Page 48

Christophe

Father dida quick inspection of the coat room door, looking neither impressed norunimpressed.

“And the airsystem has been repaired aswell?”

“Yes, Father,”Isaid.

“So,we’re going to be paying thisman?”

“Mason Arkentooth, yes.”

“Remind me again,why are we paying the criminal who caused all this damage to repairit?”

Ihopedthat Father hadn’t seen my left eyelid twitch in reaction to what he’d just said. It’d been three days since Mason and I discovered our feelings for one another, and we’d met every evening at my—now our—secret spot in the border forest. It angered me to think about what Father’s image of Mason was—an untrustworthy, uncouth, lowborn criminal. I knew, because that was what I’d seen him as too, but it became so clear so quickly that that wasn’t him. I understood the reasons for why he’d turned to crime, and I’d fallen for him because ofit.

Father was wrong.Fated mate markswerereal, and I’d found him. After holding on to that possibility for my entire life, I’d actually foundhim.

“Masonand his family have been taken advantage of by the Blood Gulch Clan, as I’m sure many other families just like them have. He’s not a bad person, just someone doing whatever he could to protect and provide for his family. I wanted to give him an out from that path. And I wanted to prove that not all the highborn clans are likethat.”

“Right, right,”Father said. “You did well. Though, I don’t quite understand why you had to personally help him. It becomes troublesome to personally involve yourself in every bit of business you do. Part of being a good leader is knowing how toprioritize.”

“Iknow that, Father,”I said. “And I wanted to prioritizeMason.”

Father gave me a questioning look,and then shrugged. “That’s your prerogative, Isuppose.”

That night,I went out to the forest spot early to set the place up for our meeting—blankets, pillows, a portable heater, and several bottles of wine. In order to keep this a secret, we couldn’t meet anywhere else, but I was fine with that. Coming out to a hidden place in the forest to meet Mason was exciting and romantic. Every moment was athrill.

Iopeneda bottle of wine and laid out on the rock, which I’d draped with furs and blankets, and stared up at the dusk sky. I felt free and light, like nothing could touch me. When was the last time I’d felt this way? I couldn’t remember. It had to have been when I was just a teenager, but I couldn’t be sure. Maybe I’d never felt this light before. It was like for the first time in my life I wasn’t stressing about the future. All I wanted was to be here withhim.

An hour passed,and the sun had gone down. I switched on the fairy lights and the heater, and finished a third glass ofwine.

Mason was late.

Ichecked my phone,but there was nothing. That should’ve been reassuring—we’d agreed to avoid contacting each other by phone unless it was an emergency—but I still couldn’t help but beworried.

Another hour passed.I fingered my phone in my pocket as I wondered how long would be appropriate before I called him. I shifted to my wolf form and sat up on the rock, my nose lifted to thebreeze.

After thirty minutes,I caught Mason’s scent, and fifteen minutes after that, I heard him running through the forest. I shifted back to human form as he emerged out of the trees. He shifted to human form too, and wrapped me up in a tighthug.

“You’re late,”Isaid.

“Don’t tellme you were worried about me,” hesaid.

“No,”I said. “If you hadn’t come, I would’ve just enjoyed this bottle of Lupanian red by myself. Would’ve been a nicetime.”

“Shut up,”he said, and kissed me. “Sorry I’mlate.”

“Is everything alright?”

There wasa pause before he replied, “Yeah, everything’sfine.”

Iheldhis shoulders and looked him in the eyes, and he looked back at me with a stubborn fierceness. I could tell he was hidingsomething.

“What is it?”Iasked.

He sighedand sat down on the fur spread. “This is nice.Warm.”

“Ifiguredwe ought to make the place a little more comfortable,” I said, and poured him a glass of wine. “Considering we use it as both a table and a bed. So, what’s goingon?”