I uncapped another bottle of water and downed half of it in one gulp. “I’ll be going to dinner at his parents’ house tomorrow night. He’ll be there too, as well as Jeb. I’m telling you this so you don’t get your information from another source and misconstrue a family dinner for a hot date.” I screwed the cap back onto my bottleslowly.
Liam’s gaze narrowed on the steel bench. “Family? Did you getengaged?”
“No. I did not get engaged. I’m seventeen.” I squared my shoulders and crossed my arms. “The Watts have always been like a second family to me. When I was growing up, I spent almost as much time with them as I spent with my ownparents.”
Liam still didn’t sayanything.
“And just so you stop assuming this, I’m not going to let a mating link drive me into a marriage. No amount of magic will dictate the course of my life. August and I go way back, but maybe we’re all wrong for each other.” We hadn’t felt all wrong for each other the night at his place, but Liam hadn’t felt wrong for meeither.
Liam glanced at me, and even though his gaze was still hardened, it sparked, and that spark felt dangerous. I hadn’t planned on giving him hope . . . I’d planned on setting himstraight.
“But I won’t know that until I actually date him, which I plan on doing once this duel is over.” My words dimmed the spark but didn’t extinguishit.
“You know, it would’ve been in your best interest to let me duel Morgan yesterday,” Liamsaid.
“Why?”
“If I’d lost, I would’ve been gone. Forgood.”
My arms fell alongside my body, the half-empty bottle clapping against my thigh. “Don’t say stupid shit likethat.”
He balked at my sharpwords.
“I’ll see you tomorrow. Bring Sillin. Or I’ll bring what I have left.” I turned to go, but Liam’s voice stoppedme.
“I have to take care of some things tomorrow, so I won’t have time to meet you. But I’ll pick you up on Sunday morning at seven. Pack an overnightbag.”
“Overnight? What about the packrun?”
“We’ll be running, but not with theBoulders.”
My pulse picked up speed. “Who will we be runningwith?”
“TheRivers.”
“The Rivers? One of the Easternpacks?”
Liam nodded, then tipped his head to the side, his gaze huntingmine.
I wasn’t sure if it was the sweat drying on my skin or the idea of running with lots of foreign wolves or traveling out of state with Liam, but I suddenly felt incredibly cold. “And it’ll be just the two of us going outthere?”
An emotion crossed his face. Hurt, maybe? He shrugged his shoulders that seemed to have gotten a little broader since he’d become Alpha. “I can ask Matt to fly out with us if it makes you feel morecomfortable.”
I didn’t need a chaperone, or did I? “I trust you to keep this professional,Liam.”
This would be the first time I would be physically far enough from August for it to affect the link. What if . . . what if my attraction to him faded? Why was I scared of this? I’d told Liam that wasn’t the reason I wanted August in the first place. I stretched my neck from side to side, finding a little solace when itcracked.
“You seemnervous?”
Instead of confessing the true reason I was jumpy, I said, “I’ve never flown before. What should Ipack?”
“Nothing fancy. The Rivers are denim-and-tees sort ofpeople.”
“Okay.” I rubbed one clammy palm against my workoutleggings.
“The Rivers, huh?” Sarah said. I hadn’t even noticed her return. “I heard they hatethe Creeks because Morgan killed the Alpha’s daughter. The girl was visiting the Aspens the night Morgan demanded to duel the Alpha.” I supposed she added that last part for my benefit, since I imagined Liam and Lucas were well-versed in packfacts.
Liam stared at her as though her presence had slipped his mind. “If my trip gets back to Morgan, I’ll know where she got herinformation.”
