Why Me, Alpha?

Chapter 13

Marcus was waiting in the living room, sitting on the couch. This trip was taking a lot longer than he had expected.

His phone rang, and he answered it immediately when he saw that it was Lia who was calling.

“Hey.” Lia sounded tired and her voice was hoarse.

“Hey,” he smiled. With things awkward between them and the separation, he really missed her. “What’s wrong with your voice?”

“Long story,” she replied. “I’ll explain when I get back.”

“I missed you today,” he said, leaning back on the couch. He didn’t care if someone heard him, most likely no one did because they were all asleep.

“Oh, yeah?” Lia replied, and he could practically feel her smiling. “Well, me, too.”

There was silence for a moment.

He heard Lia suck in her breath. “I’m sorry about last night, and this morning—mostly this morning. I shouldn’t have treated you that way, it was disrespectful of me.”

He sighed. “Lia, there’s nothing to apologize for. If anyone should apologize, we both know it’s me.” He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “I’m so sorry for everything.”

He heard Lia’s breathing, after a moment, she said, “let’s talk about it when I get back, okay?”

“Alright,” Marcus replied. “Where are you?”

“We’re at a restaurant where the boys are ordering take-out, so we can get back on the road as soon as possible.”

He stopped himself from growling or snarling. The idea that she had spent the day with a bunch of men—even if they were his subordinates, one of them, his cousin—made his wolf go into a possessive mode, and he’s been restraining himself from driving out there like there was no tomorrow.

“Anyway, the other reason I called was because I… uh…” Lia was hesitating, and was definitely nervous. “Well… um… You see…”

“Just say it, Lia,” he sighed, rubbing his temples.

“Could you prepare a room there?”

“What for?”

“Not what, who. A girl.” Lia replied, her voice firm. “She’s going to start living with us.”

Her tone was one that brooked no argument. It had been decided, and that was how it would remain.

“Will do,” Marcus replied, wishing that she’d just arrive already.

“How are Sophie and Henry?” Lia asked, and he could just see the smile on her face.

“They asked where you were, and I didn’t really have anything to tell them.”

“Yeah, I saw the calls and messages.”

“They were worried, but I told them not to since you have the guys with you,” he tried to laugh, but found that mentioning that she was around guys had him gripping the phone so hard that he was sure it’d break.

“That’s good,” Lia replied.

There was silence again. Marcus wanted to say something, anything at all, just to keep the conversation going. Was it the same for Lia?

“So, uh,” Marcus started, leaning back again, looking up at the ceiling as he rested his head on the couch. “My mother said you could go back to work whenever you want.”

“Oh, that’s good.” She replied, sounding genuinely happy. “You think tomorrow would be okay?”

“Maybe the day after tomorrow, so you can rest from your trip today,” Marcus replied. Tomorrow, he’d figure out a way to spend the day with her.