Page 138 of A University of Betrayal

“What?”

“I should consider myself lucky that you’re such a dutiful woman. Alarik doesn’t seem to have lied.”

“He didn’t,” I confirmed. “And I would do anything to keep things peaceful between our packs. It just depends on what your goals are.”

I scrutinized the strange man in front of me, his powerfully built body, the neat appearance, the sharp look with which he was scrutinizing me the whole time.

Mica came toward me and stopped just in front of me. I resisted the urge to step back.

Unbound

Gustavo Santaolalla

“I don’t want you to be my wife if you don’t love me.”

I swallowed. That was a pretty heavy confession with a lot of demands behind it.

“Are you trying to force me?” Now I stepped back after all.

He laughed softly. “No.” And suddenly he brushed a strand of hair behind my ear. “I want to convince you.”

Overwhelming heat shot into my cheeks.

I sighed and tried to distract myself from the warmth of his hand.

“Why is this so important to you?”

“Because I don’t want my future wife to make the same mistake my mother did.”

I gritted my teeth.

Shit.I had apparently touched one of his sore spots.

“Your mother?”

“She was married to my father and after three years fell in love with someone else. She cheated on Father, and in our family, cheating on the Alpha is the ultimate betrayal.”

Damn.That sounded like a lot of family drama. And even stricter principles than we had.

But I was willing to give everything for the pack I belonged to. Without even a second of hesitation.

“What happened to her?” I asked quickly, trying to push away the dark thought that was about to come to the surface.

Mica came closer so that I could smell his eau de parfum. He leaned towards my ear and whispered softly: “Somethingverybad, Emely. Something I don’t want to see happen to or evendoto you.”

A shiver went down my spine.

His mother was dead.

I took a step toward the railing to catch my breath.

This was a heavy story, and maybe it had just ruined my evening completely.

“I want to be able to convince you of me,” I heard Mica close behind me, and a tingle ran down my back.

“I will never cheat on you. I’m loyal and sincere,” I assured him in a firm voice, but somehow these words felt wrong. That was probably because they didn’t come from my heart, but from my head, which put traditions and the pack above everything else. It was my duty to be loyal and obedient to Mikhail, to my husband and eventually the Alpha of the Russian Pack, which I would be part of should we marry.

“Emely. I want that the woman I like very much to return my feelings.”