Mila frowned. Having Lars involved in any form killed her excitement. “Can we keep Lars out of it?”
“Why? What’s the issue with having our beta communicate with yours?”
Mila turned away. “I’d rather not have him involved.”
Rafe stared at her for a few seconds. “Tell me why.”
She sighed, shoulders sagging. “I’ve been under pressure to mate with him, to form a political alliance more than anything. We don’t have any romantic feelings for each other.”
Rafe’s nostrils flared and expression hardened. A few seconds later, he replaced it with a more neutral mask. “Sure. We can come up with another way to deliver the message to your father,” he said in a measured tone, appearing to struggle to keep his voice steady.
He didn’t know her, yet appeared jealous. Why did this please her in some peculiar way?
She huffed. “Why can’t I just go over there and tell him myself?”
“Mila, please,” Rafe declared with a snort. “I don’t trust you one bit. Despite what my wolf tells me, insisting you’re my mate, let’s not forget why you are here.”
She bit her bottom lip. Maybe he wasn’t as clueless as she thought. He might not be so easy to deceive. “Well, I don’t see how anything can work with us trying to come to some common ground if you’re going to keep me locked up here as a prisoner.”
“Understood.” Rafe nodded.
She tilted her head. Maybe she’d get a way out of here yet. “So you’ll let me go?”
Rafe wagged his finger. “Not so fast, Sacco princess. I need to think about this some more.”
As he walked toward the door, she shouted after him. “You better think about it soon, or—or our deal is off.”
Rafe turned over his shoulder with amusement. “Careful, Mila. My wolf gets excited when you get feisty.”
Chapter 4
Rafe
Ignoring the ache that grew on leaving Mila, Rafe returned to the lodge next door, satisfied that he’d come up with a way to deal with their predicament. Sure, they had all the details to address, namely with convincing her to agree, getting a message to her father, hoping he’d agree, and then keeping Mila from running away.
He moaned. Maybe not so easy.
He had to tread a fine line between giving her freedom and keeping her from fleeing. How exactly he could convince her to do that was a question.
Yet, if she felt even an inkling of the yearning he felt to be with him, then it would be difficult for her to leave him.
Rafe needed to talk to Grayson about this. Once he climbed the stairs, he glanced down the hall to Grayson’s office. The door was open. Victoria’s was closed. It had been a long time since she’d gone over to the Saccos. Her attraction to Grayson had driven her to desperation. Still, it didn’t excuse her from betraying her pack.
Rafe walked toward Grayson’s office and stepped inside.
“I have a solution.” He rubbed his hands together and then paced in front of Grayson’s desk. “I’m not sure how to pull it off, though.”
“What’s the plan?” he asked.
Rafe relayed his suggestion to Mila to stay here for one week and why.
“She agreed to it?” Grayson asked.
“She’s considering it,” Rafe responded. “We’re dealing with the issue of getting word to Kane. How can I let her go over there without her reneging on the plan?”
Grayson tapped his finger on his desk. “This.” He picked up his smartphone.
Rafe stared at it and made a doubtful sound in reply. “I barely use mine, but there’s no way Kane owns a smartphone. You know how they live over there. Off the grid.”
