I blink as her words settle on me. My wolf’s ears perk up in our shared space, the momentary shift in curiosity both irritating and intriguing.
“Pembrooke? Like… Dad’s friend? The one who lives inEngland?”
I’ve only seen Lucas Pembrook once, at my father’s funeral.
My inner wolf pushes forth, awakening with newfound alertness.
Bea comes barreling through the door, her boots hitting the creaky wooden steps. With every step, I think more than just the wood is in danger of breaking.
“If you’re going to make your flight, we need to move,” she says, completely dodging my question.
My wolf paces inside as my heart races, pounding in my chest like a damn freight train.
No. I can’t. England is… it’s a whole other fucking country! It’s like an eighteen-hour flight, I don’t have the kind of funds to prepare for a trip like that. I?—
Bea jumps in the back as my mother moves to my side, opening my door.
Her gaze catches mine, and for a moment, we both stand there, staring at one another like it’s some kind of stand-off—and maybe it is.
She smooths her hand along my arm, but doesn’t look at me.
“Just give him a chance—” She grasps my chin, turning me towards her, her grip stern. “This is whathewanted, you know. It was his dying wish that you two meet.”
I know without a doubt she’s not telling me this lightly, which makes it that much harder. I turn my head away, if only to hide the tears at the mention of my father.
Somewhere deep inside, I want to resist. But the animal inside me doesn’t want to fight now that she knows analphais waiting for us, as if that makes it all okay. If only my human side would feel the same.
Chapter
Two
Luke
“Now, Luke, don’t be unreasonable,” she intones. My blood heats, stirring my alpha from the mere suggestion that I drop everything in my life to get my ass to the airport to pick up somegirlI’ve never met, all on account because theysaid so.
My father grumbles as my mother holds her hand up to him.
“It’s just for a month, Luke. It’s not forever.”
“I will not fall in love with some stranger out of forced proximity, Mother.” I growl at my father, my wolf antsy and prickly at both my human’s resistance, and my father being in my space. Dad or not, he’s still an alpha, and my alpha wolf doesn’t like other alphas in his space one bit.
My father glares at me.
“No one is asking you to fall in love with the girl,” he gripes. My mother massages the bridge of her forehead with a heavy sigh.
“Oh, well, that’s refreshing,” I bite back as he crosses his arms, focusing his stern gaze on me.
“Give the omega a chance,” he says. It’s not a question or a plea, but a statement. A command.
I roll my eyes as my wolf pushes against me. The mere mention ofomegahas his tongue practically rolling out. I shove him back. Omega or not, this girl doesn’t know me. Not really. We metonce,and it was for five seconds at her Dad’s funeral, so I doubt she remembers me.
“She has a name,” I bite. “It’sEmily.”
My mother preens with pride. “Ah, so you do remember her.”
I don’t have the spoons to tell her, of course I remember her. She was by far the prettiest omega in the room, but it felt strange to admit that at such an event I was stealing glances at the deceased’s pretty daughter.
“Her flight should be landing soon,” my mother says as she catches up to my stride. I freeze at the door as my father grabs the keys to the Range Rover, holding them out to me like some sort of peace offering, when I know this is anything but.
