“Promise?” Harper asks.
Falcon nods slowly. “I promise.”
Chapter Forty-Six
Falcon
One sleepless night in the city, a two-hour workout in the hotel’s basement-level gym as soon as the sun came up, followed by a twenty-minute shower, and I still don’t know what I’m going to say when I meet Robin at the academy at noon.
The nervous energy I tried to burn off in the gym is lingering, and I can only hope it’ll fade on the walk to the academy.
I take my time getting dressed, opting for my usual jeans and T-shirt combo. I know I’ll be more comfortable in my casual clothes, but they won’t make this meeting feel any less formal.
Playing by someone else’s rules is always stifling.
My instincts want me to go against the grain.
I’d love nothing more than to reject Lana’s rules, to bring my pack to the academy and release our mate from her guardianship without having to ask any questions.
But I know that’s caveman behavior, and that Robin deserves better.
I could never steal her away from a place that makes her feel safe.
So, I’ll respect her guardian’s rules until Robin decides to leave the academy on her own, however long it takes.
The walk to the academy takes me down busy city streets, leaving me waiting at crosswalks for the traffic to ease up, and finally past a quieter residential area before I get to the sidewalk across the street from those formidable golden gates.
The impact of what I’m about to do hits me, and nothing about this moment feels real.
I’m literally going to the most elite Omega Academy in the country to tell a woman she was always destined to be my mate. If someone had told me this would ever be something I would do, I would have laughed and told them to dream on.
And yet, here I am.
Life can be crazy like that.
I move over to the guard post by the gates, where I stop and make my promised call to Lana, to tell her I’m out here, waiting to be escorted inside.
“Hello?” she answers, as if I didn’t call her mobile number and she’s not sure who I am.
“Hey, it’s Falcon. I’m outside.”
“You’re early,” she states. “Give me a minute to check on Robin.”
I turn away from the guard when I realize he’s staring at me.
He’s probably wondering why I didn’t talk to him.
Or he’s waiting for me to make some kind of crazy move so he can take me out as a trespasser, more likely.
Lana takes her time. I can hear her talking away from the speaker. A lower male voice is talking, too, so I’m guessing she’s having one of her guards check on Robin.
I check the time on my phone’s screen while I wait.
It’s almost eleven. I’m an hour early.
She’ll probably tell me I need to come back.
I guess I’ll have to talk to the guard if she does, because I’m not going anywhere.
