AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Lucas moved closer to me and put a hand on my shoulder, giving it a squeeze. To the uninitiated, it might seem like he was offering me comfort. But something inside me understood the message within his simple touch. It was a warning.
“No. Nothing like that. I was being a smartass, I’m sorry.” The flush in her cheeks and her raised pulse told me she was nervous, and a big part of me was happy I’d managed to unsettle her.
“Good night,” Lucas said, dismissing her as curtly as he’d reprimanded her.
Morgan opened her mouth like she had something else she wanted to say. Looking up, she must have seen something on Lucas’s face that made her think better of it. If the white-knuckled grip he had on my shoulder was any indication of what was going on in his expression, it was a wonder she was still standing and hadn’t fallen into a bow.
“Sorry,” she said again, then bolted from the room.
“I don’t like her,” I announced.
“She’s a strong leader within the pack, she’s loyal and she’s smart.”
“You and I have different definitions of smart.”
“That’s not new.”
I wrenched my shoulder out of his grasp and rotated it to loosen the tight discomfort he’d created. “I want to talk about our issues, but first things first, I think you need to tell me everything you know about this mate bond.”
“It’s not that easy to explain.”
“Will it help me understand why you can tell me what you’re thinking just by touching me? ’Cause that’s a new development.” I was looking at him again, and I’d never seen a werewolf get paler than a vampire. I was on to something.
Finally he let out a sigh and collapsed back onto the sofa.
“It’s complicated,” he began, and I got a strange sense of déjà vu.
“Then you’d best start talking.”
Chapter Sixteen
Two hours later I was standing in front of Rain Hotel with Lucas, wondering how it was possible for me to miss the good old days where all I had to worry about was my two-way soul-bond.
And I thought my one-hour memory gap from Columbia was going to be the most messed-up part of the night.
He was keeping a safe distance from me on the sidewalk while we waited for Dominick to come around with the car. I think Lucas was worried I was going to punch him. But the weirdest part of the whole night was how little anger I now felt towards him. In spite of how upset I’d been about him forcing the mate connection on me, all I felt now was empathy.
I knew why Lucas had done what he’d done, and I couldn’t find it in myself to begrudge him for it.
The air was cold and smelled clean, with lingering scents of the salt used to keep the sidewalks from getting too slippery and the flour-and-sugar smell of a nearby bakery preparing for the morning rush.
Lucas edged closer, still hesitant to touch me, and crossed his arms over his broad chest. In spite of the cold February air, he hadn’t bothered to put on a jacket before we came downstairs.
“There’s something else I need to talk to you about,” he said.
I turned away from the nearly empty street and watched him. He was nervous, dancing from foot to foot. I found it endearing I could put him so out of sorts. After all, he was a king, and yet sometimes he still acted like a shy teenager when he was around me. It was equal parts flattering and frustrating.
“Okay.”
“Earlier this evening, I called your uncle.”
My spine got so rigid it might as well have turned to a pillar of stone. “Why?”
“He and I needed to discuss the situation down south, and I want to see if it can be resolved peacefully. Callum isn’t a stupid man, and anything he can do to stave off an all-out war is in his best interests as well as mine.”
“Are you going to negotiate with him over the territory?”
“He’s sending two delegates up this weekend. The plan is to negotiate his withdrawal from our territory.”
