Page 74 of The Wolf Lord's Mate

Nathaniel dismounted swiftly, his hands finding their way to my hips in order to help me down. His gaze caught mine as I steadied myself on his shoulders, the hardness of his expression catching me off guard. Stone features stared back at me, his jaw hard set and his brow taut.

I had grown used to the Lord's steady smiles and carefully held composure, but I had never seen him so serious; and yet, behind it all there was a message in his eyes.

A pleading that lived in those emerald pools, a desire to tell me something that I was not sure Nathaniel even had the words to say.

Be safe.

Be smart.

Know that I adore you.

I love you.

Love permeated every fiber of that male's being, and the burst of it hit me so intensely in my chest that I could scarcely breathe.

Nathaniel set me down carefully on my feet, sparing me one last, longing glance before the love in his eyes fell away. Every ounce of sparkle and mirth and softness they held when pointed at me slipped away into nothing. Into a dull forest full of lifeless, quiet creatures.

They were a Wolf's eyes, the kind I had so often known in my youth; fierce and uncaring to the plights of a lesser creature like myself.

The same eyes that had merely skimmed over my starving frame and given dirty looks at the coughs of my ailing mother, as if her sickness were merely an inconvenience to them.

Seeing that look in Nathaniel's eyes was another experience entirely, and it was as if he were a stranger.

Every fear of what if lived in those eyes: what if Nathaniel were a different sort of Wolf, the kind that I had been expecting?

What if he had been that sort of Wolf all along, and he had merely been pretending?

My heart was a desperate rabbit in my chest, and though Nathaniel's gaze did not change, he did lift his hand and point to his ear.

I took a deep breath, and I nodded.

Walton or his men could be listening. They could be watching too, and we had to be careful.

But watching Nathaniel walk up to the door without a glance behind him, something inside of me broke, some hidden barrier of wanting that I had kept buried.

Because for the first time since Nathaniel had found me in the Alleys, I felt alone. And I realized that it was because of Nathaniel that I had nearly forgotten the feeling altogether.

I fought hard to remember that look of devotion in his eyes, but there was a far more difficult battle going on—trust. Choosing to trust that those emotions were true, that the love that glittered in his gaze was a promise and not a lie.

Grabbing the bag from off of the horse, I followed behind dutifully the way I would behind any other Wolf. Nathaniel had always preferred that I walk beside him or even in front of him, but that would be unheard of for a mate-less human of no status or particular importance.

Being unimportant was nothing new to me, and I understood those rules better than anything else that I knew about Wolves. Most were self important and arrogant, and the worst of them were cruel especially when given anything they perceived as disrespect.

I did not intend to give Walton a reason to be cruel.

Nathaniel breezed through the front door, his steps loud and assured, leaving it open for me to follow after.

By the time I crossed the threshold, he was halfway down the hallway caught in a whispered conversation with Captain Leo, whose curious gaze darted between us with every word that Nathaniel spoke, most likely lies about our arrangement.

"Mira," Nathaniel called out, "You can leave that in the hall, I've have Samuel sort it out. I'll see you upstairs tonight."

I nodded, the innuendo in his words making me flush despite myself. The whole rouse of this rested upon the fact that I was warming his bed, which I had already been doing, but the falseness of it made it seem all the more untoward.

And somewhat more erotic, like we were playing an odd game with one another.

Although it was in fact a very dangerous game indeed, a truth reminded to me by the voice of a stranger echoing through the hall.

"Nathaniel," A steady voice, calm and soft like the waters before a great storm, "You have returned from your excursion—finally. I was terribly disappointed to hear that you were away when I arrived."

A Wolf stood at the open door of the study, closer to me than to Nathaniel, but my Lord took all of his attention.

The male was tall, and almost as broad as Nathaniel with wide shoulders barely brushed by smooth, auburn hair.

I could only presume that this was Lord Walton from the demeanor with which he held himself; haughty and sure.

In truth, he was beautiful in the way that so many alphas were, but there was something just past the veneer of his fine features that held an unspoken darkness.

"Next time," Nathaniel said, "You must tell us of your presence ahead of time so that I might be able to greet you properly."