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Chapter 7

MARCUS'S POV

The man gestures to his table and I walk with him. I cannot believe he is already back from Europe where I sent him and now he will have unreasonable opinions. There are times when I wish that I could just take him to the edge of a very high cliff and drop him off but that does not seem to be particularly feasible at the time so I sit with the man and place my hand on the table then give a nod.

"You look well. You have really come into your own. The last time I saw you…"

"What do you want, Simon? You could have attended the next pick meeting and we would have been done with this."

"I did not lie in wait here for you, sir. I have been meaning to come to your home and speak with you. There are developments, things I have noticed and I would like to offer suggestions based on my own knowledge of the situation and knowledge of the people in this situation," he says.

"You want me to go to war because you feel we have been insulted and if we don't do anything about it, it would make us look weak. Is that it?" I ask and he starts to speak, pauses then nods slowly.

"You do not like the truth?"

"Do you believe what you want to tell me is the truth?" I ask and he shakes his head.

"It is my duty to tell you when you are wrong and it is my duty to give you the best advice according to my own honest opinion. I cannot do otherwise. I cannot tell you what you want to hear."

"Do you know what war will cost us, Simon? You think it will be glorious? My father thought the same thing and you know how that went. You were older than me. You saw it with clearer eyes so now I wonder why you would want to get into that. I wonder why you would want to do that to our people, to our pack."

"I know you were there, Alpha Marcus. I know you saw but need I tell you the consequences of weakness? You know all the things that it can breed, all the…"

"Do you call me weak, Simon?" I ask and his eyes widen. I can feel the fear start to creep in on him as he looks away, suddenly wary of meeting my eyes.

"I believe you were there on the day I became alpha and challenged anyone who thought he could best me. You did not say anything then. Is that a choice you regret?" I ask and he meets my eyes then he looks away with a barely noticeable shake of his head.

"I meant no respect, sir," he says quietly.

"I'm sure you didn't."

I stand while he sits there in silence then I place my hand on the table and stare him in the eyes.

"There will be no war and you will listen to it and tell it to all your supporters. If anyone steps a toe out of line, the toe will be removed along with the leg behind it. Do you understand?" I ask him. He looks up at me, eyes wide then he blows breath through puffed cheeks and leans back against his chair.

"Your word, Alpha Marcus," he says to me. I nod and walk away, feeling the anger in me start to dissipate.

ELIZABETH'S POV

There are times when I wonder if the man is crazy but as he stands there with his hands in his pocket, his eyes narrowed and his face serious as he looks at the designs, his bearing is nothing but strength and royalty. He looks at me and I can see why he was the one who took the position of alpha. The wolves will always respect strength and as I look at him, I can tell that is one thing he doesn't lack.

"This is impressive. I see I made the right decision. However, you will need to run this through the chief designer and you will come with me."

"Why would I come with you?" I ask him and he raises an eyebrow. There is something about him, something that makes me think that he believes none of his requests can be refused but he puts things in ways that make them difficult to refuse. I hate it.

"Have you had breakfast?" He asks. I start to speak and he tilts his head to the side.

"What does that have to do with anything?" I ask him.

"Just answer the question and don't lie. I can tell," he says. He has an easy smile about him, nothing like the lethal expression I saw on his face back at the restaurant.

"I don't have breakfast," I reply. He shakes his head slowly.

"That is inefficient, I mean. How do you expect to focus without breakfast? I would like you to have breakfast at the house. It gets dreadfully boring back there and you are…stirring company," he says. His eyes hold mine, silently pressuring me. He has a way of speaking without words, a way of taking words away from my mouth."

"I don't think I am that familiar and your…"

"I insist. You must come with me. Our chefs are some of the best in the world and it would simply be terrible if you did not taste the cuisine. Come with me. This is a once in a lifetime offer," he says with a smile, one so disarming, it makes me forget, for a moment, who he is and what he can do.

"And what if I say no?" I ask. Marcus comes closer to me. I can perceive his scent, feel him overshadow me, his eyes on me. His face becomes serious and I can see the fire in his eyes again. I feel like I am pinned to the ground.

"You won't say no," he says very quietly and I know, deep within me, that he is right.

"They better be as good as you say," I say to him.

"Oh, my words are but an understatement. It is good you did not eat breakfast. More space to be filled." He walks away and I follow him, looking at his broad back and the way he walks like the world is his to claim.

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