Luc POV
"Why'd ya leave her, man?" The pup's voice was soft and thoughtful as he slumped in the chair, watching my precious little Mate roasting marshmallows for a s'mores over a small bonfire we'd all thrown together.
Humming in mute approval as her warm, pink tongue darted out quickly against the corner of her mouth to clean her face up- she'd actually eaten more than she'd roasted- I faced the pup with an inaudible growl. "I'm gonna tell you, pup, like I told my little Mate: it was for her own good, for her protection. I didn't want to accidentally snap one day after I turned 18 and hurt her; goddess, I don't know what I'd do if I ever hurt her..."
My green eyes flickered dismissively towards him as I growled once again. "Now, you, if you were to hurt her, I would not hesitate for a second before I snapped your pathetic little neck. Sure, she'd be mad, but there are plenty of pups to go around!"
"And you don't think leaving her didn't hurt?!?" His voice was a scoff as he rolled his eyes, spitting into the dirt practically at my feet. "Bullshit! Do you know how many times she cried over you, how many times she asked me why you didn't stay?" Growling, he stood and stormed over to me, blocking my view of her. "How come your Wolf didn't tell you that she was your Mate?!? Why didn't you come back after awhile?!?"
Shoving him aside, I smirked as Bella rolled her own eyes, coming towards us with a grin, and perched her sexy little ass in my lap. "Mhm, baby, I think you missed something!" Marshmallow coated my tongue a second later as I licked along her lips and chin, enjoying the taste of my Mate and marshmallows mixed together. "All better!"
"One more thing!" That damn pup just didn't know when to quit, did he?!? "If she's your Mate, and you're as overprotective as she says, why haven't you Marked her yet?!?!" The pup folded his arms across his chest with a raised brow and glanced between us, tapping his foot impatiently, as if daring me. "Are you sure you're her Mate?!?"
Cupping the back of her head, I dipped her so she lay across my lap, eyes gazing into mine; raising my own brow, I caressed the skin of her throat as she sat right back up, swinging her legs around my hips so she straddled me. "We don't have anything to prove to that damn pup, baby... We can wait as long as you'd like."
"See!?! I knew you two weren't Mates! As if the Fates would make a mistake like that..." He practically laughed in our faces, which made Bella cling to me as tears built behind her eyes. Was the little pup ready to die so damn soon?!?
"Luc and I are not a mistake, Milly, but you and I are!" Her lips crash landed on mine hotly as she tangled her fingers into my hair with a moan, clearly wanting to piss the pup off as much as he just had her.
Trailing a long, slow kiss along her throat, I smirked as my Wolf canines extended, feeling the pleasurable yet painful pull to show the pup up and Mark my Mate then and there; they brushed against her skin softly as I neared the junction of shoulder and neck, where basically all Mates, male or female, were Marked. She moaned at the feel of my canines against her throat, and that only made me ache more. Goddess, I wanted her right here, right now- right in front of that damn fücking pup, just so he'll finally believe me and shut the fück up!
That thought in mind, I slowly brushed the hair away from her neck with a small smile as her eyes met mine, shining brightly. Dragging my teeth across her skin again, I shuddered in anticipation as she moaned; was she honestly as ready for this as I was?!?
Kissing the apex of neck and shoulder, I held her tight as my canines pushed into her skin, assuring that my Mark would forever be there. She was officially mine and no one would dare to take her away from me or hurt her ever again!
Her moan was a rather loud, beautiful mix of her carnal and primal instincts, a sound that stirred my own inner beast, as she threw her head back with the reckless abandon that I loved. The fact that all of this happened right in front of the pup only made me more joyful...
"Mine!" Growling, I glared pointedly at the pup as he raised his hands in obvious mock surrender with a roll of his own eyes; maybe now he'd back the fück off and start looking for his own damn Mate!
"Yours," she murmured against my lips, eyes shining up at me, as I gently brushed the Mark that was now forever imprinted into her skin- my Mark. "Not yours," she giggled in an almost drunken daze over her shoulder at the pup, flipping him the bird; how much had she had to drink?!?
~000~
"If you'd excuse me, pup, I've got to get my Mate up to her room so she can sleep off her night of drinking..." Scooping her into my arms, I pushed past him as he stood with a smirk, glancing worriedly between her and I; her eyes fluttered back and forth as she fought the wave of drunken sleepiness, clinging to me like a lifeline. "Don't plan on getting anywhere near her for the foreseeable future..."
"Firstly, how the hell do you plan on getting her upstairs without anyone seeing?!? Secondly, just because she has a Mate now doesn't mean she can't still see me; she's a grown woman now, who can make her own damn decisions." After that, he finally shut up and instead held his arms out with a raised brow; then, everything clicked. No way in hell!
"Oh, come on, Luc, let me just get her upstairs; you can tuck her in and kiss her goodnight... But honestly, who's gonna let you walk past them holding her like that without questioning you?" His already huge smirk widened to split his face in half as I slowly, begrudgingly, laid her in his arms, eyes intent on him the entire time. "Me, they like! You, not too much- well, actually not at all!"
Resisting the urge to punch that smug look from his face, I clamped my hand around his shoulder and spun him to face me, growling in his face. "I get it; I'm not wanted here... But as long as she is here, so am I!" My eyes softened to their normal green as I gazed down at her- my Mate, my world, my reason for putting up with the pup... "Get her up to her room, pup! And if I so much as see a wandering eye, I swear I'll-"
"You'll what, Luc?!?" And so Sleeping Beauty has awoken from her Wolfsbane induced slumber... Her butterscotch eyes opened as her head rolled to the side, a frown tugging at her luscious lips. "You told me that you'd be nice, remember, Woofie?!?"
"Yeah, well, it's only for your sake!" Kissing her greedily even as the pup continued to hold her, I pulled away from her so my face was about an inch away from his, my eyes glowing. "Don't read too much into this, pup; I won't be your secret Santa for Christmas, but I will keep you around long enough for her to realize that she doesn't need you anymore..."
"Mhm, and with the ways things have gone between you two previously, you'd better not get too comfortable!" He smirked and shoved me hard in passing, taking the stairs slowly into the house.
Why, I oughta.... "Actually, pup," I growled lowly into his ear as I caught up to them through the the crowd of people, "I'm gonna go pack your bags right now!" Shoving my own way past him, I rolled my eyes as Daddy Alfa hurried to the pup's side to check on his daughter; if only he knew that she was in the best hands possible for her... Well, she would be, when I got her alone and outta that dress...
Not even a whole ten minutes later, and she was indeed in my arms, and outta that dress...
~000~
Her breathing was quiet yet ragged in my ear as she writhed beneath me, eyes locked with mine and teeth stuck in her lower lip; goddess I loved it that she had to practically tear a whole through her lip to keep from screaming my name... "You're not being fair!"
Smirking down at her, I gripped her wandering hand in mine and pinned it above her head, tickling my light mustache across her naked chest before lapping eagerly at her Mark. "Mhm, but baby, surely you know by now that all's fair in love and war!"
Leaning into her ear with a smirk, I ran my free hand along her bare thigh as I spoke, "If I were being fair, you'd have everything that you've ever wanted; you could go anywhere you wanted, be anything you wanted. I wouldn't have left you, and even if I had, I would've just gone to find the most beautiful clothing and jewels to adorn your beautiful body with..." Teasing my tongue along her earlobe, I then went off trail back to her Mark, tasting sweat and sex on her skin.
"But, as it is, baby, you've only got my Mark... And you shall wear that Mark- my Mark- like the finest, most precious pearl necklace to ever grace this whole earth!"