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“Seven is perfect. I’ll see you then.”
TWENTY-TWO
ALEXIS
Alexis watched from her window, eagerly anticipating Magnus’s arrival. When she saw the big black SUV pull up out front, her heart fluttered with excitement.
She saw him pull a large paper bag out of his car and make his way to the front door. As he did so, she pulled back and rearranged the curtains so he wouldn’t see her lurking upstairs.
The knock on her door had her smoothing out her hair and brushing off her clothes. She checked her appearance in the mirror one last time before she pulled open the door. Her welcoming smile was greeted with a large bag and a bottle of wine.
She took the wine from him and stepped aside so he could enter.
“It’s a good year,” he said, leaning down to kiss her.
“I don’t know shit about wine other than the fact I like to drink it. So I’m going to have to take your word for it.” She cleared aside a couple of magazines on the kitchen table. “Here, put the food down.”
While he took the plastic containers out of the bag, Alexis got plates and wine glasses from the cabinet and set the table. As she pulled forks out from the drawer, Magnus poured the wine.
Once they were comfortably seated, Magnus and Alexis helped themselves to the food he brought from a popular Italian restaurant.
After a single bite, Alexis’s eyes widened. “Oh, my God, this is good.”
He nodded, looking pleased. “Yeah, it’s delicious.”
They ate in relative silence, but Alexis hummed with excitement, eager to tell him her big news. She took a sip of wine and placed her fork on her plate, her chicken cacciatore forgotten as she leaned forward to talk to him.
“Guess what!”
With a forkful of rigatoni halfway to his mouth, he arched a dark brow.
“I hired a new manager to take over a good portion of my day-to-day responsibilities. She’s going to work full-time for me, so that’ll free up a good portion of my calendar. I’ll have more time to spend with you.”
Her smile faltered when he nodded absentmindedly at her news. “That’s great.”
A frown creased the delicate contours of her face as she studied his. Maybe she wasn’t making herself clear.
“Magnus, I don’t think you’re hearing me. By hiring someone, it’ll give me more time to step into the role of matriarch. I thought a lot about what you said about needing me to take over that role if we’re going to be together, and this is my way of showing you that I’m ready to do that. I want to learn everything there is to know about your pride and what it will take for me to help you lead them.”
Her speech was met with a single nod, and try as she might, she couldn’t understand his lack of enthusiasm. She had envisioned him kissing her passionately after she told him she wanted to join his pack. She thought he would whisper sweet nothings into her ear and make love to her long into the night.
His cold indifference struck a painful nerve, and she bit her lip, thinking to try once more. “Magnus, do you understand what this means?”
He lifted his head to meet her gaze, and now, with his attention fully on her, she felt confident enough to say what had been weighing on her. “I’m falling in love with you.”
His fork fell to his plate. The clatter of the silverware against the ceramic echoed in the small kitchen, and she winced at the sound.
She continued on boldly. “I’ve been thinking about our future together, and …”
“Don't think I don’t love you, Alexis, because I do, and I’m happy to hear what you’re saying, but we have a problem.”
Her stomach somersaulted, and the confused look on her face was replaced with alarm. “What problem? What could possibly be wrong now?” his arms where his plate was a moment ago. With an unnerving sigh, he focused his gaze on the depths of her blue eyes. “It’s Carvin. A couple of my shifters have seen him in this area near your apartment. From the sounds of it, he’s gathering a group of dissenters against me.”
She raised a knuckle to her mouth to stifle a gasp. “Why? What does he want now? Are you …
Magnus held up a hand to silence her. “He’s no threat to me. Physically, he can’t best me, and he knows that. What I’m worried about, and I have every right to be, is him coming after you. I’m afraid he’s going to try to attack you to get to me.”
Alexis’s heart jumped into her throat. All it took to scare her witless was the memory of Carvin’s subtle threats at the expo and the way his face contorted in fury when she told him she was seeing Magnus.
