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“Ithoughtyou had work to do?” I said. Now I was trying to hide how happy I was to seehim.

“Idid,but the thought of you wandering around alone… I was convinced you’d breaksomething.”

Isnorted.“I wasn’t alone, Stephen was here. And he’s a lot more knowledgeable about this stuff than youare.”

Christophe smiled.“So, what are we doinghere?”

“Ineed to show you?You should pay memore.”

We continuedto work on inspecting the different sections of ducting while Christophe talked about the history of his family, pointing to different portraits and telling me who wasdepicted.

“So,someday you’ll be up on these walls?” Iasked.

“Someday,”he said. There it was again, that longing in hisvoice.

“You don’t sound so pleasedabout that,” Isaid.

He looked at me, surprised. “What?”

“Am I wrong? You sounded unhappy.”

“It’smy destiny to be the leader of this family,” he said, puffing up. “There’s no greater honor a son could have. It’s everything I’ve worked for my entire life, what I’ve been raised todo.”

“But…?”

Christophe seemedto be looking somewhere far away. He sighed. “There are times when I wonder if I’m missing something. Like there’s still some part of my life that I’ve yet to find. I don’t know if I can be the alpha meant to lead this family withoutit.”

“What is it?”I asked. “What are youmissing?”

“I… I don’t know,”he said. “This is the first time I’ve ever told anyonethis.”

Iwas unconvinced.He did know, but he just didn’t want to tell me. Not that he needed to. It was obviously some very personal stuff. None of mybusiness.

“Destiny,fate… That’s all way beyond me,” I said. “I have no clue what I’m destined for. Maybe I don’t even have a destiny. Maybe that kind of stuff is only for the highborn. I think I’m just here to exist. Maybe my destiny is just to get stepped on by people likeyou.”

“I’msorry you and your family have suffered because of the highborn clans,” he said. “Honorable clans do their best to care for lowborn people, but there’s only so much we can do. And not everyone is honorable, though they may claim tobe.”

Inodded.“I know. I was only half serious. I quickly saw that I was wrong, at least about you. I’m glad you’re not likethat.”

Christophe smiledand squeezed my arm, and I nearly gasped. His touch was electricity to my skin, and all the fantasies I’d had the night before suddenly surged back into myhead.

“You have a destiny, Mason,”he said. “Everyone does. I believethat.”

We continuedalong through the house, following the duct’s path through the walls, floor, and ceiling, stopping every so often to inspect a new spot. After we ate lunch, Stephen silently reappeared to takeover.

“I’ve gotto actually take care of some business now,” Christophe said. “I’ll be back in the evening to pay off thebet.”

“Alright,”I said, having to hide the feelings in my voice for the third time. “Oh, I, uh… I know I said I wanted to eat somewhere super fancy, but all I have are these clothes…” I was wearing a t-shirt and a pair of ripped jeans, pretty much the only things I owned. “And I’m kind of dirty fromworking.”

“That’s fine,”Christophe said. “No one there willmind.”

Stephenand I worked mostly in silence, but that was fine with me. I was preoccupied, thinking about Christophe. There was little to no affecting damage in the vents, just some minor dents from Jennifer and my escape, and as the day went on I quickly realized that there wouldn’t be much more for me to do. I would be finished paying off my debt, and it looked like I’d be done that veryday.

And that meantmy time around Christophe was coming to anend.

For some reason,it hadn’t occurred to me that our time together would be so limited. I just hadn’t thought about it. This whole thing had happened so quickly, I’d barely had time to catch my breath, let alone make sense of my feelings for him and what would happen in thefuture.

The answer was obvious—nothingwould happen. We’d both return to our worlds. I’d remember his generosity and kindness for the rest of my life, maybe life would get a little better for my family, and I’d need to forget about anything I ever felt for him. It was pointless to hope for anything more than the friendly relationship we had right now. He was a highborn alpha. He had his destiny. And I was nothing. Wouldn’t ever beanything.