Marked (malexmale)

Chapter 11 Control

Thank you for your patience. I felt unsatisfied with the first draft of this chapter and went back to rewrite a lot of it. Plus dealing with some tech issues. But I'm proud of the result. My longest chapter yet! Enjoy!

Amber's Toy Bat Snooty---------------------->

Imaginary cookie to whoever can guess where the name for the toy came from.

Chapter 11

Control

Leon's POV

Oh Goddess, I did not just do that. I did not just fucking do that. I scream inside my head as I hastily exit Noel's bedroom. I can feel the blush spread to my ears. I was not staring at Noel's...Nope. Nope. Nope. I was just watching Noel to make sure he didn't slip while bending over the tub. Yeah, let's go with that.

I head off down the hall to where I spot a heavy black curtain acting as a barrier to a room. I step into Amber's bedroom and take a look around. Her room is pretty cute with all the paper butterflies stuck to the wall. Hesitantly, I open one of the dresser drawers. What should I take back to Noel? Obviously, it has to be blue because that's Amber's color for today. Jeans? No, they won't be very comfortable if she wants to take another nap. Pajamas? No, I don't see any blue ones. So I guess the color thing doesn't apply to sleepwear. Why is this so hard? It's just clothes.

I finally settle on white and blue striped leggings and a dark blue tunic. I hope she likes it. I follow Noel's sweet scent of rain back to his room, frowning at the stronger smell of sage that blankets the whole house. My soft knock on the bathroom door gets an equally quiet response, "Come in."

Gently pushing the door open, my eyes take in the sight of Amber wrapped up in a big fluffy towel and Noel cradling her in his lap. Her glassy eyes causing an ache to form in my chest. I lick my lips in hesitation. "Is this okay?" I ask, gesturing to the clothes I picked out.

Noel gives me a gentle smile. "It's perfect. You even remember the color. Thank you."

"I'll just leave them here," I say, placing the clothes on the counter. "I'll stay nearby so give a shout if you need any help. Okay?"

"Okay," he quietly responds. My heart flutters for a moment.

I leave the bathroom quickly before my red cheeks become noticeable. Leaving Noel's bedroom and going into his sitting room, I notice a wall completely covered by photographs.

My eyes skim over the photos. Many of them showed the faces of children. Most of them look around the age of thirteen or so. Two familiar sets of eyes catch my attention. The younger boy with green eyes was smiling while standing beside the older blue eyed boy. Noel's eyes looked even colder than they do now. But what bothered me the most was the brown-haired man standing behind them. A firm hand was planted on Noel's shoulder while the other tousled Basil's hair. The man's brown eyes had an almost predatory nature to them. I don't like him.

Another image of a little girl in a hospital bed captures my attention. An uneasiness filled my chest as I start to see the reason why she was there. Her hospital gown slid off one of her boney shoulders revealing bandages underneath. The gauze continued down her arms to her fingertips. My hand traces over the grim image.

I hear my wolf's growls echo inside of my head. <Oh, what do you want? First, you don't talk to me all day. Then all of the sudden you take control of my body without my permission. How am I suppose to trust you when you do things like this?> I snap, irritated at his antics.

<Out. Let me out.> He snarls.

<Not now, Theodoulos. I don't want you to freak out Noel.> I urge him to stay quiet.