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“I’m exhausted, Lucas. I can’t believe all of this has come up about Garth and Phil. What kind of dealings would they have had that would make him kill my uncle like that?”
Lucas slipped his hand into hers, and she curled her fingers around his. It felt so perfect, like sliding a key into a slot. It felt like home.
“Try not to let that rattle your brain. As you’ve said, Phil was an honorable man. It’s all part of Garth’s game to make you think otherwise.”
“You’re right,” Eliana breathed.
They walked with ease toward her hut, and Eliana unlocked it, feeling her body ready to give in at any moment. She had barely eaten that day. The nerves and the thoughts of death and violence had made her feel sick to her stomach.
But when she entered into her tiny home, she was ravenous.
“Hungry?” Lucas said as if he had snuck into her mind.
Eliana kicked off her shoes and flicked on the overhead light. It was blinding and unforgiving; she couldn’t believe she had let him see her naked for the first time beneath it all.
Lucas was different, though. Lucas was hers.
“I think I might pass out if I don’t eat,” Eliana said.
Lucas’s expression melted into a concerned scowl, and she chuckled as she fell onto the loveseat. She folded into herself as he came to her, falling to his knees with worry. Her wolf stirred at his proximity, wanting him.
“Do you want some water? Tea?”
Eliana continued to smile. She thought grief and sudden trauma after a night of bliss might be giving her emotional whiplash. Maybe it was making her delirious.
“I would love some iced tea. I have some in the fridge.”
Before Lucas could stand, Eliana cupped his cheek. He looked back at her, dumbfounded. It was marvelous.
“Tao told me that he has a mate,” Eliana said, the words spilling out like sand. “She’s in California, and she’s human.”
Lucas settled on his knees before her, searching her face with darting eyes. Gazing into them so close, Eliana felt like she was peeking into the ethereal universe. Colors sparkled around the shrinking, curious pupil.
“Why didn’t he bring her here?” Lucas asked, then answered himself. “Is it because you would look better as an heir?”
Eliana nodded, her thumb stroking the sharp edges of Lucas’s cheek.
“He also asked me about you. He asked if you were my fated mate and if I would go back with you once things here were finished.”
Eliana saw the dazzling bloom of hope in Lucas’s astonishing eyes. His throat strained, and she realized he was holding his breath as he spoke.
“And what did you say?”
Eliana swallowed, her mouth going dry.
“I told him the truth. That I didn’t know because we hadn’t spoken about it.”
Eliana studied Lucas closely. She wasn’t sure what she was looking for or waiting for. She knew he was her mate, and he knew it too. The question wasn’t about their matehood; it was about the actions that would follow.
He didn’t look away when he replied to her, which only made Eliana’s heart melt all the more.
“I haven’t thought about it either, to be honest. I previously believed that we would make love, and that would be it. It seemed that logistically, it wasn’t going to work.”
Eliana smiled, keeping her hand on his cheek as she laid her head against the arm of the loveseat.
“There you go again with your rationale. Tell me, has that ever ruined anything for you?”
A beat of silence passed through the room, then Lucas slid his hand to rest on the top of her head. She languished in it, closing her eyes, and he weaved his fingers through her curls.
