Chapter 40

Marcus waits at the table he booked in advance, twirling the stem of his wine glass through his long fingers as he does so. Liam is late, but Marcus isn't worried or bothered about it. Liam has been run off his feet even more than usual lately; he's earned quite a bit of leeway when it comes to punctuality.

Marcus has chosen the same wine bar as his recent date with Lydia, and where he had the unpleasant run-in with the odious Becki. Honestly, can the woman not take a hint? It's getting ridiculous, the way she pops up at the most inopportune times to pester and flirt.

Lydia was furious about the scene at their table, he recalls. She'd bitten his head off over it, as if he has any control over what that relentless and tacky woman does.

Lydia had moped and complained about it through the rest of their date at the bar, on the way to the theater, during intermission, on the way home from the theater…it was exhausting, Marcus thinks. Little barbed comments and sniffy remarks, insinuating that Marcus doesn't take their relationship seriously.

Well, she's right about that, but it's not because of Becki. Marcus smiles wryly to himself and takes another sip of his Merlot. It's excellent, like all the wines here. Still, he can't help but be irritated by Lydia's behavior, even though he doesn't actually care what she thinks.

Marcus wonders how Nicole would have responded to an interruption like that. Becki did pull a similar stunt at Daisy's wedding, so Marcus feels he has a decent idea.

Nicole would have responded with cool disdain and impeccable tact in the moment, and then she likely would have shared a laugh about it with Marcus as soon as Becki left. Then she would have put it behind her graciously, and not mentioned it again.

It wouldn't have been a source of conversation – or complaint – by the time they were on the way to the theater, much less for the rest of the evening.

Marcus sighs. He wonders how much longer Liam is going to insist he continue with this farcical relationship with Lydia. It's not going anywhere, and he and Liam both know it. Marcus knows what the stakes are, he truly does, but he can't force himself to marry someone that he doesn't even really like, to say nothing of respect or love.

The only person who doesn't seem to realize this is Lydia herself. She behaves as if she'll be taking over the position of Luna from his mother any day now, even though they aren't even engaged and Marcus hasn't even been named heir.

The wedding itself seems to be a complete given in Lydia's mind, as well as her mother's. The wedding talk has done nothing but increase in the past couple of weeks. Marcus can evidently look forward to a Russian ballet-themed winter wedding on Christmas Eve.

Marcus has been brought up too much in the public eye to go so far as to slump at a table at an upscale wine bar, but he's agitated enough that he does loosen his tie. When Liam walks in a few minutes later, it's the first thing his gaze latches on.

Liam says nothing until he places his order with the server. When the server leaves to fetch his Malbec, Liam rakes his eyes over Marcus's form. To anyone else, Marcus looks the picture of put-together control, but Liam knows him too well.

That slightly loosened tie is enough to say it all.

"That bad?" Liam asks after the server drops off his wine, taking an appreciative sip before settling it on the table in front of him.

"Yes," Marcus sighs, rubbing at his tired eyes. Christ, he's exhausted. Dr. Prism has insisted that his father take an enormous step back from the day-to-day duties of the Alpha role, so Marcus, Daisy, Joel, and Charles have had to pull together to do most of the work themselves, with the help of Claire.

The problem is, Daisy, Joel, and Charles are all in the process of trying to screw over and discredit Marcus in whatever way they can, but not doing so overtly enough that he can do anything about it.

And the more Marcus actually tries to get work done – genuine, necessary work that has nothing to do with Alpha heirs or power struggles – the more he's stymied at every turn.

It's enough to drive him mad. Liam knows it, but there's only so much he can do to help. He can keep an ear out, try to smooth over arguments, collect as much intel as he can, and sit sympathetically at Marcus's elbow in wine bars. He can't fix the problem, though.

"Well, you know why we're here," Marcus says. "There's a hell of a lot to sort out, and I don't know how to get anywhere with any of it."

