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“You could abdicate,” she suggests.
“I could tell you to do the same.” I rise to my feet as well, turning toward the sea and taking a deep breath.
I don’t want to lose her, but I can’t leave my family. There’s no point in fighting over something that we always knew would have to come between us. She can’t abandon her coven, and I can’t abandon my parliament.
I hear a soft sniff behind me, and all my frustration flees at the sound. I spin and find Antonia behind me, tears streaming down her face.
“I just want us to be together,” she sobs.
“Hey,” I say softly, stepping closer to her and taking her face in my hands. “That’s what I want too. We’ll figure it out.”
“How?” she asks, looking up at me, her blue eyes shining with tears.
“I’m not sure yet. But we will.” I pull her in, wrapping my arms around her. “Why don’t you come and meet my parliament tonight? We have a week, so we should explore all our options.”
I hadn’t planned on introducing her to my family just yet. They aren’t purists or anything like that, but everyone expects their next alpha to find a shifter mate.
I’ve known since I met her that Tonia is not my true mate. The mating bond isn’t there, but everything feels so right I have no doubt she could be my chosen mate.
“Really?” She perks up at my suggestion, and I nod. A squeal of happiness leaves her, and she jumps into my arms.
Even with the fight forgotten, for now, something just doesn’t feel right…
Even my owl is eyeing her warily for the first time.
I take her hand and lead her from the cliff to the path that leads to the secret opening in the rock wall. I’d prefer to warn my family first, but I am afraid of losing the temporary peace between us. The location of our village has been a well-kept secret for eons. Some of us only leave the safety of our parliament for food, but others leave daily for work or travel. None of us bring outsiders without permission.
The few times that outsiders have been granted permission it is the final step between the visitor and host becoming mates. That’s what I intend as well. I’m bringing my mate back to meet my family. So why does it feel so wrong to bring her here?
I glance over at her as we walk hand in hand. She’s talking, though I don’t register her words as I wrestle with my anxiety. She’s beaming with happiness, and I should be too.
I stop just before the opening and turn to her.
“You have to swear not to share the location of our parliament with anyone.”
“Of course,” she says softly, going up on her tiptoes and pressing a soft kiss to my lips. Almost instantly, any doubts I have vanish, and I pull her through the pass without a second thought.
As we approach, I can hear the hustle and bustle of the village on the other side with my enhanced hearing. As we step through, silence sweeps across the village. Children stop playing, adults pause their conversations with their mouths hanging open in shock. The face I focus on is my father, Spiros, as he stomps toward us with his face twisted in anger.
“Loukas, who is yourguest?”
The way he says the word has my gut churning with regret. I had told my father about Antonia, of course. I had asked about bringing her to meet our family. Each time, he asked the same question. “Is she your mate? No? Then you have your answer.”
I take a large gulp and glance at Antonia. I’ve already come this far, and I know the one way to avoid this argument with my father is to introduce her as my mate.
“This is Antonia, she is my…” I try to force the word through my lips, but my body refuses to cooperate under my father’s knowing stare.
“I’m his girlfriend,” Antonia supplies. “It’s very nice to meet you.”
She reaches out to shake my father’s hand. He looks down at it once before raising a brow at me, spinning on his heel, and walking away from us.
Well, shit.
“Did I do something wrong?” Tonia asks, sadness lacing her words.
“No, baby. You didn’t.”
Instead of leading her further into the village, knowing she won’t be welcome, I lead her back the way we came to the beach.
