“Perfect, thank you.”
I pulled away, not waiting for her to pepper me with questions. Lucien had warned me thateveryonewas looking for information all the time when you were on council grounds. His advice was to say as little as possible and avoid confrontation or perceived favoritism.
That couldn’t possibly be difficult, given what we were here to do.
I parked the SUV right behind the building in one of the marked spots, glancing over at Elodie, who still slept like the dead. She didn’t wake when I lifted her from her seat, didn’t stir as we walked into the well-lit foyer of the apartment side of the council building, never flinched as the elevator dinged our arrival to Lucien’s assigned suites.
And when I finally laid her on the plush bedding, she merely sighed, tucking her face deeper into the pillow.
With her safe and sound, I jogged back down to get our bags from the back of the car. Her sleeping so deeply, her temperature rising… all that seemed like warning signs her heat was getting even closer, but I wasn’t sure. I waffled for a moment about whether to call Brielle or Olivia, but decided on Brielle. She was a doctor too, and just in case thiswasn’tnormal preheat behavior, she could tell me what to do.
Brielle answered with a yawn. “Hi, Valens, is everyone okay?” Most people would have asked if everythingwas okay, but Brielle was a doctor, so maybe she was used to these kinds of calls.
“I’m not sure.” I gave her a quick rundown of what was going on with Elodie as I rode the elevator back up, pausing just inside the door to our room so our conversation wouldn’t disturb her. Not that I thought much could, at this point.
“That all sounds pretty standard, and I’m not concerned unless she seems like she’s suddenly in pain or chilled. There are a few medications available over the counter that can make her more comfortable. I’ll text you a list.”
“Thank you.”
“Of course. Tell her I said to feel better and rest as much as she can. Her body’s gearing up to make a baby. It can wear a girl out.”
I stared blankly at the phone in my hand long after Brielle had hung up, her words bouncing through my head like shrapnel ricochets.
Her body’s gearing up to make a baby.
A very sticky fact we hadn’t discussed or even danced around. Honestly, I knew what the purpose of a heat was, but conception wasn’t guaranteed either way. Wolf biology had a lot of flaws when it came to procreation, as I knew painfully well.
But we needed to at least talk about it before her heat hit. We weren’t bonded, so I assumed she’d want to use birth control. But did she have it? Did I need to get it? What if shedidn’twant to bond, but alsodidn’twant birth control?
I could be a father without a mate.
The idea struck me cold, and I finally moved, dropping the phone on a table near the entryway and crossing to the bed where Elodie was still out.
So many questions, but there would be no answers tonight. Tomorrow, I vowed, I would ask her. Before her heat started and things got too complicated. Her instincts in the heat of the moment might drive her to say things she didn’t mean.
I turned on the shower, but all the scalding water the council’s money could buy couldn’t wash away my fears.
Chapter 33
Elodie
Iwoke up miserable the next morning, with no memory of anything past Valens blowing my mind on our way to the council building and drifting off shortly after.
He was still asleep in the bed next to me, and the sun was barely outlining the heavy curtains on the window of our borrowed room, so I snuck out of bed and into the shower. I ran it as cold as it would go, but still, my skin was hot and achy under the cold spray.
I was nearly out of time. Once I’d dried off and pulled my clothes out of the bag he’d placed in the bathroom for me last night, my anxiety was running as high as my temperature. We just needed to get through this mission, get the information the pack needed, and get out of here.
Easy-peasy lemon squeezy. Right?
When I walked out of the bathroom, I was unprepared for the glorious sight that awaited me. Valens was awake, bare-chested, his golden-brown hair tousled, and one muscular arm curled behind his head against the headboard. He gazed out the window, where he’d pulled back the curtains so we could see out over the lake behind us.
When his eyes met mine, he smiled, and the whole scene became that much more devastating.
He was pure masculine perfection, and I felt beyond inadequate in my maiden’s uniform, hair in a ponytail, and an achy mess.
“Hey, beautiful. Did you sleep well?”
“I—” I shook my head, more thrown off by the casual way he asked than anything. Is this who I was now? A woman who shared her bed with a fucking gorgeous alpha and made conversation with him before coffee while he showed off his impressive physique?
