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“Hello, sir. How can I help you?”
His stern look frightened her slightly, and she wondered if he didn’t feel the same way she did. Was that possible? She didn’t know much about fated mates, but she was fairly sure it went both ways.
“Hello, miss. My name is Lucas Doyle. I am here as a favor to Gerri Wilder. May I assume you are a member of the Kauai wolf pack?”
“Oh, yes. Yes, of course. I apologize. My name is Eliana Hal. My uncle was the previous alpha. It is a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Doyle. I appreciate you coming to help.”
“My pleasure, Eliana.”
His voice was deep and sensual, or was that just her ears? Her name on his lips sparked arousal like she had never experienced. The sweet nectar of his words flowed over her. She caught herself imagining something a bit more savory flowing over her.
She imagined them rolling on the sheets of her bed, his arms holding her slender wrists down as he worshiped her naked body. She was practically dripping from just the thought. She tried desperately to blink away the images. He was standing right there, for God’s sake.
“Please allow me to convey my deepest sympathies to you during this time,” he continued. “On behalf of myself and my pack, we are truly sorry to hear of your loss.”
Her emotions had finally caught up with the rest of her, and she began to remember her fear from before. She was the closest thing to an heir. With this handsome hunk of a man being her fated mate, he could very well be here to claim the pack as his own …
She couldn’t allow an outsider to take the pack out from under them. This was her family, her bloodline. She would be damned if anyone thought they could uproot them this way. Her determination burned away any other feelings she had.
He interrupted her thoughts as if he had read her troubled mind. Was that something mates could do? She suddenly felt incredibly embarrassed. However, he seemed as calm as the ocean after a storm.
“Gerri asked me to come here and see if I could help your pack find a new alpha amongst yourselves. She believed your pack needed a good example to help one of them realize their calling.”
At his assurance, she felt revitalized. So he wasn’t here to take over her pack or to take her. He was just here for exactly what Gerri had promised.
This seemed too good to be true. “Do you really mean that? To help one of my pack members to become alpha? And, at the risk of sounding silly, you aren’t here to take control?”
Lucas broke into a smile, although Eliana wasn’t sure what was amusing. This whole pack business was taking a serious toll on her nerves, and having an alpha from another pack here on their grounds was intimidating at best.
Especially when she was acting pack leader, and he was her fated mate.
“Yes, of course. I have come as a mentor and a counselor only. I have my own pack, and I am eager to get back to them.”
Eliana placed her hands on the counter in front of her and sighed with much relief. Lucas leaned back, watching her with his arms crossed, his stoic look unwavering. Her relief was immediately stolen by her impatient wolf, who refused to accept his departure, soon or ever.
She should be happy he wasn’t planning on staying. It should be counted as a blessing, a ray of luck in this otherwise bleak situation. But her wolf cast dispersion on her heart, and now she was aching at the idea that he would leave someday. Someday soon, at that.
While Eliana prattled on in her mind, Eliana’s mother walked in and stopped in her tracks. Bria moved at superhuman speed to where the two were standing, immediately in customer service mode.
“I am so very sorry about the wait, sir. May I offer you a table?”
Lucas looked at Bria, glanced back at Eliana, then nodded to Bria. Eliana didn’t move, her gaze fixed on the countertop in front of her.
“Please, follow me.” Bria shot a dirty look at her daughter after grabbing a menu and leading Lucas away from the counter. Eliana’s eyes peeled away from the counter, and she watched her mother walk away with her mate and take his drink order.
Eliana was in a trance, watching the scene unfold. Her brain was overrun with thoughts. Names of local boys who were candidates, the joy that responsibility for the pack might soon be a thing of the past, thoughts of his hands on her body, his tongue on her skin …
Kali, Eliana, get it together.
Or let us get together with him.Her wolf licked her lips.
Not helping.
She was so consumed with her thoughts that she didn’t even realize that her mother had made her way back until Bria yanked Eliana by the elbow back into the kitchen. Eliana shook her head free of the circling thoughts. When she focused on the situation in front of her, her mother had her by her forearms, frowning at her in annoyance.
“Youlolo. What is happening? Why was that customer just standing there like you two werehe mau hoa paio?” Bria demanded an explanation. “Hana koko lele.”
“Makuahine! Take a breath.” Eliana shook off her mom’s grip. “That man is Lucas Doyle. He is an alpha from a different pack. He came to help with our pack, not to eat at our restaurant. Gerri Wilder sent him to help,” Eliana explained.
