Stronger as One (#1, Completed)

51. Mark Wolf

"Even when you are faking it you are beautiful, my dear. Although I have seen you coming apart and you were definitely not faking it." Oh god, somebody needed to kill me now...of course, he was going to gloat about it- he was a freaking nutcase who probably enjoyed this very much. "Anyway, I am getting distracted. I knew about our connection before you were even born. Yes, yes, I know- I am way older than I look. Shocking to imagine that with such a youthful face."

He spoke with such smugness as we moved around the dancefloor that I wanted nothing else than to wipe that arrogance off his face with a lot of pain for him.

"The perks of being half-demon, I guess. So, as I was saying, I heard down the grapevine that some old acquaintances, the Sun and the Moon Goddesses, had gotten wind of my lifelong work and were trying to interfere with it. How, you are probably wondering? You, my dear. Well, you, the wolf shifter girl with silver hair."

If I thought that I was shocked when I saw him earlier, I was certainly shaken to the core by what he had just said. How was I meant to interfere with his plans?

"Me? You must have this wrong- I am just a human girl."

"Yes, yes, modesty and all, bla bla bla. Let's be honest, Riley- you are anything but average, and certainly not just a human girl. Sure, you are no longer a shifter but you were one when you were born. Why do you think I wanted your wolf so badly?"

"My wolf?" I didn't even realise that I had exclaimed that in surprise. There was nothing special about me or my wolf.

"Yes, your wolf, sweetheart. You see, I collect shifters' life forces by extracting their animals. The higher up they are in their packs, let's call them like that for simplicity, the stronger their life forces. Shifters with Alpha blood have the most potent ones. So, you were like a two in one for me- strong life force, albeit a young one, and getting rid of an inconvenience. Acquiring your wolf, together with the rest of your family, worked perfectly for me. I should have known better though than to let lousy shifters do the work for me. Angus failed to deliver but, at least you lost your wolf, which clearly royally screwed up the plans of the Sun and the Moon Goddesses."

My fingers folded tightly in fists as anger rose inside me. This monster wanted to eliminate my wolf and ended up having my whole family killed. I wanted to annihilate him and I planned to do so.

"Nuh-uh, darling. I can tap into your anger, remember?" He crooked an eyebrow as if I was some little child that needed to have things explained to her. "Will you let me finish- I haven't even gotten to the good part!"

I didn't want to let him finish- I wanted to kill him then and there but he controlled my anger enough to keep me at bay.

"So why did I sleep with you, you wonder? Well, after your wolf was eliminated and your family killed, aside from your brother, I thought that I did need to worry about you anymore. You disappeared and you were without a wolf so why bother, right? But then your brother kept on being a pain, always a bit too close to finding out what I was up to. And I always kind of wondered what you were up to so I tracked you down about a year before your brother did. Impressive career by the way- and on top of that as a human."

He ran the back of his fingers along my cheek and across my face. I couldn't help but think how the touch of my mates set me on fire, while the touch of Markolf made me shudder in disgust.

"This is when my fascination with you began," he said matter-of-factly as if I should have been flattered by his statement.

"I'm sorry, did you say fascination? Are you fucking kidding?"

"Now, now, Riley, no need to swear. It doesn't fit well with your beautiful face. And yes, fascination. You see, you and I are alike."

"Well, last time I checked, I was not a psycho, hence no- we are not alike."

"Come on, Riley, you are smarter than that. Although you are funny- I give you that. You see, I am an outcast in both the supernatural world, where I am not good enough fit in with the demons and angels, and in the human world where I am not....well, human. And you, sweetheart, are the same- not a shifter but not truly just a human either. Not to mention that you are beautiful, sexy, strong and one hell of an amazing fuck as well. I must admit that I enjoyed pretending to be submissive to you."

He placed a slow, long kiss on my neck and my stomach heaved. I could barely swallow the disgust I felt, a bitter tang resting in my mouth. His touch made my skin crawl and I wanted nothing more than to get as far away from him as possible but it was like my feet were nailed to the floor at that moment. Instead, I maintained eye contact with him, no matter how difficult it was to do so.

"I had been keeping tabs on you ever since I found you and you had impressed me along the way. When my men reported that you were in that club in Putney, I just couldn't help not get to know you more...personally."

"You are sick," I snarled.

"No, darling," Markolf chuckled, "I am a visionary."

"So what exactly is your plan?"

"I would love to tell you my evil scheme, sweetheart, but that would be stupid of me. At least until you join me."

I shrug nonchalantly. "It was worth trying. You seem like the chatty kind of villain. Or maybe the over-confident one. Still haven't quite decided."

His face lit up with such satisfaction that one would think that I had pleased him. "You really are something else."

"So I keep on hearing."

"You see, Riley, once my powers are strong enough, I will make the supernatural world bow down to me. And much like shifters need a Luna, I need a strong woman who understands me by my side."

My lips twitched with mockery as I snorted loudly, "When was the last time you had a psych evaluation, Markolf? Who the fuck would ever understand you? You are a maniac, a deranged person, a killer. Abso-fucking-lutely insane," I ranted until I was out of breath.

"Don't be such a killjoy, Riley. But I love your fire- it will be so enjoyable to watch you come to grips with the fact that you belong by my side. I mean, would you rather be stuck with those two?" Markolf tilted his head in the direction of Rafe and Aiden. Both of them had now seen us and I could feel the anger burn inside them as the cambion ran his hands along the small of my back and my butt. "The wolf shifter is so angry on most days that I would never have any problem controlling him. The dragon is a bit more level-headed but when it comes to you, neither of them can hold back- neither their lust nor their anger at seeing you in someone else's arms. Can't say I blame them."

I could see that my mates were trying to move away from the bar towards us but they were like glued to their spots.

"Here is the thing, Riley- you will join me, one way or another. If not willingly, I might have to force your hand on the matter. Imagine if anything happened to your mates," he shrugged as if he had no idea what he was talking about.

I felt a stab of pain in my heart as I even considered the possibility that he could hurt either one or both of them.

"What if I decide to fight against you?" I asked in all honesty.

"You could. But I will just destroy everything and everyone you love."

"Like you wouldn't otherwise." Did he seriously think I would believe him?

"Maybe. Maybe not. You would never know unless you do join me...Wait, are you yawning?"

"Yes, sorry- this shit about joining you is starting to get a big old." The bastard dared to threaten those I cared about and I couldn't do a thing right now to hurt him but I was sure as hell not going to give him the satisfaction of thinking that I was going to submit to him.

"Oh, let me spice things up for you a bit then," he retorted as his lips curled in a wicked smile. "You, beautiful, are an unmarked human mate. I can feel the lust for your mates burn inside you, even if you try to bury it deep down- let me show you what lust is really like."