Free Betrayed (Wolf Gatherings Book 6) by Becca Jameson

protesting, at least not out loud.
    He took a deep breath. “There’s one more thing I have to tell you.” He turned toward Drake. “And it concerns you.”
    “Me?” Drake pointed at himself.
    Everyone calmed down and quieted.
    “I told you there was one instance when I was drugged in the last six years. I need to explain that day, and you aren’t going to like it.” Marcus kept his gaze locked on Drake’s. “It was at The Gathering last year. My grandfather nagged me to find a mate. I don’t know what his motives were yet, nor do I understand why he picked the particular women he chose, but he injected me with some mind-altering drug. He caught me off guard and stabbed me with a needle so fast I couldn’t stop him.
    “And then he proceeded to brainwash me, filling my head with all sorts of crazy ideas. He kept insisting I find a mate. I grew more confused under the influence of the drug as the weekend wore on.”
    Drake gasped. He gripped the arms of his chair, but he didn’t interrupt.
    Marcus saw the moment Drake knew where this story was going, but he continued. He needed to say everything out loud. And he needed everyone in the room to have a fair opportunity to assess his behavior.
    Including Heather. Especially Heather. Whatever future Marcus may have with her hinged on this information and her ability to overlook his transgressions. He couldn’t imagine how she could continue to make eye contact with him after she heard the rest. “Eventually he convinced me one particular woman was destined to be mine. I didn’t give it much thought. I had only one thing on my mind as I approached her, and that was getting laid.”
    Heather flinched. And she should. There was no use sugarcoating it.
    “It’s true. I guess the drug was some sort of aphrodisiac. I couldn’t seem to stop myself from taking what my grandfather said was mine.”
    “Kenzie.” The one word came out of Drake’s mouth on a sigh.
    Marcus nodded. “And then her sister, Kathleen.” He paused. “I’m terribly sorry for the trauma I caused your mate and her sister. I don’t expect either of them to forgive me, but that day has haunted me for fifteen months. I want to personally apologize for my behavior.”
    Drake nodded. Silence ensued for several heartbeats.
    Drake finally spoke again. “My mate is not the type to harbor a grudge. Even when she told me about you later that day, she insinuated you weren’t in your right mind. She was shook up from your attempted advances, but she didn’t suffer long. I came along and wiped you from her memory.” He smiled.
    Marcus’s chest pounded. How could this man be so kind about what Marcus had done to his mate?
    “You didn’t mean it.” He glanced toward the soft voice of his own mate. Her eyes were glazed with tears, but he realized she was crying with him, not about him. She hurt for the man who’d been drugged and brainwashed. She wasn’t angry. She didn’t hate him. A long exhale escaped his lips. “I need a moment.”
    Marcus left the room to step out the front door and gasp for oxygen. Even in the late evening, the air was too warm, suffocating him. He bent at the waist, afraid he would hyperventilate. Setting his hands on his knees, he dipped his head and tried to breathe normally.
    Soft hands wrapped around him from behind. He smelled his mate before he saw her. Somehow she’d followed him without him hearing the door. Or maybe he’d never shut it behind him. He’d been so hell-bent on gasping for breath.
    Her tiny hands grasped him around the waist, and she leaned in to lay her face on his back. “I’m so sorry that happened to you,” she whispered. “It’s unconscionable what your grandfather did. I hope I never make his acquaintance. But no one here is going to blame you for actions beyond your control.” She held him for long minutes.
    Finally Marcus managed to turn in her arms and wrap his hands around her, pressing her head to his chest and burying his face in