She looks up at me like I could never do anything wrong, then puts a hand against her forehead in exasperation, like I said the most ridiculous thing, and giggles. “No!”
Despite my amusement, something twists in my chest.
There have been moments when I swear even the smallest movements of hers mirror the things I do. Like the way she frowns while she’s concentrating, or how the faint dimples appear in her cheeks when she smiles really wide.
Even her hair, yet her eyes are the one thing that throws me off.
They look just like Lila’s. Green like the pines and filled with that same softness. Still, that’s expected. Whether she was mine or someone else’s…
But I shut the thought down quickly every time. It’s ridiculous, and it’s dangerous.
Having dark hair isn’t uncommon around here, and it wouldn’t be out of the ordinary for her father to have the same.
Besides, Lila told me herself that it was someone else. Regardless of my suspicions, I have to trust her and remind myself that it’s likely just the bond drawing me to both of them. Given how dear Astrid is to her mother, it only makes sense for me to feel the same.
Later in the day, I’m just leaving the cafe after handling some pack business with Varic when Jack finds me. Corners me is more like it.
“Caleb,” he calls out, catching up as I reach my truck. “Got a minute?”
Despite holding the tray of drinks and a box of pastries for the girls, I set them on the seat and nod, already bracing myself. He hasn’t exactly been the bearer of good news lately.
“Yeah, sure,” I say, remembering that protecting the pack is my job, first and foremost. “What happened?”
He hesitates, startled by the fact that I know when he’s about to deliver me less-than-ideal news.
“Is it that bad?”
Jack shifts a bit uncomfortably on his feet, looking away for a moment before meeting my gaze again. “Nothing withWraith Peak. But some of the pack members have been talking… and they’re still not entirely sold on your new bond. Or Lila.”
Without hesitation, cold anger flashes through me. I narrow my eyes at him.
“Who?”
He just barely flinches at the growled word, more instinct than anything, and he shakes his head. “It doesn’t matter. People talk, and they think you chose her out of nowhere, and without any real reason. They don’t understand it, and they hardly had the time to get to know her. It happened too quickly.”
It takes everything in my power not to lash out. Clenching my jaw, I force back the way my rage pushes at the seams, ready to tear into anyone who even looks at her wrong.
“They’ve had her entire life to get to know her, but nobody did. Instead, she was ostracized and belittled, and I know I’m guilty of it too,” I utter, reigning myself in as well as I can. “Regardless, she’s my mate, and she’s their Luna whether they like it or not.”
“I know,” he says, raising his hands in defense. “And I’m not saying they’re planning on rebelling because of it. I just thought you should be aware of what’s being said. Some are questioning if she’s strong enough for this, and if she’s willing to actually stand beside you.”
My jaw clenches hard enough to ache.
The whole thing isn’t just unfair, it’s insulting—both to her and to me.
To think, after the ceremony and everything, and they’re still directing this at Lila. At the woman I…
I push back the rest of that thought, annoyed by the ache in my chest that comes with it.
Jack looks me over carefully, as if gauging how to handle me. “You okay?”
“No,” I mutter honestly before shaking it off. “But I will be, and the others will come to accept her. I don’t care how, but they will.”
He seems to sit with that for a moment, then he grins. “That they will. Now go home and clear your head before you decide to make an example ofme.”
“It’s never too late,” I say half-heartedly, earning a chuckle from him as we part ways.
Jack’s right. I need to be home and with them.