"First things first," Liam says. "I've done my best to get a bug in Charles's office, but I haven't been successful yet. He's got too many lackeys watching the place. I'm deeply concerned after that confrontation you had with him at the party, but I can't do anything about it yet. I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault," Marcus says. "Keep trying; that's all you can do. Meanwhile, we need to talk about my mother."

"The Luna?" Liam looks surprised, and it's hard to surprise Liam. Marcus hides a smile, despite himself.

"Yes," Marcus says. "Setting aside everything else we have to worry about for a moment, I'm worried that Mother simply isn't seeing the seriousness of Father's health. She nearly started a fight with Dr. Prism at the party last week, and that's not fair to the doctor."

Now Liam looks really surprised. "Have a soft spot for Dr. Prism, do you, Marcus? I'm telling you, man, she's not Nicole."

"It has nothing to do with that, thank you," Marcus says somewhat testily. "Not everything is about my broken heart, Liam."

Liam's face lights up in a delighted grin. "So, you finally admit that your heart is broken, then?"

Marcus internally chides himself for his slip of the tongue. Damn it, he's never going to hear the end of this one.

"Liam, focus," he says sternly, but with humor glimmering in his eyes. "This is serious."

"All right, all right," Liam waves his hand. "Go on."

"It's truly not fair to the doctor to have my mother working so hard against her," Marcus continues. "Dr. Prism's job is to prioritize my father's health above all else, above any other consideration. That's why we hired an outside physician in the first place – no worries about misplaced loyalty."

Liam nods. "A sensible decision that I still stand behind, despite the hell we had when Charles and Daisy threw a fit about it."

"Exactly," Marcus says. "But my mother is making her job almost impossible at times. Her interference and public hissy fits put the doctor in an impossible position – she can't really outrank the Luna, especially not in front of people, but that leaves her unable to do her job.

"And we didn't hire her to deal with this kind of nonsense, anyway. She's here to look after my father, not coddle my mother's rude outbursts and play diplomat."

"You're absolutely right," Liam says, any lingering humor fading into solemn consideration. "The health of your father must remain top priority, especially when it seems to be oddly undermined at so many turns lately."

"How will we handle it?" Marcus asks. "I'm genuinely at a loss, Liam. Mother is so goddamn stubborn."

"You're going to have to talk to her," Liam says. "I'm sorry, Marcus, but it's the only way. You're the only one we have any chance of her actually listening to, and it's the best place to start."

Marcus blows out a breath. "I suppose you're right," he says reluctantly. "I'll speak to her tomorrow."

"Excuse me," a tittering voice says over his shoulder at that moment. Marcus looks round in surprise – if Becki is back again…

But it's not Becki. It's two other young women, wearing clubbing dresses and carrying designer bags. They look almost identical in their stilettos and with their matching curtains of silky blonde hair.

"Can I help you?" Marcus asks, polite but not encouraging.

"Are you the Alpha's son?" one of them asks. "Marcus?"

"I am. Can I help you?" Marcus repeats.

"Oh, we were just wondering if you might want to join us for a drink," the other woman says. "My name is Muff, and this is Cindy."

Marcus swallows an angry retort. Goddamn it, why can't he just be left alone for five minutes at a time? He can't even drink a glass of wine in peace anymore, these days.

"No, thank you," he says shortly. "Now, if you'll excuse me."

He turns back to Liam, but not before he sees the two women shrug at each other and go back to their table. At least they weren't insistent, or Marcus might actually have lost his temper.

Liam is watching him sympathetically. "No rest for the wicked, eh?" he says.

"You have no idea," Marcus says, draining his glass and signaling for another.

He wishes more than ever that he could figure out what really happened to Nicole. If he could talk to her again, just for half an hour, he wouldn't let her slip away again so easily. He'd make her his mate tomorrow, if he had anything to say about it.

Marcus loosens his tie slightly further and turns the conversation to lighter topics, already dreading his upcoming meeting with his mother.