“Whothen?”
Liam’s gaze climbed up to myface.
“Me?” Isquawked.
“No. Not you either,Ness.”
Relief crept over me, but then it crept away, because Liam’s expression remainedserious.
“He’d only be interested if we won the duel,though.”
“Just spit it out,Liam.”
“He said Ingrid expressed interest in seeing Augustagain.”
The missing tether felt like a phantom limb—absent but forever there. “Did you tell him August wasn’t on themarket?”
“I didn’t tell himanything.”
“Whynot?”
“Because I don’t think it’s a good idea that people know my Second has a fated mate. I wouldn’t want anyone to use him againstyou.”
“Oh.” I dragged the fingers that weren’t clutching my cell phone through my damphair.
“And because a lot can change between now and the Winter Solstice. Look at how fast it changed betweenus.”
“Whose fault wasthat?”
“Mine. It was entirelymyfault. I let Aidan Michaels put doubt in my head. I regret every second of what happened, but werewolves can’t time-travel, so besides apologizing, there isn’t much else I can do to fix the past.” Several breaths later, he added, “Do you misshim?”
I bit my lower lip. I did, but I didn’t want to discuss August with Liam, so I keptquiet.
“Forget it. I don’t want to know.” He walked toward the bedroom. “I’ll grab a shower, and then I’ll be out of your hair for thenight.”
“Will you tell August about theproposal?”
He stopped in the doorway and turned sideways but kept his gaze on the fireplace mantle. “I promised Zack I’d pass on the message, but I won’t force August to marry someone.” His gaze scaled up the bare wall. “You two have a history, I get that, but he’s a decade older than you. Doesn’t it botheryou?”
My fingers squeezed around my phone. “Does it botheryou?”
His mouth pressed into a sullen line. “You kept telling me he was like a brother to you, so yeah, I find your attraction . . .incongruous, but you guys have a mating link, and apparently, they blind people to what’s wrong orright.”
“So you think it’swrong?”
“Does it matter what Ithink?”
I assumed that what Liam thought was shared by the rest of the pack. Perhaps not the entire pack. Frank had been all for it. “I didn’t ask for this matinglink.”
Before stepping inside the bedroom, Liam sighed. “I don’t know if you remember, but August thought I killed my own father, so he’s not really up there on the list of people I trust or like. Plus, he got you. And I’d be lying if I said that didn’t play into what I thought of the guy. But I’ll also admit that from an outside perspective, a twenty-seven-year-old guy preying on an eighteen-year-old will raise some eyebrows. No one will judgeyou, but August will definitely incur judgment. Anyway, thanks to me”—he tapped the doorway—“you have some time to think aboutit.”
The implications of what he was saying hitme.
Reallyhitme.
I didn’t want August to be crucified because of me. And yes, in a week from now, I would no longer be a minor, but I’d still be nine yearsyounger.
I’dalwaysbe nine yearsyounger.
