Page 62 of Dark Auctioned Mate

His jaw tightened, but his voice remained steady. “I’d hate it, but I’d respect it. Because you deserve to choose your own path.”

Alanis knew he meant it. Rael was the kind of man who would actually let her go if that’s what she chose, even though it would hurt him.

That kind of selflessness, that kind of respect for her autonomy, made her want to stay more than any argument or pressure ever could.

“Thank you,” she said softly. “For understanding. For not making this harder than it already is.”

“Always,” Rael said, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “Whatever you need, Alanis. I’m here.”

They stayed like that for a moment, wrapped in each other, the weight of the future temporarily suspended.

But in the back of Alanis’s mind, a clock was ticking.

A few weeks until they moved on to Caldwell Pack. A few weeks to decide where she truly belonged. A few weeks to figure out if duty and desire could somehow coexist, or if she’d have to choose between them after all.

Chapter 19 - Rael

August wanted to keep surveillance on Venn, the organizer of the auction, from whom they had gotten information. Evidence suggested that he was about to organize another event, and being close could provide them with access to higher levels of the network.

But the involvement of Caldwell Pack was too great to be disregarded. And the fact that it was so personal—these were the people who tortured Alanis, who tried to sell her—made it impossible to wait.

“Follow up on the Caldwell lead,” August said. “I will liaise with the Lumen operatives here and maintain contact with Venn. In case either of us gets anything concrete to follow, communicate it across.”

“Are you sure about this?” Rael asked. “Splitting up will result in reduced manpower.”

“I will have the Lumen team, you will have Alanis, who is more than three operatives combined. And, more than that, this is personal to her. She needs closure, and you need to be there when she gets it.”

Rael couldn’t argue with that.

The following morning, they made an early departure, the two of them in a single vehicle, heading northward toward Montana. The trip would take two days, possibly more, depending on the weather on the road and how wary they had to be as they approached.

The early hours passed very comfortably, each of them absorbed in their own thoughts. But as they were driving out of the populated districts, and the country began to broaden out to rolling plains, Alanis talked.

“Tell me about your childhood.”

Rael gave her a quick side glance, taken aback by the question. “Why do you wish to know?”

“Because I told you about mine and because…” She hesitated for a beat. “And because I would like to know what shaped you into the man that you are now.”

“It was lonely. Silas was being groomed to be a leader with additional training. Our father was particularly hard on him. Javi was the youngest one, and he got away with more. I was the middle child. The sensible one. The one who did not need as much attention. The forgotten one.”

“That must have been quite isolating,” Alanis whispered softly.

“It was. I was taught at an early age that one had to be useful to get ahead. So, I became the one who settled things, the one whose presence was felt without a ripple. I believe that is why I chose to work in the intelligence field, that was what I was good at—observing, analyzing, and not panicking during a crisis.”

“And keeping a lid over your feelings,” Alanis added with a sad smile.

“Yeah.” He cleared his throat. “Until you came and caused me to lose control more frequently than I would like to admit.”

Her lips stretched into a genuine smile. “Sorry, not sorry.”

Rael laughed, shaking his head and drumming his fingers on the steering wheel. “What about you? What were you like when you were a kid, before things got bad with your pack?”

“I was uh…hopeful, I think. I continued to believe that, with enough effort, I would be good enough. That I would eventually shift like the others. My parents had said it would happen at the right time, that some of the wolves were late bloomers.”

“When did you know it wasn’t going to happen?”

“Around twelve. That was when all the rest of the kids of my age were shifting almost daily. It was clear then that I didn’t stand a chance.” She looked out the window, subtly wiping her eyes. “That was when the bullying began in earnest and also when my parents stopped protecting me against the pack.”