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“Don’t mind us,” said Aura. “I gave Sylvan a mini course on gathering herbs. We needed a refill on a few ingredients. Don’t worry about it, though. I’ll inventory and stock.”
“You’re a gem, Aurelia,” he said.
No ill-intent wafted from Aura. She simply smiled and stacked the crate on the bench before covering it with a large cloth.
They exchanged a few more pleasantries, though Aura quickly grew tired of them by the number of times she rolled her eyes. I had to work hard to refrain from laughing. Eventually, the spellcaster had to leave, and the silence in the workshop nearly swallowed us whole. I’d expected Aura to get to preparing the herbs, but she turned to me, her back against the counter.
“We should head to the library before things get busier. I can get back to this later.”
Who was I to argue? “Sounds good to me,” I said.
23
GOOD GIRL
SYLVAN
“I’ve searched the archives before,” Aura said as the candles flickered to life on the ceiling of the library. “But maybe there’s something there that could be of use.” She gestured to the left and we headed in that direction, stepping between long rows of shelves. “You mentioned hierarchies and nobility? What changed?” she asked.
“The nobility relied on pairings based on necessity—merit, magic, money.”
“Ah, like vampire pairings.”
I nodded. “Then things changed, and fated mates became more commonly accepted. So, the royal and noble bloodlines just … died out, I suppose.”
“In other words, lycans devolved.” She didn’t phrase it like a question.
I halted, and she stopped walking as well. “Just because it doesn’t match your definition of progress doesn’t mean lycans devolved.”
She made an annoyed sound under her breath and started walking again. Her fingers lightly ran along the spines of the books we passed. “Do you believe in fated mates?”
“I do, and I don’t.”
She cast a surprised look over her shoulder.
“I believe in chosen mates.”
“Well, that’s very … forward thinking of you,” she said.
“But the whole mate concept is, strictly speaking, a biological thing. It happens. But it’s still up to the lycan to choose if they want to be with their mate.”
Her face contorted as she mouthed the word mate. “It still sounds so antiquated.”
The concept of a mate at the instinctive level wasn’t one that I disagreed with. It was just something I’d never experienced, and I doubted I ever would. Unfortunately, in my position, I knew I would have to take a mate someday. And possibly sooner than later with my authority being tested. I would at least have to rut Clover to ensure an heir, so to speak. Now that was antiquated.
Aura was staring at me with a question on her face. We stalled at the end of the row where a door with a plaque labeled Archives waited for us to enter. Beside the door was a cushioned chair and a small ornate table. “There’s so much you should learn,” I said to Aura. “Not about lycan history, but about yourself.”
She muttered a curse under her breath. “I know what I need to know.”
“You don’t. Whether you like it or not, you have lycan blood. You might as well learn to keep it from taking over your entire being if you’re so scared of embracing it.”
“I’m not scared.” She pursed her lips together as she stared at me. “I suppose lying to you is pointless. Lycans are like fucking lie detectors.”
I huffed out a laugh and nodded. “See, you’re learning.”
She leaned against the bookshelf and folded her arms, glowering up at me. “Like I said, I know all I need to know, Beta.”
That damn title. I closed the space between us, my arms on either side of her, hands clutching the bookshelf. She straightened, blinking, but there was no fear. Only annoyance. She met my gaze squarely, and I glared right back, counting the golden flecks in her eyes. “So, you think you know all there is about your lycan side?”
