“Right, because I don’t have one anymore, and yours cut the bond to you,” I say. “Like I said, as far as I am concerned, you are this pack’s luna.”
“What if you fall in love with someone when I am still here?”
I gaze at her, taking in her regal features, her soft skin and brunette hair, making her look like I’d probably envisioned Snow White as a child. My heart makes another leap. “I don’t think that will happen,” I say.
“You never know,” she says quietly.
“It could happen to you, too,” I point out.
“I don’t think so,” she says, casting me another look that I can’t quite read, and yet again my heart makes a traitorous jump.
“I am not going to send you anywhere,” I tell her. “As long as you want to be here and reign with me, I will be happy.”
What the fuck am I even telling her? This is wild. It’s like I am telling her I want her as my chosen mate. I am sure she will reject me or at least let me down gently, but to my utmost surprise, she doesn’t. “As long as you want me here, I will stay,” she says.
Darien perks up in my mind.Did she just say what I thought she did?
I am not sure,I admit.
Do you hope she did?
I pause. Do I? I just know that a week ago, I realized my family betrayed me, and I found out that my mate was killed before I could get to know her. Then I met a woman who was hurt and shunned by her mate and wanted to get revenge just as I did. And somehow along the way, it’s like she has become my closest friend, my strongest ally and my best support. I don’t trust anyone as I trust her, not even Griffin.Goddess…I breathe out.
I want to run with her wolf,Darien says, surprising me all over again.She is strong. I want to meet her.
Wait a moment, are you telling me you are interested in her?
Of course I am! Fate brought her to us. She is beautiful, strong and smart. I bet her wolf is the same.
Trust my wolf to keep things simple. I guess it’s easier for him than it is for me. I move my arm away, but before Rose can look hurt, I take her hand into mine. “That’s better,” I say.
“What are we doing here?” she asks, looking at our hands.
“I have no idea,” I say. “I just know that right now, I want to hold your hand.”
Rose doesn’t say anything, but she also doesn’t pull her hand away. That’s all the answer I need for now.
“It’s time to go to the packhouse,” I tell her.
“We need to set up the speakers before dinner starts,” Rose agrees.
We walk the rest of the way in silence, using the side entrance to enter the packhouse and make our way to the kitchen immediately. There, Nina is already expecting us. Rose hands her the two speakers she’s prepared, instructing her to put one close to the buffet and the other at the entrance door to the dining hall.
“Do you have it covered?” I ask quietly.
Nina nods in grim satisfaction. “Trust me, Alpha,” she says. “I am ready to play my part.”
I return to Rose. “And you?”
Rose shows me her phone. It’s not connected to the speakers yet, but to Ben’s recording device. She holds it to my ear, and I can hear Griffin’s voice through it, talking to Ben. It’s loud and clear. Meaning, when Ben meets with Lissa, everyone will also hear it loud and clear.
All we can do now is wait, and hope that the kid can pull it off.
twenty-four
You are Live
*GRIFFIN*
