Yet seeing Lucien staring at me with those guarded, beautiful eyes, his body strained with tension, his gaze searching my own, I knew this, right now, wasn’t about me.
Lucien had just had to kill a man who’d betrayed his trust.
He was also still injured because of that man’s actions.
Yet here I was, fearing him for simply exacting his rightful revenge.
I recalled the wolf who slept with me in bed, offering me his warmth. The wolf who trusted me, despite being in his most vulnerable position. The wolf who pretended to be a mere animal as he offered me a comfort no one else had in a very long time.
Then I thought about the human shape of this wolf, the one who was now in front of me, the man I’d spent the last day with. He’d said he wasn’t able to shift back to his human form until earlier today, when he did shift to stop me from touching the shadow mark.
I also thought about the man who grabbed me and ran out of my apartment, ignoring his own bleeding wound, just so I wouldn’t have to have an eye kept on me and my memories erased by Chase and the Council.
It was the same man who showed remorse when he told me the people who were after him were probably now after me, too, due to his supernatural run through the streets with me draped over his shoulder.
The man who grabbed my hand back in the hospital director’s office and didn’t let go.
I might’ve only known him for four whole days, spending most of those with him in his wolf form, yet I couldn’t lie to myself.
I cared about Lucien Delterre.
I didn’t want to fear a man who had done nothing but be kind, and helpful, toward me.
Who cared enough to give a shit when I was in danger.
Who kept looking at me with endless gratitude for saving his life.
But I didn’t know what to make of any of this.
So all I could do was whisper, “I know you won’t hurt me, Lucien.”
Liar,a little voice murmured in my head.You think he will hurt you like anyone else.
My heart beat fast as he leaned his head against my forehead, his eyelids hooding his eyes, his long, pretty lashes fanning his cheeks. “Thank you, Drew.”
A guilty, painful feeling twisted my gut, but I ignored it.
We stayed like that for a few long moments, before Lucien let out a breath and gently pulled away. “I think it’s time we retire for the night,” he said now, and I looked up to find him watching me with eyes so brilliant, they were vivid even in the darkness of night.
“Yeah,” I agreed, watching him as he stepped back and closed the door, my forehead tingling, burning, despite my heart fearing, too, to touch him again.
Once Lucien was driving deeper into San Diego, he said, “So you’re good with your pistol.”
Up until then, there had been a heaviness weighing on me following the events of the night, but his words, and the lightness of his tone, alleviated it almost at once. Relieved, I matched his tone and said, “I told you, I won’t get in your way.”
“Yeah,” he drawled, and I glanced briefly at him before quickly returning my gaze to the road. “But I took it as in, you’re going to stay put.”
I snorted, putting one leg over the other and leaning my elbow against the door. “Yeah, staying put wasn’t an option when I saw they were about to leave, and you were out of contact.”
His lips curled downward. “You risked yourself unnecessarily,” he countered, eyes on the road, but I could feel his whole attention fixated on me. “I was a couple of minutes away from making my move when you decided to play detective and hid behind their car. I had to readjust my entire plan.”
Opening my mouth, I was about to speak, but he cut me off before I could. “I would’ve knocked them out, taken them somewhere far more quiet and secluded, and interrogated them to my heart’s content,” he explained in a still-light yet strained voice, as though he was trying to keep his composure and not lash out. “But I had to be quick before they could raise a ruckus and alert nearby humans and hospital workers, which would’ve put me, or rather, Enoch, in a lot of trouble. So I had to be quick and decisive, meaning I killed Mack in a rush, trying to protect both you and myself, and thus I’m now out of any and all leads.”
He paused his rant and sucked in a deep breath before falling silent, focusing on the road determinedly.
Feeling a little less helpful and more guilty now, I winced. “I’m sorry,” I said quietly. “I didn’t know. Maybe ...” I hesitated and braced myself. “Maybe you should share your full plans with me next time, so I won’t make such mistakes again.”
Lucien nodded curtly. “Agreed. And apology accepted.”
