Lola closed her eyes briefly and shook her head as she breathed out slowly.“They don’t have a breeding program.”
The room was silent for several heartbeats.
Lola opened her eyes and looked at Taras, then Lyra, and finally turned her head so she could see Callon.“Right?”
“Not exactly,” Wyatt said slowly.
“Called it.”Maddie snapped her fingers at the same time Lola said, “What!”while trying to jump from Callon’s lap.But his arms were like steel bands holding her down.
“Wyatt,” Lyra hissed.“We do not have breeding programs.”
“We took those women hoping they would eventually want to breed with us,” he said nonchalantly.“What wouldyoucall it, Prima?”
Lyra’s sharp gaze stayed on him for a hot minute, and then she looked at Lola.“When we learned of theanimi, we realized that it was possible for our kind to mate with humans.Not only bond with them to bring out our beast form but also have children with them.Maleandfemale.”
“How did you figure out thatanimiexisted?”Lola’s hand was wrapped tightly over the top of Callon’s, and her fingernails dug into his flesh.Lola hoped the truth was less horrific than Maddie had guessed, but she didn’t know how that could be.
“One of our males met a human female, and they fell in love,” Taras answered.“Their mating produced a female cub.The first in fifty years.”
“So in all the time your kind have been in the human realm, no one got together with humans until that couple?”Lola couldn’t imagine how that could possibly be, especially when, so far, all of the beastwalkers she’d seen were extremely good looking.Her eyes jumped to Faith and her mate Tack.Both looked as if they could be straight off a model shoot.Then she looked at Wyatt, Rafe, Drystan, Kian, and finally Bane.Yep, all hot as Hades.
“You thinking what I’m thinking?”Lola looked at Maddie as the blonde’s brow bounced up and down.“There’s no way human women haven’t been trying to hit that.”Maddie nodded toward all the good-looking men.
Lola bit back a groan.“Can you not speak like a fifteen-year-old boy?”
Maddie rolled her eyes.“Fine.There’s no way human women haven’t been trying to make love to those guys.”
This time Lola did groan, while the males in question all choked back laughter.
Taras interrupted the sounds as he regained Lola’s attention.“To answer your question with more decorum…” He gave Maddie a sharp glance.She managed to actually look sheepish as she dropped her chin.“Our kind did intermingle with humans.But up until ten years ago, none had ever bonded or produced children together.”
Lola leaned in, her eyes wide with curiosity and a hint of skepticism."So, tell me, how exactly did your members manage to discover more animi?"she inquired, her tone laced with both humor and disbelief."What was the strategy?Did your guys dive into a frenzy of speed-dating with human females, hoping to strike a match?Or was it something more...drastic, like abductions and coercion?"
“No,” Lyra snapped, her sharp tone cutting off Lola’s words.“We would never allow our males to force themselves on females, human or otherwise.”
Lola felt a twinge of guilt.“Of course not.”She could feel disappointment radiating off Callon.She turned so she could look at his face.His golden eyes were narrowed, and his jaw clenched tightly.“What was I supposed to think?”she asked softly.“I mean, a breeding program, Callon?You never mentioned anything like that.”
“You didn’t have to think the worst about me or my people,” he said gruffly.
Dammit, dammit, dammit.Lola hadn’t meant to make him feel like, well, like a person who would dothat.“You’re right.”She took in a deep breath.“I didn’t have to think that.And I will attempt to keep an open mind and reserve judgment.”
Callon’s hand wrapped around the back of her neck and pulled her toward him until her forehead touched his.It was an incredibly intimate gesture despite the fact that they weren’tdoinganything.Lola felt the eyes of everyone in the room on them.
“Focus on me,” he whispered, his voice a rough rasp.“What they think doesn’t matter.”
Lola’s lips tilted up slightly.“Anyone ever mention you’re a tad demanding?”
His shoulder, where one of her hands rested, lifted in a lazy shrug.
“For the record,” Maddie’s voice rang out.“I’m not in any sort of committed relationship with anyone in this room and therefore reserve the right to judge right out of the gate.”
Chapter 2
This Probably Wouldn’t Sound Nearly As Bad If It Were The Plot Of Some Cheesy Paranormal Romance Book.
“I feel like there’s several possibilities on how this night could end.At least one of those possibilities involves Maddie tied up by Roan with her mouth covered in duct tape.Does it make me a horrible friend that I’m sort of rooting for that outcome?To be fair, some of the other possible endings are way worse.”~Lola
“There is no record, female.”Roan's voice dripped with dryness as he casually flicked an imaginary speck of dust from his sleeve.He met her gaze unflinchingly, adding, "And your judgment is of little consequence."
