Page 24 of Chaos At Second Sight

I was still upset about the kidnapping. Still cross that he’d worried my family. And still intending to lecture him about punching my brother.

But he’s trying. And he can’t help his protective nature. I’ll have a calm, rational chat with him.

His tail gave one thump. “Can Mate and Lucien stay here tonight? Tomorrow Lucien take Mate home? Cute please?”

I turned around, took the battered bundle of heather, and breathed in its scent. “Only if you accept Grandpa. And it’s pretty please.”

“Lucy will.”

The knot that had been tightening in my chest finally loosened.

“And will you shift to human again?”

“No!” he barked. I lowered the heather from my face.

His breathing quickened. “Lucien can’t! Human won’t let Lucien see Mate ever again!”

Panic. Real, raw panic.

Could someone fear…themselves?

The answer stood before me. His chest was rising and falling too fast, and he was looking around as if expecting Logan to appear out of nowhere and drag him away.

“Hey!” I laid the flowers next to the antlers and wrapped my arms around his waist. “Nobody, not even you, can separate us.”

He didn’t hug me back, his gaze lingering on the ground. The sparks fizzing between us couldn’t even compete with that fear.

“Lucy, look at me,” I begged, his sadness flooding me. Drawing me. I cupped his muzzle between both hands. “I’ll help you. I’ll talk to Logan. We’ll figure this out together.”

He searched my face.

Hope.

Doubt.

Worry.

All of it wrestled behind those crimson eyes. So I smiled and rubbed my nose gently against his.

His eyes shuttered with longing. “Mate smell perfection.”

“You too, mate. Like hazelnuts and autumn.”

Something primitive rumbled through him, a growl that vibrated through his chest, before he gathered me against him.

I grabbed his face again. “I love you.” His chest stilled for a moment before rising sharply. “So much. I love how sweet you are, how protective and slightly obsessive. You are Lucien, in all your intricacies.”

I considered my next statement carefully. Words were key. Words were powerful. They could restore…or destroy. “You and Logan need to make peace.”

His eyes clouded. His upper lip curled.

“You share the same body. You’re one soul. Not enemies.”

“Human hates Lucien.”

Every pout signed my end. I felt extremely protective of him. He was mine. To love, to shield, to help.

I guided him down onto the moss. “Why would he?”