Stranded with my mates: Rejected & Claimed

Chapter 60: Chapter 60

"We should find Marek," I said aloud, breaking the quiet between the three of us.

Jax whittled at the chunk of wood in his hand, making his third bowl to add to the collection of dishes he had created. This set held intricate swirls along the outer edge, Grayson’s initials embedded in its side.

"He should be with us, not out there on his own," I continued when no one answered.

It had been three days since the full moon and things were oddly calm. Jax continued to be his normal bouncy and entertaining self and Grayson watched more than he spoke, brooding at every opportunity.

His attitude towards me was gentle yet distant. Still mine but at an arm’s length. Knowing Grayson didn’t hate me gave my body a sensation like it was singing but an awkwardness had taken up the free space between us.

"The guy has my respect. He’s got the punch of ten of my men," Grayson finally added.

"You want to be the one to seek him out?" Jax asked with a tilted smile.

"It has to be you, Jax," I interjected.

My tone was serious as I spoke to him. "He trusts you and he’ll hear you out."

"What about Julien?" He asked and a growl rumbled from Grayson who was stripping bark from a thin branch for reasons that I could only imagine were dangerous in nature.

I gave Jax a sideways look and he nodded, knowing why we couldn’t seek out Julien yet. In time, I felt I could ease Grayson into the idea. Julien had been the one to warn us that Dominic was planning something and then followed Dominic for days leading up to the full moon and took me to Grayson after Dominic was finished with me.

There were many things he could have done differently but I could see his efforts to help even if Grayson couldn’t. Grayson believed the man to be a traitor and his competition, even over Dominic.

Marek was the one who’s been running around like a wild animal, though. He had been causing trouble ever since the full moon and I’ve only worried for him since.

At the beach I had sent him into a trance and, even though Grayson had taken him out of it, he’d been spotted by Jax multiple times the last few days still in his wolf form. Part of me wondered if I had made him stuck or If he just preferred that form in his loneliness. Either way, he needed a pack.

"You’re really going to send me to face that brute alone?" Jax retorted.

Marek hadn’t attacked Jax while he was out scouting for the others or hunting, but he made it clear that whoever came near him was a danger. Jax had been the only one to leave camp making him an easy target yet everyone seemed to leave him alone.

"We all will go," Grayson said and set down his project.

"What?!" Jax gasped dramatically. "I don’t think he’ll take too kindly to you, Grayson. You can be.... unpleasant." Jax made a playfully nervous face that made me giggle.

Grayson glared at Jax in a fake but still threatening way. Jax’s first response was to flip him off, a gesture that would have pissed him off but I could see the smile he hid under his grimace.

He stood and reached his hand out towards me and I stared up at him, unsure.

Grayson had been immensely protective of me since my return. I was not allowed to leave his sight, even for simple tasks like using the bathroom or bathing. He accompanied me wherever I went, complaining the entire time.

I found myself enjoying his presence more than I should. We haven’t shared another intimate moment since the morning I came back into camp after the full moon. His kiss was so desperate and passionate then, that the memory still tingled on my lips.

Still, I missed his touch. Having him so near was painful and relieving, a contrast just as he was. But now we would be traveling outside of our little home. I would be at the mercy of their protection against the rogue wolves that were at war against each other beyond our camp.

"Are you sure it’s safe for me to go?"

His brows knitted together as he sighed through his nose. "There is no fucking way I’m letting you leave my side again."

I looked away, ashamed by what happened the last time we had been separated. I reached my hand up and he took it, pulling me to my feet. My newest outfit moved with me as I stood. Within the first day, I found out the fabric would not leave its place against my skin. It was as though it was fused to me, a second skin to protect me from eyes that loitered.

Dominic had gone radio-silent after he took what he wanted. He haunted my thoughts but not my mind. I could feel his presence on the island but his watchfulness in my mind was absent. The bond kept us connected but everything else felt ignored.

A sick part of me, the part I hoped was controlled by the bond, was upset he hadn’t come for me. Hadn’t fought Grayson and reclaimed me as his again. What was worse was I knew Grayson could feel that thought inside of me.

"I can keep you safe. I will keep you safe," he promised.

He leaned towards me, our fingers still lingering together. For just a moment, I thought he may kiss me. My breathing stopped completely as I stared at the slightly parted lips before me. All he needed to do was lean in, to let me know its what he wanted and I would accept, I would relish the delightful taste of him and forget Dominic ever existed.

Instead he pulled back. The tether between us falling from our touch, slipping through the cracks of our fingers.

"Pack a lunch," he said, turning to Jax and breaking our fleeting moment. "We’ll go to the last sighting and follow his trail from there."

Jax set down his woodcraft. Standing, he wiped the shavings from his pants. A few sparked and quickly burned in the embers from our breakfast fire below him.

"What if he doesn’t accept us?" Jax asked.

Grayson smirked, "I’m the alpha, he’ll bow for me."

It hadn’t been spoken before, though it was assumed that he was the leader of our small pack. The hierarchy might be known between the two of them, but I could only speculate and my thoughts wondered if an alpha smelled different with their superhuman senses. Hearing him say it out loud, however, sent a shiver down my spine.

Grayson may be an alpha, but Marek is titan.

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