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“Neither would I,” Tate added.
Relief moved over her face. “Okay. Good.”
Harlan arched a brow at Isaiah. “You understand that, should you take Quinley as your mate, it will give you no rights at all where the salon is concerned? It is my business and under my management.”
“And when you step down as Alpha, will it still remain under your management?” asked Isaiah.
“Yes. I originally bought the salon for my mate; it was a personal purchase and not a property that will be passed along to the next Alphas.”
Thank God, thought Quinley. She couldn’t have worked for Nazra and Zaire in any shape or capacity.
Harlan turned to Tate. “You have alliances with both the Phoenix and the Mercury Pack, I’m told.”
The Alpha pallas cat stilled. “I’m not here to form another one.”
“Harlan.” Quinley quietly dragged out his name, a warning there; hoping he wouldn’t mess this all up despite his reassurances to the contrary.
“I didn’t ask for one, did I?” her Alpha said, all innocence. “It was just a throwaway comment.”
It was him being an opportunist. Focusing on the pallas cats, she said, “My family heard you’re pretty inclusive, so they’re worried they wouldn’t be able to visit me if I switched to your pride.”
Isaiah’s brow pinched. “We’re not so inclusive that we in any way attempt to limit contact between newcomers and their families or friends. They would be welcome in our home.”
Home. She loved that word. “Where would we live?” She’d heard that the pride owned both apartments and houses.
Isaiah stretched his legs out a little. “I have a house next-door to my Alphas. Three bedrooms. Big backyard with woods just beyond it.”
The latter appealed to her cat, who loved to wander and run and hunt.
“Do you have much you’d want to bring with you?”
“The basics, plus a few furnishings I’d rather not part with.”
He gave a “that’s fine” shrug. “The house has plenty of room. If I needed to remove some pieces in order to fit yours inside, I could do that.”
He was just a little too perfect, really. Everything about him appealed to her.
A sense of such unwavering calm shrouded him. It was powerful in how safe and steady it could make a girl feel. This was a male who could be relied on, who’d be a rock in any storm, who absolutely had his shit together.
She licked her lips. “How do you make arranged matings official in your pride?”
“We hold a party that doubles as a celebration of the pairing and a welcoming to the pride. Mating ceremonies are later held if a metaphysical bond forms.” Isaiah paused. “My next question may seem redundant, given your reasons for wanting a transfer, but I want to be sure: If we were to have children—something you must want or we wouldn’t have been paired by the site—would you wish to return to your old pride to raise them there?”
“Not at all.” She heard Harlan’s wince but couldn’t find it in herself to feel bad. He was, after all, part of the reason she hadn’t been happy there in a long time.
Isaiah didn’t miss the wince, or her lack of reaction to the Alpha’s discomfort. Didn’t seem to really miss anything.
He so wholly focused on her. Still and watchful, he took in everything with that shrewd gaze—not just her appearance. Her expressions, her posture, her body language, what she said, how she said it.
She honestly felt like he saw through her right to the bone. Saw every strength, every weakness, every fantasy, every doubt, every scar. It was nerve-wracking.
“Good.” He settled his gaze on Harlan. “Quinley doesn’t think her true mate would be at all affected if she entered an arranged mating. Would you agree with that opinion? As his Alpha, you’ll know him well.”
Harlan’s brow creased. “I’m not actually his Alpha. After he claimed my daughter, they moved to his pride with the intention of returning when my mate and I stepped down. As for your question, I’d have to agree with Quinley.”
“Why?”
“I’ve known Zaire since he was a boy. He’s a hard one to read, but it wasn’t difficult to pick up that—despite how firmly he rejected the notion of them being predestined—he did later wonder if Quinley was right. Still, he did nothing about it. He claimed Nazra, and they fully imprinted. There’s no reason he’d be affected if Quinley were to take a mate.”
