Page 59 of The Tracker's Dawn: Sunderverse

CHAPTER 20

If before, I’d beendetermined to break Jake’s pact, now I was utterly resolute. No one would take my mate from me—not now that he had been fully mine once more. Not ever!

After our perfect night together, I was certain I wouldn’t be able to live without him.

We got back from Elf-hame in the early hours of the next morning. It had been difficult to say goodbye as he left to go back to his pack, to serve as their leader while they continued preparing for Mekare’s threat. All the packs had been getting ready, training, taking guidance, passing information down the chain of command from alphas to betas to everyone else.

I was in my room, trying to catch some shuteye. It was three in the morning, and I was deliciously tired but didn’t fall asleep right away. Instead, I lay in bed, recalling every detail of my date with Jake, and everything he’d done to make it perfect. Slowly, blissfully, I drifted into a deep sleep, free of nightmares and worries.

At 6 AM, I awoke. The restlessness I’d been dealing with for the last couple of weeks returned in full force. I showered and dressed in under ten minutes, a record for my lazy ass. I’d missed my training session with Eric, and it wouldn’t be the last one this week.

He said nothing about my absence when I walked into the kitchen in search of coffee. Instead, he informed me that Damien had the new Demonology Register in his possession, and he would arrive shortly. Rosalina joined us shortly, made herself some jelly toast, and sat across from me, expectant.

When I didn’t say anything, she sat straighter and said, “Sooo?”

My eyes flicked in Eric’s direction. She rolled her eyes.

“Do you want me to leave?” he asked, then added, “my own kitchen?”

“No,” I said. “Of course not. In fact, I don’t mind if you hear all about it.”

His blue eyes went wide as he stood in one swift motion, grabbed his cup of coffee, and headed out. “I just remembered there’s something I need to finish in my study. I’ll text you when Damien gets here.”

Rosalina and I snickered, watching him leave as if his tail was on fire.

“That worked better than I thought it would,” I said.

“Priceless.” She bit into her toast. “So how did it go?”

I told her all about our dinner and dance in every detail, then glossed over the rest of the night. When I was done, she sighed deeply.

“God, that man really knows how to show a woman a good time,” she said, looking wistful.

“You must be talking about me,” Damien said, strolling into the room, the folds of his cloak billowing behind him.

He removed it and bowed, his copper eyes connecting with Rosalina’s for a long time before flicking to me. The mage certainly appeared to be in an upbeat mood, judging by his playfulness and the huge smile on his face.

“Nope,” Rosalina said with a deadpan stare. “I was talking about Jake.”