A Lone Wolf • Mark Tuan

|Four|

"What does that mean exactly?" you asked, looking around at everyone staring at you.

"It means that you have the potential to become an alpha," Mark said flatly. You looked at him closely, but his face was blank. You weren't really sure if this alpha gene was a good thing or a bad thing, but since Mark wasn't super thrilled, you had a feeling you already knew.

"But what does this really mean?" You got that you had the potential to become an alpha, but what did that really matter? You and Mark were mates, and he was already the alpha of his own pack. "I'm not going to cause any issues with you guys."

"It's not that," Mark said, standing up. He turned away from you and looked out the mirror. You waited for him to say something else, but he stayed silent, so you looked at the others for an explanation.

"It's unheard of for a female to have the alpha gene," Jackson explained. "It makes you one of a kind."

"That's the real reason Jaebum showed up here," Youngjae said. "He doesn't care that Mark found a mate—although I wouldn't put it past him to try to ruin Mark's happiness. Jaebum cares about you. He wants you."

"Why? What does it matter if I have this alpha gene or not?" you asked. You couldn't wrap your head around it.

"It means that you were meant to be an alpha," Youngjae said.

"But Mark's the alpha of this group," you said. Just because you had the alpha gene, it didn't mean you had to use it, right? All you wanted was just to be a part of Mark's pack and to finally be accepted. You had thought that was what was going to happen. The day had been amazing, but then Jaebum had to show up and ruin it.

"You don't have to be the alpha of this pack," Jackson said simply.

"Mark's my mate," you returned. How was it possible for two alphas to be mates? That just didn't seem logical to you.

"Just stop it," Mark snapped, silencing the room. "There are more prominent issues right now, and that's Jaebum. He wants you for some reason."

You stood up feeling a bit overwhelmed. You had always thought you were bland or weird or that something was wrong with you, which was why you had been alone all of these years, but now you were being told that you were special and unique and wanted. "Why would Jaebum want me?"

Jackson shook his head. "We're not sure."

"Then maybe it's not a problem," you said hopefully. "Maybe he was just curious."

"No," Mark said. He was quiet, but his voice was deep and commanding, making everyone look at him. "I can feel it. He's going to cause problems. Only if I could find out what he was thinking exactly."

"If I just don't use my gene, then I don't see what the big deal is. It'll solve all these problems. I could stay with you, and it's not like Jaebum would want another alpha in his pack, threatening his leadership. It'll be okay," you said, but it was clear that the others didn't think so.

"It's not that simple," Mark said. You wished he would look at you, and you wished you knew what he was thinking. "There's something we're missing."

Jackson and Youngjae glanced at each other, and it was almost like they were reading each other's minds. "We're going to check the perimeter to make sure they didn't follow us," Jackson said, and then the two of them left the apartment.

Neither you nor Mark said anything for a while. He was trying to figure everything out, but he couldn't, not with the information he had. You stood up, hating to see Mark like this, and you wrapped your arms around his waist from the back. You laid your head against his back and just listened to him breathing. It was weird thinking that you hadn't even known Mark a couple weeks ago, and now here you were, holding him to comfort him.