Everyone’s attention shifted to Zander for a brief moment before they went back to their conversations.
“Sit,” I commanded the big shifter as I pointed to the seat Favalor had just vacated. Zander did as he was told and sat. Then I settled next to him.
“What the fuck was that?”
“I thought he was threatening you,” Zander shrugged his shoulders.
“Well he wasn’t, and I can defend myself,” I huffed.
“From a sirret male a whole head taller than you as you carry a growing child in your belly?” Zander raised a questioning eyebrow up at me.
“I...Ugh, never mind.” I chose not to linger on that topic for now.
“Tell me why you hate him so much.”
I’d heard Vianna’s point of view, now I wanted to hear his.
“He has no honor,” Zander growled. “He stood with Dameron, and he marched with his hunters as they made their way to kidnap you from the mountains.”
“Yes, he marched with them, but I don’t think he was ever truly loyal to Dameron,” I suggested. “And if he hadn’t been there, then Tabby may have never gotten back to Gabby safely. He offered to hold her to keep her safe and then he risked his own life sneaking back into our cabin to reunite them.”
“One heroic act does not make up for the fact that he stood with Dameron,” Zander argued.
“Yes, but he says he was never truly loyal to him.”
“And I am supposed to just take him at his word? It’s convenient for him to claim he never sided with Dameron now that his hunters have been cast out, but how will we ever know the truth?”
“His actions with me and the other hostages are proof enough that what he says is true,” I countered.
“Am I supposed to put my faith in his word and just let him be mated to my sister? My only other living relative? My parents placed her in my care. My mother told me to protect her before she died, and then my sire did the same before he died a few years later.
Letting her run off with this untrustworthy male does not feel like protection, it feels like a mistake, like I’m betraying their wishes after all this time.
When Vianna first shifted, I thought our lives were over. I thought we’d be found out in a matter of days, but by some miracle, I convinced her to keep her abilities hidden. I did all that for what? To watch her slip away with some male I cannot trust?”
I could tell Zander was not going to budge from his point of view. He had made up his mind that Favalor was not to be trusted, and I doubted anyone or anything would change that.
“I’m sorry you lost your parents,” I placed my hand over his and gave him a gentle squeeze.
“I know what it’s like to have to look after one’s siblings. My parents didn’t die, but they put me in charge at young age and I often felt like I was all alone. You did a good job raising Vianna, and you successfully kept her safe.”
Zander’s eyes turned glossy as he took in my words.
“Sometimes it feels like I wasn’t enough. I gave her all I had, but I could never replace the parents we lost.”
“You did a good job,” I reiterated as I squeezed his hand again.
The corner of his mouth turned up in a small smile and he flipped his hand over so my palm was resting against his.
I intertwined my fingers with his much bigger ones and for a moment everything felt right in the world. I was holding Zander’s hand. He was no longer alone and neither was I.
Unfortunately, the moment was cut short when a wave of nausea washed over me. It had been a while since I’d eaten, which I had learned can make my morning sickness worse. The bread and fruit in my bowl suddenly looked wholly unappetizing and I rushed out of the building just in time to get sick in the bushes.
I was so tired of feeling sick all the time. This pregnancy had only begun and yet it felt like I’d been sick for ages. I was feeling weak and tired and struggled to get back to my feet. I didn’t need to struggle for long, though. Zander was there lifting me into hisarms and carrying me as he walked down the path back to my house.
“You know, I recently had a room open up at my house,” Zander began. “You could stay with me if you want to.”
I swallowed hard and my heart began to race. I wanted that, I wanted that so much that it hurt.You can’t get attached. My voice of reason beat out my desire to stay with the sexy broad shouldered shifter.
