“My mother died in childbirth when she had me.” She gave him a rueful look. “We were both in distress, and my father believes she transferred her life force into me so I could survive.” She pulled her fingertips together and placed them on her chin. “Talk about guilt of merely existing.”
An ache of compassion churned in his gut. He’d heard of that kind of powerful shifter magic but had never met anyone who had performed it. He reached out and touched her hand. “I’m sorry.”
She glanced down at his hand on hers and released a shaky exhale. “Now it’s just my father and me.” She rolled a shoulder and raised her gaze back to meet his. “I know he wanted a son. Since he didn’t get that with me, he’s suggested more than once that I should mate with Lars, our beta.”
A sting of revulsion spun like a tornado inside, so quickly that Rafe pulled his hand back to grip the edge of the wooden table, struggling to remain steady. His wolf stirred with the sudden compulsion to destroy his rival for Mila’s affections.
“Is something wrong?” she asked.
He struggled to maintain control over that unexpected jealousy and forced a playful smile. “My wolf definitely didn’t like hearing that.”
She chuckled. “Neither did mine.” With a shy smile, she admitted, “Especially after meeting you.”
Their gazes met once more and with it a sense of—was it understanding? He wasn’t sure how to describe it, but what they were facing was the same thing. They were both caught in a situation they hadn’t chosen or expected. The question was, what could they do about it?
The sense of helplessness irked him through the rest of the meal.
After they ate, they wandered through the village. Darkness had settled, yet the lights from windows and streetlamps illuminated the brick paths.
“You should try skiing while you’re here. It is the main reason why people come to this resort after all,” he said.
“No, thank you.” She raised one brow and teased, “I don’t see the lure of strapping wood planks on my feet to propel myself at fast speed down a mountain.”
He laughed. “It’s thrilling.”
She shook her head. “Pass.”
“Fine.” While they walked by more stores, he said, “If you see any that look interesting, let’s go in.”
She stopped in front of one of the boutiques with some eye-catching designs in the window. “How about this one?”
Once inside, she picked out some leggings, jeans, and sweaters, but then frowned. “This is silly. I can’t bring all this back with me next week.”
“Why not?”
“My father will know where it came from. You should have seen the look on his face when I returned in the clothes yesterday.”
Rafe hated the amount of control that Kane appeared to have over Mila. “Maybe it’s not up to him what you wear, and he should let you decide that for yourself.”
Mila gave him a pointed glance. “He’s an alpha. We all know what that means. And on top of that, he’s my father.”
Rafe shrugged. “So? My father was an alpha as well. That didn’t mean he made all my decisions for me.”
“Was?” she asked.
“My parents moved south after my older brother died. They needed a new start.” He swallowed a lump in his throat as the buried memories resurfaced. His brother most likely would have been the next pack’s leader, and probably a better one than Rafe. He lived with the daily guilt of living up to expectations. His brother would have been a gifted leader, intelligent and rational, not rash like him, who had just made an impetuous decision to spend a week with his enemy’s daughter.
Mila nodded at him, her eyes expressing sympathy. “I’m sorry.”
He gulped and then searched around the shop for a distraction. Finding the lingerie section, he led them there. “How about some new underwear?” he asked with a speculative smile.
Her lips curled with a sly curve. “Turn away,” she directed with a wave.
While she searched the racks, he struggled against the urge to steal a peek. Was she considering the black satin? The white lace? The red silk? As he pictured her in each, awareness surged to his cock. He didn’t care which she wore as long as he’d be the one to take them off.
Hell, now he was consumed by visions of her in lingerie.
Throughout the rest of their shopping excursion, he kept drifting closer to her. It was near impossible not to. It was as if they had some magnetic charge attracting them together. He carried her bags back to the hotel and glanced up at the window to her room for the week.
