Page 170 of Ensnared by the Pack: The Complete Series (Destined Realms #3)
BISHOP
Every time I looked at Audrey, she stole my breath. I’d arrived in the ballroom a few moments ago, expecting to find her already here and had been worried when I hadn’t seen her. But her entry now made that momentary burst of fear that her injuries were worse than expected worth it.
She was a goddess stepping through the open double doors into the brightly lit room. Her makeup was delicately done, hiding all but the shadows of the scrapes and bruises on her face, accentuating her beauty but not erasing the proof of her courage, and her hair twisted over her head in a stunning, complicated style. Flecks of shimmering gold caught the light in her blond strands, adding to her divine etherealness, and the golden dress I’d had made just for her clung perfectly to her scant curves — curves I intended to grow with good food, peace, and love.
My mate would never have to fear for her life — at least once we’d dealt with the grimalkins and caught whoever or whatever had tried to kill her — and she’d never wonder when she’d get her next meal.
She was flourishing before my eyes, bravely facing everyone in the room with her head held high and not afraid to make eye contact. That never would have happened when she’d first arrived. Hell, she’d been looking at the ground and shrinking into herself two weeks ago.
She was still nervous — I could feel it crackling through our mating bond — but she didn’t look it. I could even feel a hint of her alpha power softly rolling off her as if after standing her ground against Cyrus to go to the healing pools and fighting with the grimalkins, it hadn’t fully retreated back behind her curse.
Knox had mentioned the same thing when he’d told me she was okay and that I had to keep watch over her while he hunted. But whether the curse was crumbling or not, it didn’t matter. I fell in love with her when she didn’t have a speck of power. If her alpha power never manifested again, I’d still love her.
Although it did feel as if things were changing for her. Just like she was breaking through her fears and claiming her place and her worth in this pack, her alpha power was breaking through her curse.
Soon everyone would be able to see what I saw, that she belonged at my and my brothers’ sides.
And while I knew Cyrus was still fighting with himself because he thought our pack wouldn’t accept her, his body language, the fact that he stood too close to her, told me he’d accepted the truth— or rather, his wolf had fully embraced the truth. Audrey was his mate.
Now all I needed was for his human half to catch up and stop making life confusing and stressful for Audrey.
I loved my brother, but his need to control everything while also sacrificing himself to the pack made me want to strangle him. He deserved to be happy, too. Hell, he’d probably be a better alpha to our pack if he was happy.
He, however, wasn’t going to change overnight. I needed to be patient and wait for the right moment to give him that final push to tell Audrey how he feels.
I just hoped to the Sisters that it would come soon. The sexual tension between them was driving me crazy.
Plastering a pleasant smile on my face, I slipped through the crowd, and joined them just as they reached Jundar.
“Audrey, this is Speaker Jundar, General of the Ciliran forces,” Cyrus said. “Speaker, this is my brothers’ mate, Audrey.”
Jundar, a stocky man with white short-cropped hair that stood out sharply from his dark skin, smiled at Audrey even before Yara, a small woman with large dark eyes and long wild hair, had finished translating Cyrus’s words in to Cilirinian, not because he understood our language, but that it was clear Cyrus was making introductions.
Jundar’s smile deepened as he bowed his head and said something back.
Audrey waited for Yara to translate, a blush already forming on her cheeks, though I doubted anyone but me and maybe Cyrus noticed.
Then she opened her mouth, looked at Jundar instead of the translator as was proper, and said two short words in Cilirinian.
Both Jundar’s and Yara’s eyes widened in surprise. A glower flickered over Cyrus’s expression before he schooled it back to something still hard but more pleasant while my pulse lurched.
I hadn’t wanted to reveal Audrey’s ability to understand every language in this realm and not just because it let her listen in on conversations we couldn’t understand. Our allies would ask questions that I didn’t want Audrey to have to answer, not until she felt more secure in this realm and our pack.
Jundar said something, and panic snapped through our mating bond.
Thankfully, Audrey’s expression remained neutral before shortly slipping into a frown when Yara didn’t automatically speak, pretending she hadn’t understood Jundar.
Yara glanced at Jundar, who gave a slight nod, telling her to translate.
“The speaker didn’t realize you could speak Cilirinian,” Yara said.
Audrey opened her mouth then snapped it shut, her gaze jumping to mine.
“She’s only learned a few niceties,” I replied for her as I joined their group while praying Audrey had only said thank you or something similar in Cilirinian. “She’s far from fluent.”
“Too bad,” Yara translated. “I like Yara—” A smile pulled at Yara’s lips. “But speaking through her still makes for an awkward conversation.”
“Maybe next time the Alliance meets Audrey will know more.” I tugged Audrey closer to my side and nuzzled the top of her head to breathe in her scent. “Will you excuse us? I haven’t talked to my mate all day.”
Jundar and Yara gave us knowing smiles, and I drew Audrey away from them to our table. No one else was near, they were all gathered on the dance floor talking and waiting for dinner to officially start.
“Thanks for that,” Audrey said as I pulled out a chair for her. “I hadn’t even realized I’d spoken in Cilirinian until I saw their expressions.”
She sat and I sat beside her, my wolf urging me to move our chairs closer together. “I kind of got that from the panic rushing through our bond.”
“But you covered for me perfectly and set me up to be able to speak Cilirinian the next time we see the speaker,” she said.
“It’s your decision when or if you want anyone to know about your fluency in languages.” I brushed my lips against hers, savoring their softness as well as the love billowing through our bond. “I’ll always have your back.”
“I know you will.” She leaned closer and deepened our kiss, filling it with a promise of something more later tonight.
Which was good. Knox and I had plans for her, and while I needed to remember to be gentle because of her injuries from the fight, I wasn’t going to be able to keep my hands off her. Our bond was still so new and we’d finally gotten back from the healing pools to some privacy.
“Ah, the newly mated,” Deacon laughed, his voice right in my ear.
Audrey jerked back, her face a brilliant red, which only made Deacon laugh harder.
“Sorry, alphas,” he said, “but you’ve drawn a bit of an audience.”
Horror seeped through our bond as she glanced at the dance floor from where almost everyone stared at us.
“Something joyous to celebrate in the middle of such heartache,” Folmar said. “To the newly mated alphas! May you be blessed with many healthy cubs.”
The rest of the room joined her toast, and Audrey’s blush rushed down her neck and spread, her darkened skin highlighting the shimmering twined bond marks on the side of her throat. A throat I couldn’t wait to bite again.
Sisters, I couldn’t wait to get her alone.