Embraced Scars

Chapter Twenty

Marcus's POV

The pack was silent the rest of that day. They tiptoed around me like I was a bomb, triggered to explode at any minute. I suppose I was. My mood didn't improve, just gradually got worse and worse.

"Are we still having the meeting tonight, Alpha?" Cody asked, his voice unusually quiet. Through my clouds of depression, I was vaguely surprised that he had the courage to ask.

"Yes." I replied bluntly, not bothering to explain why. I couldn't let my pack suffer because of my problems. We still needed to figure out what was going on with the rouges.

"Let's start it now." I said, standing up. I had been sitting on the couch at the pack house, glaring at the table as though it was personally responsible for my problems.

"Noah's still at his house-" Cody started, looking nervous. I couldn't contain my snarl as I turned my poisonous glare on him.

"Leave him there." I said, trying to control my anger. I didn't really want to kill my Beta.

"OK." He replied, his voice shaking. It took me a second to realize that I was using my Alpha dominance on him, the power surging into him and making him weak.

I cut it off, storming out the door and towards my office. I could hear Cody and Brett shuffling behind me, probably talking through their mind link.

I had been trying to contact Annabelle since she'd left, begging her to come back. The connection had been there at first, but I knew she was just blocking us all out. But suddenly, it had completely cut off. My first thought was 'oh God, she's dead', but then I realized that I could feel when she died.

I tried again now, as I sat down at my desk. I couldn't feel anything from her, no emotions, nothing.

"There was a sighting of rouges earlier today, sir." Brett said after a moment.

"Where?" I asked, leaning back.

"They were headed down to the docklands, sir. We think they've already left, but we aren't sure." Cody answered for Brett, not looking at my face. His eyes were focused on the air to the right of my head, his eyes jumping to my face ever so often.

"Get a team together to check the place out." I told them, wondering why they haven't already done it.

"OK, we will." Brett said, nodding maniacally. I narrowed my eyes slightly. Their nervousness was making me edgy.

No one said anything for another moment and I felt my annoyance rise.

"What else?" I barked, leaning forward with a glare on my face.

"Nothing, Alpha. There have been no other sightings and we haven't received any new threats." Cody said all in one breath, his eyes bugging.

I huffed, rubbing my eyes. I had never wanted to just disappear this much. I just wanted to be curled up in bed, with Annabelle. I knew that I couldn't. She'd left me because of her dick brother and my stupidity.

I was about to tell them to leave when a pain spread from my heart like I'd been stabbed. I groaned, grabbing my chest.

"Alpha?" Cody asked, looking unsure. The pain was like a hot dagger had been a stabbed into my chest, the metal melting and spreading through my veins.

I gritted my teeth, swallowing the cries that I wanted to release. I knew what this pain was caused by, and that knowledge was worse than the physical pain.

Annabelle was sleeping with someone else. Does she know that I can feel it? Does she want me to?

"What is it?" Cody asked, hovering half in and half out of his seat nervously.