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As the car creeps ever closer to the Luna Sovereign's estate, I cut off the radio, plunging the SUV into silence. I keep my eyes on the road even though I can feel Tess look over at me curiously. It feels odd to gloss over what happened at the office, but one problem at a time.
"I need to know what you plan to tell the Luna," I announce, forcing any and all uncertainty out of my voice. There's no room for that as Alpha.
She says nothing.
"Tess," I bark at her.
She twists in her seat angrily, immediately defensive. "If you don't trust me then you shouldn't be keeping me around. I already told you I won't cause problems with the Luna Sovereign—if you don't believe me, that's on you. It's no wonder you don't have a Luna beside you when this is how you treat women."
She slides in her seat as I jerk the SUV onto the side of the road and slam the brake.
"What the hell?" she mutters, looking at me like I'm crazy as I turn the best I can in my seat to face her.
"Let's get one thing straight. I have no Luna because the fates thought it was a cute joke to pair me with a newly shifted wolf a fourth of my size with no bite to her. I'm Alpha to one of the most formidable packs in North America—what was I supposed to do? Bring a high school girl home and hope it didn't bite me in the ass?"
She tries to avert her gaze, but I grab her chin and make her look at me. She winces when I squeeze too hard, so I ease my grip marginally.
"I made a choice. Just like you made a choice to accept the rejection. You can hold it against me if you want, but three years have passed. I've moved on, and I'm ready to focus on the present and the future. Even if I have to do that on behalf of both of us."
"Let go of me," Tess growls, her voice low but firm.
I don't intend to do it, but my hand drops. I stare at her incredulously as she rubs her jaw. There's absolutely no reason that should have happened, but there's no denying she just gave me a command and I followed it. Add it to the list of fucked up things between us.
"Get back on the road before you make us late," Tess tells me as she turns back to staring out the window.
This time, I make the conscious choice to do as she asks. Being late won't reflect well on us and my current predicament. Plus, I need a moment to come to terms with what just happened. Seeing her so easily give a command as a Luna would… if we weren't on a time crunch, I'd be tempted to pull off the road and test whether we’re compatible in other ways.
Except, based on the way she reacted to waking up next to me this morning, I doubt we’re anywhere near ready to take that step.
If all goes well with the Luna tonight, it might be time to make a decision about Tess’s place—or lack thereof—in my life once and for all.
Chapter Nineteen
Tess
The Luna Sovereign's estate isn't what I expected. Plants curl around the property, growing wild in every direction. It looks a little like a hippie's place—hardly what I expected of the most powerful shifter in the Northern hemisphere. She's judge and jury for shifters in North America. I thought she'd live in a castle or something.
Instead, a modest house sits ahead of us, a garden just off to the side. I can't help but imagine what Tasha would think of it. She goes crazy for plants, and the garden looks like something out of a fairy tale.
"You have a green thumb?" Dominic asks. He must see the way I'm craning my neck to look at everything.
"No." I shake my head. "My mom did, and my sister does. I can't keep a plant alive to save my life, but all the greenery makes me think of them." I can hear the wistfulness in my own voice, and he doesn't miss it either.
"You know, I can easily send someone for your sister if you want to see her. The pack house has plenty of space for guests, even if it's just for a couple days," Dominic offers.
"Trying to butter me up before we go inside?" I snort.
He mutters, "Pain in the ass," as he parks the car in the Luna's gravel driveway. There are no other cars around, which also surprises me. The nearest town is far enough away that I would expect her to have a car at the ready.
I wait as Dominic comes around to my side of the car to hold the door open for me. As soon as he does, I ask, "Does the Luna live here alone?"
"Yes."
"Do you think it gets lonely?" I can't imagine living alone like this. No neighbors. No pack.
That's exactly the position you'll be left in if you run again,my wolf points out oh so helpfully.
Dominic shakes his head at me. "You know, if you had this many questions maybe you should have asked me on the drive up instead of giving me the cold shoulder," he points out.
