AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“No. Why?”
An innocent shrug. “I’d like to talk to him.”
Her nape prickled at the far too casual note in his tone. “If you mean to warn him off, that’s not necessary. He won’t turn up again. There was no real point to him showing up today—I think it was just a spur of the moment thing driven by a realization that knocked him off-balance. He’ll regret it when his thoughts are clear.”
His eyes searched her face. “You seem sure of that.”
“He never wanted me, Isaiah. Never will. He made it very plain years ago.”
“How old were you at the time?”
“Sixteen.”
So young, thought Isaiah. To be sent away by your fated mate at any age would be difficult. But to be only a juvenile—someone who was in the vulnerable stage of still growing into their own skin and developing a sense of self—it had to have hit that much harder, cut that much deeper. “What happened exactly?”
“You sure you want to hear this story?”
He gently rested his hands on her upper arms. “I’m sure.”
She nibbled on her lower lip, hesitant.
He’d done damage here, he realized. She was now so worried he’d think she pined for Zaire on some level that she’d prefer not to speak of him. Isaiah didn’t want that. He needed for her to feel she could talk to him about anything.
“Maybe it’s better if we just forget he exists,” she said.
Isaiah curled his arms around her and held her close, protectiveness filling him at how small she was in comparison. “There’s no need for that. He’s not so important that we need to convince ourselves he never entered your life. The fact is he did, and whatever happened after that placed you on the path that eventually led you to me. I’d like to hear about it.”
A resigned sigh slid out of Quinley. “Okay, fine.” She gently placed her hands on his chest. “When I was fourteen, I got cornered by some male pride members. They wouldn’t really have assaulted me, they just felt confident they could toy with me because I was unranked.”
Fuckers. “What does a lack of status have to do with anything?”
“It has everything to do with it where black-foots are concerned. Only ranked members and their families are considered important. The rest of us live near the perimeter of the territory and don’t really socialize with them.”
Outrage speared through Isaiah yet again. “So, in the event of an attack, you’re the first line of defense?”
“More like sacrificial pawns, but yes. We’re all taught combat, but that’s really only so we can keep intruders at bay long enough for the ranked to get prepared.”
Son of a bitch. “That’s fucked up. The more vulnerable members should be protected.” It infuriated his cat that she’d been so at risk all these years.
“Black-foots don’t really operate that way,” she said with a careless shrug. “My kind have always had an obsession with status. I’ve never really understood it, but that might be because I’m a submissive. Ranks generally only mean something to dominants.”
To black-foot dominants, maybe, but it didn’t apply to all shifters. In Isaiah’s opinion, her breed had serious issues. But then, many would say that same thing about his own. “Anyway, back to your story…”
“Yeah, so, Zaire intervened and chased the boys off. Looking into his eyes, picking up his scent, I just knew in that moment that I was staring at the person who fate had selected for me. It hit me like a brick. The knowing was crystal clear—there’s no mistaking it, is there?”
“No, there isn’t.” It was a realization that hit soul-deep.
“But he didn’t have the same reaction. Just visibly checked I was fine and then walked off. I was so shocked I didn’t say anything to him. I ran home and told my sisters. They suggested I give him time to pick up on what I’d sensed. I think they knew he would have rejected me if I said anything. I followed their advice.”
“But giving him time didn’t amount to anything,” Isaiah guessed.
“I would have held out longer, but when I was sixteen I overheard that he might sign a mating contract. I knew Harlan hoped to pair him with Nazra, and I knew Zaire was ambitious enough to go along with it if it meant being Alpha. He also cared about her, I could see that. So I panicked.”
“And you told him.”
“Picture it. There I was, an unranked submissive, telling a born-alpha who was also the son of an Alpha pair—someone who’d therefore be considered way above my reach—that we were fated; insisting he couldn’t sign a mating agreement that would grant him both Nazra and the right to one day rule my pride.” She shook her head, sighing.
He personally didn’t see how Zaire being a born-alpha or the son of Alphas should place him out of Quinley’s reach. He was about to say as much, but then she spoke again.
