dislike my job and what I do as much as you wish. I cannot change who I am or what I do if we stay. Even if we were to leave, it still wouldn’t change much.”
And there we were. We kept circling back around to this. No matter how much we talked about it, to stay or go somewhere else, Marcello’s life was going to follow. He had friends here. A coven family. Sure, I had a job, and the people I worked with were friendly, but it wasn’t as if we hung out all of the time. We were acquaintances.
Marcello was my mate. We had claimed each other. We had spent my heat together. I was most likely pregnant, and that meant a child or children. Our children and I were going to be targets. They would come after us out there if they knew about us.
“I really don’t have anything to go back to,” I said quietly. I reached up and placed my hands on Marcello’s arm that was across my chest and held on. “You’re my family now, and here is where I belong, because this is where you are.”
I would figure it out. I would try to ignore what he did. Maybe I could ask Mazzi how he did it. I still wasn’t exactly happy with him for what he did, but I couldn’t hate him. He was the reason I was here.
