Losing Myself in You by Heather C. Myers Page B

table, the entire pack was seated, waiting for him. When the Elders realized Bridgette was not with Marcus, they turned to each other and started whispering. Though Marcus's ears were sharp and he no doubt could pick up what they saying, he chose to ignore them. He took a seat, and without any spoken words, servants started placing food on the surface of the table.
    "So tell us Marcus," Julianne began in a silky purr, her blue eyes locked in his direction. "Where is your betrothed?"
    "She's not his betrothed yet," Razi murmured before taking a bite out of the prime rib a servant girl had just piled onto her plate. Once she swallowed, she licked her lips. "Not until Thane and I approve."
    "Well, where is she?" Julianne repeated , making sure that her voice wasn’t being overtly pushy.
    "She's upstairs in her room," Marcus said in a low, crisp voice, his hazel eyes currently on his food rat her than the members of his pack.
    "Is she coming down?" Thane asked, waiting to start eating until he knew for sure, one way or the other, if they would be entertaining a guest. "Should we wait for her?"
    "No," Marcus told the male Elder, raising his eyes to look at him. Though his face looked relatively impassive, his eyes flashed with annoyance and anger due to the fact that things weren't exactly going according to plan.
    "Wait," Razi said after taking a sip of her red wine. "So you're telling us that the woman you have chosen as your potential mate won't even come down to dinner and meet with us?" Though she asked the question, her tone reflected that she already knew the answer.
    "That's not very sophisticated," Julianne said, throwing her two cents in. "Especially if this woman is supposed to be your partner, Marcus."
    "Did you do something?" Thane asked, turning his gaze over to Marcus.
    "Why would you accuse me of doing something to her?" Marcus asked, though his tone was not in any way disrespectful. However, he was obviously offended at the thought that it was his fault she wouldn't come out of her room.
    Although…
    "Well," Thane said, not taken aback by Marcus's tone. "Sometimes we say or do something that causes our mate to get upset, and then they don't want to be around us for a time afterwards."
    "She's not his mate" Julianne pointed out.
    "She never wants to be around me," Marcus said, all but growling.
    "May I ask you a question?" Razi said as she dabbed the napkin around the corners of her lips, wiping away any traces of residue. "Why did you choose her? I mean, look at your clan, Marcus. You have your choice of many women, all beautiful, all wolf, who would be willing to sacrifice so much to take her place by your side as your mate. So why her? Why this human who can't even be bothered to eat dinner with us?"
    It took Marcus a long time to reply, but he masked it with chewing. He needed to buy time to make sure that what he said was honest and believable. He wasn't entirely sure why, but he felt as though he needed to defend his choice, no matter how incredibly upset he was with her.
    "To be honest," he said after swallowing the meat, "I have no idea. But for some reason, I could distinctly sense her presence when she first stepped onto the property. I could smell her. And when I saw her… I don't know. I chased after her, and my instincts got the best of me. I bit her. Of course, this, in no way, justifies her behavior tonight, and for that, I apologize."
    Thane and Razi looked at each other upon hearing what Marcus had to say. Razi looked slightly defeated, but Thane was smiling, as though he fully understood what Marcus meant.
    "Okay," Thane said, nodding his head. "Okay."
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
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Chapter 13
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    Once dinner was over, Marcus waited until everyone left before heading back upstairs.  They wouldn’t be running through the forest as wolves tonight, as per tradition.  He was in no mood to lose himself through the forest, in the night, feeling the cold, crisp breeze run