The Change ( Fated Series: Book 1 - Completed )

Chapter 5 - Friends

Picture on the side - Alpha Marcus "Ned" Edwards.

Edited June 2019

Word count 3144

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Marcus

Attraction.

One word to sum up the way he felt about the beautiful brunette. Nessa was his oasis in the midst of revenge. Ever since he met her, she had been a constant source of bubbling energy in his otherwise dull existence. She brought laughter and chaos in his life, and Marcus liked it. It wasn't just the battle of wits and the fun rebuttals she came up with. Her warm brown eyes appreciated him as a man, who was worthy. There was no pressure, no social awkwardness, no unnecessary pity or compassion as she never saw him as Blackwoods' Alpha, secluded widower with a grudge against the system and Blue Moon pack.

No. The way her eyes lingered over his body showed she appreciated him in ways he hadn't allowed himself to feel in such a long, lonely while.

A singular goal of revenge kept him alive, but it also consumed him, leaving him a shell of a man. When you knew the insanity is inevitable, you developed a new keen appreciation of time. The only thing he could control was how he spent his days, which made him impatient and brash to those who wasted his time.

He had a mission to complete and was racing against the clock. Those responsible for the death of his mate and unborn pup were still taking their breath. Marcus vowed he would not give into the darkness until he was the last person they saw on this Earth.His life belonged to the cause, it served a purpose. He could count on his hands the people who still haven't given up on him.

His volatile temper turned ugly. Although Cameron's stunts kept him under the radar of Pack Law, there were rumors among rogues of the blood thirty animal he had become. They were true, of course, but without evidence Pack Law could only sniff the borders of his territories. When more and more packs signed treaties in favor of support to Blackwood in a possible conflict, Pack Law finally recognized trouble. It was the calm before the storm and they were anxiously preparing for the conflict. It wasn't a matter of when the Blue Moon Alpha would pass, it was of when.

And that was how it was supposed to be, until Nessa brought back the laughter and joy of just living.

Attraction.

Simple yet strong. So strong that Marcus found himself lurking around her apartment complex in the hopes of seeing her again. He told himself he was not obsessed with her. He just needed to see she was all right. Nothing else. Nessa kept him grounded, and a harbor was all he needed in the face of the coming storm. Or so he tried to convince himself.

But the moment he saw her parking and heading to the apartment building, he knew it was not enough. He stepped out of the shadows and headed her way.

Nessa turned around quickly at the sound of his approaching footsteps, dropping her keys in fright.

"Damn, Green eyes, we should stop meeting like this," Nessa reprimanded him for scaring her. Marcus picked up her keys for her. It was the least he could do, seeing how startled she was. "You almost gave me a heart attack."

"Good. Next time pay more attention to your surroundings," his voice thundered a little more harshly than he intended. His message was clear. She should not have been this distracted not to hear his approaching steps until he was at arm's reach.

"Or maybe next time you should just man up and ask me out?" Nessa snapped with a slight irritation.

'Talk about comebacks', Marcus thought. She had nailed the issue right on its head. Marcus really wanted to take her out sometime, but what good would that do when Marcus knew he would lose her the moment her Fated entered her life. Marcus knew how special the bond was, and would not stand in its way. So why was he getting attached to her, when he knew such relationship was doomed from the start?