The Mark I Didn’t Want-The Mate I Never Expected Chapter 09
Baron was down the stairs in seconds.
His fist slammed into Shane’s already battered face.
Then he grabbed Shane by the arm, dragged him outside, and tossed him straight into the pool.
Baron stood at the edge, towering over him.
1
“Are you sober now?”
“If not, I’ll throw you into the Pacific.”
Shane thrashed in the water, shouting through tears.
“Baron, why do you have to take Elara from me?”
“Without you, she never would have left me.’
“Because you don’t deserve her.
“And if you ever so much as look at your sister-in-law again, I’ll cut you off from this family for
good.”
Baron had just been elected Alpha King last month. He wasn’t just some son or brother anymore- he had real power now. If Shane ever tried to rebel, Baron could shut him down with a single word.
He turned to the guards who’d rushed over.
“Keep an eye on Shane. He stays in the pool all night. He doesn’t come out until morning.”
I grabbed a coat and ran out to put it around him.
Instead, Baron wrapped it around me and pulled me into his arms.
“No regrets. We’re going back inside.”
I wrapped my arms around his waist and gave his abs a little squeeze.
“No regrets at all.”
“You’ve got a way better body than Shane.”
“I could keep touching you all night.”
Baron’s eyes went dark-hungry and deep.
Then he scooped me up princess-style, his gaze falling on the marks on my neck from last night.
Still not enough? You’re really asking for it.”
My cheeks burned thinking about last night.
He just laughed softly and carried me back inside, walking faster with every step.
Once we were in the bedroom, I wrapped my arms around his neck and coaxed him.
“Baron, be honest-how long have you been secretly in love with me?”
Baron cupped my face, pressing kisses along my collarbone.
“I don’t know.”
“By the time I realized it, I was already gone for you.”
“But you and Shane were always so close-I never let myself hope.”
“Until that day on the mountain when I found you buried in the snow, without a pulse.”
“I felt like the world was ending.”
“Shane wouldn’t save you, but I couldn’t imagine a world without you in it. Even if marking you meant I’d only ever love you from the shadows for the rest of my life-I didn’t care.”
I straddled him and looked down into his eyes.
“So if I hadn’t made the first move, you would’ve just waited forever?”
“How long were you planning to hide it if your guard hadn’t called me?”
Baron closed his eyes for a second, and I could tell the thought scared him.
“Remind me to give all guards a year-end bonus.”
I grinned. “And double their salaries too.”
“Whatever my wife says.”
The next day, all the guards came running up to thank me.
Then they whispered a few more secret stories about Baron-all the times he’d been watching me
from a distance, too afraid to come close.
