When I raised my head to look into his eyes, he leaned in.I thought he might break the rule and kiss me.Instead, he rubbed noses.
“Sorry about the onion breath,” he said.“I didn’t use to eat them as much, but wolves have unpredictable emotions even if they don’t show it.Chitahs control ours better.Being too emotional can be a weakness.”
“Well, if you’ve ever had trouble getting dates, try eating ginger instead.It’s not smelly, but it’s strong enough that it’ll knock out all the emotional stuff.Then you won’t scare off the ladies.”
His eyes fixed on my hand, which was still on his thigh.“I don’t care about dating.”
That struck me as odd.“Why not?”
He raked back his hair, messing it up even more.“How did you wind up in Storybook?”
Lucian wasn’t as masterful as he thought when it came to deflecting a question he didn’t want to answer.I put a pin in it since he was under no obligation to reveal his innermost secrets about his relationship with women.
I brushed his leg with my thumb.“People were moving out here.Without leaders, there was a lot of conflict.Someone sent a request to Councils across the state demanding that Storybook was large enough to form their own.I worked in one of the territories on the northern side of San Antonio.City life was wearing on me, and I wanted a challenge.Plus I thought this would be a place for my tiger to roam in the wild.It’s difficult to find land outside San Antonio since they dole plots out to larger Shifter groups.My cat always had to shift indoors, and believe me, I had to replace more than one sofa.When I contacted the higher authority to see if they had any land available for an individual, I realized this place had a real opportunity for growth.”
He picked fuzz off my dress.“I thought maybe you broke a rule and were being punished.”
I laughed quietly.“No, moving here wasn’t a punishment.Not many people volunteered for the position, so that’s why we only have three.It’s manageable.If we keep this town growing and thriving financially, it’ll be easier to convince experienced officials to relocate here should we need more members.You can’t just hire anyone.”
He traced his fingers over my hand.“Have you always been a Councilwoman?”
“No.I’ve done a great many things in my life, and those experiences prepared me for this role.I was born up north.Jobs for black women in the eighteen hundreds were a travesty among humans, so my father and I focused on Breed communities where race didn’t matter.”
“It always matters,” he offered while folding his arms.“Except with us, we’re divided by Breeds.”
“Definitely.A lot’s changed, but there’s still work to be done.When I was around seventeen, I started working as a messenger, which was a great way to network in my community.It also paid well.Still does.My father thought I was perfect for it since I’ve always been outgoing.A Mage noticed my ambition and took me under his wing.”
“A Mage?”
“Mm-hmm.He worked for the Mageri, and they didn’t have a lot of Councils back then, so they were overloaded with work—especially in the larger cities.Those were the early days.They were in the process of documenting Mage gifts and assigning everyone aliases every twenty-five years.The crime was out of control.I organized and scheduled meetings, interviews, and everything in between.We moved to a different state during the Civil War, and my father got more involved with freeing human slaves.He said it didn’t matter that they weren’t Breed.We’ve had our own long history with immortals owning us, so it’s our moral obligation to never turn a blind eye.”
“It sounds like you two have done a lot of important things.I haven’t done jack shit.”
“You’re only in your eighties.”
“I watch a lot of cartoons and read.I’m not out there making a difference.”
“You’re a protector.”I leaned against him.“You make people feel safe in their homes.Don’t try to be a sword when you’re a shield.And don’t undervalue your talents.What did you do before?”
He shrugged.“Nothing.I was the misfit.”
“Why?”
After a beat, Lucian sighed.“My mother died giving birth to my sister, and I guess that messed me up.”
“How old were you?”
“I was grown.When she died, it shattered us, but since I was the youngest in the family?—”
“You were closer to her.”I touched his arm.“Of course.”
“The kids my age used to call my mom a whore.They said the only way she could have made someone like me is if she slept around, so I used to fight a lot as a teenager.”
“Are you close at all with your dad?”
Lucian scratched his jaw.“He tried exposing a scandal involving bribery years ago and didn’t have enough evidence to back his claim.When the allegation went public, they accused him of slander.It ruined his good name.That made it hard for us to get work.He pops into town every so often, but I’m not that close to him.”
I studied the bookshelf in front of us.“You need your own separate room.It’s not fair to squeeze you in with the security equipment.”
