Page 34 of Dark Sold Mate

But he had to try.

She agreed to help with the investigation despite being traumatized. She stood up to her old bullies. She was trying to make this work in a way.

Silas saw her efforts, and he wanted to give her new memories.

He knocked.

“What?”

“Can I come in?”

A pause. Then, “Fine.”

Silas opened the door. Elle was seated on the bed, with one of the books she had taken from the library. She looked up. “What do you want?”

“I want to take you out.”

Her brows shot up. “Excuse me?”

“Out of pack territory. Away from here. Just for a few hours.” Silas leaned against the door frame, pretending that he was being casual. “You've been cooped up in this house for a while. I figured you would like to change your scenery.”

“And go where, exactly?”

“North. There's a small town about a hundred miles away. We could have lunch, take a stroll, or do anything.” Silas stared at her face attentively, not wanting to miss a single thing. “No pack members or conversations about the investigation. Just... a break.”

Elle closed the book slowly. “Why?”

“Why what?”

“Why would you want to take me out? Why would you mind if I'm cooped up or not?”

Because you are my mate. Because I want to make you smile. Because I want to get to know you. I want to know what you did for eight years.

But he couldn't say any of that. Not to Elle, who would just consider it another way to control her.

“Because you agreed to help us,” he said instead. “And since you got here, some of my pack members have been treating you so badly. I would like to make up for that.”

Elle eyed him. “This isn't some kind of trap?”

“No trap. Just lunch and a walk. We'll be back before dinner.”

She gnawed on her bottom lip for a while, and Silas could see the wheels turning in her head, trying to figure out his angle.

“Fine,” she said finally. “But I'm not calling this a date.”

He flashed her a grin. “Wouldn't dream of it.”

***

Half an hour later, they were driving up north. Elle sat with her arms crossed, her body language saying that she would prefer to be anywhere else.

Silas did not try to strike up a conversation. He simply drove and allowed the silence to stretch between them, hiding the fact that his wolf was literally purring because Elle was right beside him.

The town's name was Millbroick, a little settlement in the mountains. It had a main street with local stores and a handful of restaurants. It was also well out of pack territory. No one would recognize them.

Silas parked in the main street and switched off the engine. “There's a good Italian place a few blocks down that way, or we could go to that bistro over there. Your choice.”

Elle looked out of the window. “The bistro.”