Surely knowing I have a valid point, he averts his gaze. “It’s not that simple.”
“It is,” I insist, standing my ground despite how he looms over me. “It’s just not whatyouwant me to do.”
His gaze snaps back to mine. “Of course, I don’t like it. I hate the thought of you being out there when I can’t protect you.”
The words leave him more like an admission than a defense, and I’m not at all prepared for it.
As it settles in my skin, I start to see it differently. Where I assumed it was out of control and dominance, now I know it’s something else.
Fear.
Guilt brushes against me then, but I push it down, unwilling to back down. “You can’t keep me here forever.”
“Maybe not,” he utters, taking me in with a breath. “But I’m still tempted to.”
My mouth closes again at that, and my heart stumbles.
“This union…” Caleb murmurs, rubbing a hand over his face as if the conversation exhausts him. “We’ve barely found our footing, and you wanting to split your time immediately while there’s a threat this close to home doesn’t feel right.”
That familiar sting comes back again.
I know he isn’t doing this to hurt me, but I can’t shake how it reminds me of before. Everything is always about the pack, politics, and appearances with him. It always has everything to do with others, and not us.
For a long moment, I don’t say anything. I can only look up at him with my chin raised, bracing myself for the inevitable.
Then, something dislodges in his expression, and he lets go of a sigh that feels more like surrender. A concession.
“Fine.”
Blinking back at him, I swear I’ve misheard him. “What?”
“You can go back to work,” Caleb says, sounding resigned yet willing to accept it. “I won’t stop you.”
Shock grips me, but I can’t even think up my next words before the catch comes in.
“However,” he adds, looking at me pointedly. “I have one condition.”
Before I can deflate completely, I narrow my eyes at him. “What condition?”
His step closer is slow and deliberate, like he’s afraid the wrong move will shatter me. His tone drops to something warmer.
“You have to give me three nights a week,” he continues, no longer resistant. “Three nights of just us after Astrid is asleep.No pack business, no hiding away, and no excuses. Just time together.”
Through the surprise and disbelief, my heart lurches.
Of course, I shouldn’t expect anything for free when it comes to him.
I imagine he wants us to seem like a real bonded pair, all for appearances, and all for the pack to get used to the idea of us.
That’s why he’s been parading Astrid and me around town lately. It has to be.
“What, you want to schedule us?”
“If that’s how you want to look at it.”
I scoff, crossing my arms over my chest. “That’s ridiculous. If you’re so worried about the pack—”
“This has nothing to do with the pack,” Caleb cuts in, countering me with absolute ease. “It’s about us, Lila. That’s it.”
