The Alpha's Blind Fate
Chapter 180: A Silent Challenge

Chapter 180: A Silent Challenge

ZINA

"How can I help you, Theta? This happens to be the second time you’re barging into my office like it belongs to you." Daemon drawled the moment she reentered the office.

Zina blushed from head to toe, but quickly recovered herself. "I’ve unfinished business with Beta DireWolf," Zina said formally, darting the other man a look with her eyes.

Daemon followed the movement, looking between her and Marcus. His eyes might have been saying ’I see you got cozy the time I was away.’ But with the blandness sewn shut in them, it was hard to tell.

Zina was tempted to roll her eyes, but she had to remind herself that she was currently role playing as the Theta of the NorthSteed Pack, as such, she must abandon her personal tendencies for another day.

Especially the personal tendency in her that yearned for some reasons to stroke Daemon’s hair and tell him that everything would be fine. She might not know what caused the brothers to fight, but she had a good feeling that Daemon must be hurting from having to hit his own brother.

’That man... hurting? I think you give him more credit than he deserves.’ Her wolf said, although she was no longer startled by the foreign voice. Over time, she was getting used to the enigmatic presence of the feral thing.

’Is it not like a bad thing to talk shit about your mate?’ Zina retorted in her head, and surprisingly, it seemed as though her wolf heard her which was a new thing.

’It is the DireWolf I care for, not the grumpy man himself.’

Another blush took over her, and this one travelled all the way to the tip of her toes.Zina was quick to squash down the voice lest it put her in trouble.

She glanced furtively at Marcus who was lounging at one of Daemon’s office cushions, giving him an eye that said, ’can you come out now or do I’ve to speak before Daemon?’

Marcus gave her an eye that said, ’I don’t believe we have any business together.’

Zina scowled, giving him back an eye that said, ’Better come outside and find out if we have any business together.’

The man grunted, and then stood from the chair he had been lunging at lazily. Zina shot Daemon a sugary smile that was returned with a frown instead while she led Marcus away from the room.

"If you want us to continue our argument on who and who is to be Upper Echelon Guests, then I must let you know that Daemon has already concluded that matter."

Zina frowned. Her mind hadn’t at all gone to the matter, but now he spoke it, it was quite unbelievable that they were still on the same day. With everything that had happened, it felt like a week had passed instead.

Zina outstretched one of her hands to him. "Might I have Fionna’s necklace back?"

Something dark passed over his features on hearing Zina’s request. "Necklace?"He repeated the words as if they were foreign to him. "I don’t know what you’re talking about."

Zina didn’t drop her hand. She might not know much about Marcus, but she never pegged him to be someone so petty if their working relationship in the three weeks Daemon was absent was anything to go by.

"Seriously? Are you pretending to have forgotten the item you took from the Red Sister who accompanied me earlier today?"

"Ahhhh, I see what you’re saying now." He shrugged casually, "you mean that scrap. I’ve thrown it away."

Zina could literally hear the sound of thunderstorms, clapping together in her head, the moment those words rolled off the man’s lips.

"What? You threw it away?" Zina repeated, aghast as her conversation with Fionna replayed in her head.

The woman had all but made it clear that the onyx necklace meant so much to her. Even went as far as to understate that she would kill for it. And yet, Marcus was saying that he had thrown it away.

A knowing glint shone in the other man’s eyes. "What? Is the Red Sister attached to that thrash?"

"It’s NOT thrash!" Zina all but screamed, not knowing where the need to defend Fionna suddenly came from. "It... it means a lot to her!"

Marcus’ lips twisted distastefully. "Now, it will mean nothing to her." He said coldly, while Zina’s jaw dropped open at the unexpected ruthlessness he was showing. Zina had a feeling that the man knew something that she didn’t, but for the life of her she couldn’t imagine what it could be.

She shrugged the whole matter off. Fionna and Marcus could battle it out another time when they were chanced, this was not her fight. For now, she had something more important to convince Marcus of.

"I want to submit a participant’s name for the tournament." She declared, making sure to tip her chin up to show Marcus that she now meant business.

The man smiled shrewdly, "Pray tell, who is that?"

"Red Hand Fionna."

The word hovered between the both of them, and for some seconds they were engaged in a staring contest. Zing didn’t blink for once though, and for that, she patted herself on the back.

If not for the three weeks she had spent with Marcus, she would have still been scared of the man. He was ruthlessly tall, ruthlessly formed, and he ruthlessly executed his tasks with a perfection that almost rivalled Daemon’s tendencies.

She understood why Daemon had made him his DireWolf Pack Beta without hesitation. Marcus was exactly that kind of man. A ruthless enforcer who took orders as seriously as he took his life.

All Daemon ever had to do was ask the man to do something, and it would automatically get done. It was for that reason that the man possessed none of the blatant hatred—no dislike—that Yaren showed towards her. Why hate her when his Alpha did not?

In that sense, one could say that Marcus possessed that edge that Yaren had none of. Even though he was a cousin, his relationship with Daemon was quite impersonal while Yaren wore his heart on his sleeves.

So the natural conclusion would have been that anyone would be more scared of Marcus than Yaren, but comically, that didn’t seem to be the case.

In the Capital, people whispered about Yaren as Yama the god of death, and they avoided him as one would the plague. The people thought of Yaren as the most ruthless one, and it didn’t take a lot to understand the root of the misconception.

Marcus was ruggedly handsome in the way that made the Capital ladies squeal whenever they took a look at his well defined face that wasn’t obscured by his well kept short hair. He was charming even, although it came off as creepy to Zina, but his charm apparently worked on all others.

Whereas Yaren was... Yaren. Even though handsome, he grew out his hair till they almost obscured half of his face. It lended him a gloom, dark look so it was easy for any to conclude that he was the most ruthless one when in reality that honor belonged to Marcus.

"Does the Alpha know that you’re backing a participant? Particularly a Red Sister for that matter?" Marcus growled in a low voice.

Zina folded her hands akimbo, "Every powerful figure here in the North is backing a participant. Surely you didn’t think I won’t do the same?"

Marcus scoffed. "Of course, I almost forgot that you’re the Theta of the NorthSteed Pack."

Zina rolled her eyes. "Because I am a woman you thought I would simply sit back and observe. How very modern of you."

"Careful there, I would be more worried about the participant you’re backing."

"What do you mean by that?"

"I will register the Red Hand as you please. Although that doesn’t assure that she would pass the first stage of the tournament."

"I shall worry about that." Zina muttered, befuddled at his words.

Marcus chuckled darkly. "Fine, as you please, Theta."

Why did Zina sense some challenge hanging in the air between them? Damnit, but she didn’t want to lose if there was a silent battle raging between the two of them. Marcus looked down at Fionna’s ability to win the tournament? Fine, Zina would soon show him that Fionna was made out from much harder stuff than he could ever imagine.

Before he could walk away, she asked. "Who are you backing for the tournament? I’m sure you’re rooting for Yaren."

Marcus smiled darkly at that. "What makes you think I won’t be participating myself?"

And then he walked away.

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