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“It has you,” he stated pulling a little ‘huh’ from her. “It’s something I wanted to talk to you about since I’m not getting any younger. If I don’t have a mate, don’t have an heir, then the rule will fall to you and your line. I was thinking that Tyler could possibly come out this summer, spend it with us, and Dad and I can show him what he needs to know in case it falls onto his shoulders.”
Katya was silent for a long moment and Heath’s headache grew fuller.
“Of course, I would let Tyler come stay with you all if it’s necessary, but Heath…think about what I said. It’s not just for you to have an heir so Tyler doesn’t have to do it,” she added when he began to protest. “I hate that you’re alone, that you don’t get to just have someone there at night to hold onto. Someone you can talk to, tell things you’d never tell to anyone else to them. Know someone else as well as you know yourself. You would make such a great mate. You’re protective and fierce, but also so sweet when you love someone, that it’s a true shame no woman gets to experience that.”
“The only reason you want that for me is because you have your true mate, Sis. If you were simply with some random shifter, you wouldn’t say that.”
“Maybe it wouldn’t be as all-consuming as what we have, but you could find someone that you like as a person first. Get to know them, be their friend, their confidant, then their mate. I know you’ve felt an attraction here and there over the years. All shifters do, even if they hold out for their mate. So next time you feel that flash of attraction without the mate pull, let yourself actually focus on it for more than half a second, just see if it couldn’t possibly grow to be more,” Katya suggested and he let out a sigh, hearing the true concern in her voice for him.
He’d do anything for his baby sister, and she knew it. They all loved her far too much to just tune her out, especially when all she was, was concerned about them. “Alright, if it happens, I won’t immediately walk away. That’s all I can promise this second though.”
“It’s more than I expected to get out of you tonight to be honest,” Katya said pulling a laugh from him as a knock sounded on the door. “I’m going to guess that’s your dinner, so I’ll let you go, but you promised, so no going back on it, got it?”
“I promise, sweetie. I’ll talk to you later,” he said as he opened the door, keeping the phone between his ear and head with his shoulder as his hands moved to take the tray from the maid. They stopped in mid-air, seeing the woman behind it wasn’t the same as from earlier.
Katya said goodbye in his ear, and he quickly slid his phone into his pocket, stepping back to let the tiny woman into his room. He had no idea why. No, that wasn’t true. The tightening around his heart, the little kick to his stomach that’d hit when he met those stunning brown eyes sent the promise that he’d just made Katya back through his mind entirely.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt your call,” the woman said, lifting the rest of her face towards him and his knees nearly buckled.
It was pure insanity. There was no urgent need, no animalistic desire racing through him at her sweet scent, but her beauty was enough to bring him to his knees.
His eyes immediately slid to her neck, finding it pure perfection, not one hint of a mark on her. There were no male scents on her either, telling him she wasn’t mated, not even with a human. He didn’t know why it mattered to him, but he couldn’t stop the relief that flew through him because of it.
She set the tray onto the table, taking a step back, nearly running into him as he closed the space between them. She was so tiny that when her body bumped into his, he barely felt it, but it sent a tingle through him he’d never experienced before either.
“I’m so sorry…” she breathed out, and he smiled, seeing her eyes widen a hint in return. They were stunning, reminding him of pools of maple syrup. The scent of maple syrup was his favorite smell in the whole world, and he swore he could smell it wafting from her, which was crazy.
“It was my fault,” he said, making sure she was steady before he took a step back from her, settling into a chair to lessen the height difference between them. “You didn’t interrupt either,” he added as a light color slid into her cheeks as his eyesight became level with hers.
“You were on the phone with your ma…”
“Sister,” he stated, stopping her from saying mate. “She was checking in on me, seeing that I arrived safely because she worries about her last unmated brother being attacked by hoards of shifters that want to become an alpha’s mate.”
A hint of a smile appeared on her lips, and he enjoyed the sight of it immensely. “I hope I didn’t cause you more work by requesting dinner up here. I wanted to keep space between myself and the alpha’s cousin I believe it was. She was rather handsy.”
Heath’s stomach tightened when a small laugh fell from the beauty’s lips, drawing his full attention to their plumpness. Perhaps his sister was right about not immediately pushing away attractions without a mate pull because this little beauty had his full attention.
“I’m so sorry you had to deal with Danielle. Most can’t stand her but as she’s the alpha’s cousin, we can’t say anything bad about her,” she said, and there was something that flashed in her eyes that had his curiosity piqued. “It’s no trouble to bring you dinner here. If your delegation would also prefer meals upstairs, please let us know and we can arrange that as well.”
“No, I want them down with the others here for the summit, to be my eyes and ears while I avoid the potential gaggle that wants to attract an alpha,” he said giving her a smile, despite the dull ache still pounding behind his eyes. “I was going to request all meals upstairs beyond the lunches with the council members, I know I will have to attend. Would you be handling that for me?”
“Yes, I can handle whatever you need this week,” she said, and Heath had to hold onto the arms of the chair to stop from reaching for her. Never in his life had his mind ever flashed to somewhere dirty when those words were uttered, not until now, with this beautiful creature in front of him.
“I thought the older woman was assigned to assist me this week,” he mused, another smile tugging at his lips as her eyes sparkled for a moment.
“It was realized that Ellen was needed elsewhere, but I was free to help,” she offered but he knew it wasn’t the entire truth.
“She was put off by my attitude, wasn’t she?” he asked, and his beauty shook her head no at him, making the smile appear on his lips again.
“No, it wasn’t that,” she said catching his eyes again as her lashes lifted. They were long and dark despite the russet braid resting on her shoulder, and he wanted to know how they would feel, fluttering against his skin if he kissed her. “You have a very powerful aura, sir…”
“Heath,” he said, not liking the sir from her lips. “My name is Heath.”
She gave him a nod and he knew she wasn’t going to use it, not without a little nudge.
“Say it,” he told her, not pushing into the regent’s power, not wanting to force her to do anything, but he wanted to hear it on her lips. To know if it would sound as sweet as he imagined. “Come little doe, say it.”
Her eyes widened further at the name, but it fit her well. Her eyes and the color of her hair reminded him of a baby deer, a sweet little fawn and even his wolf approved of the name for her, as he let out a little rumble, wanting to hear her say their name as well.
