BROOKE
Huck had always given me butterflies, but now he gave me bees. A vibration. Anticipation. When midnight came, he was all business, leading the way down the hall without so much as a hello. Was he as eager as I was? My body ignited as images of our last encounter flashed through my mind. He seemed larger somehow. Darker. More. Perhaps that was simply gravity intensified by proximity. We'd gotten closer than we'd ever been, and now everything was magnified. His scent. His presence.
But once inside the forgotten room, he shut the door and immediately set to work filling a duffle bag.
I bit back my disappointment and focused on the present. "What happened to the rucksack?" I asked.
"Jewel has it."
"Oh." Déjà vu washed over me. "How did that go?"
Huck zipped the bag and hoisted it over his shoulder, turning to me. "We need to talk."
"Okay."
He crossed his arms and leaned back against the desk—the same desk he'd stretched me across the night before. "I need you to do some things for me."
My eyes trailed over him: wide shoulders, thick arms, long, lean, and powerful. I licked my lips. "Okay."
A soft growl slid from his throat, and he shook his head slowly. "Don't look at me like that."
"Like what?"
"Like you want to take risks neither of us can afford. It's too dangerous. Your mother made that perfectly clear."
"You heard that?" She hadn't said anything we didn't both already know, but hearing him side with her was like a kick to the ribs. This was it, the end before the start. Why now? Was it really Mother's warning or something more—something blonde? "Is that the only reason?"
"Isn't that reason enough?"
I bristled. I shouldn't have been irritated but I was. "You're the one who instigates it. Not me."
His lips curved. Even his fangs seemed sharper. "I know a nightgown that would disagree with you."
My skin flushed.
"I need you to go back to the good girl you were in the beginning. And if I lose focus...redirect me."
"And if I lose focus?"
"Then I'm a dead man."
I swallowed. As much as I hated to admit it, I knew he was right. I wanted him for longer than impatience could get me. "Okay."
"Good." His jaw twitched, and he focused on his feet. "And you need to make Titan love you."
It took a moment for his words to register. It was one thing to hear it from Mother, but he was my mate. How could he say that? "He wants me dead."
"Change his mind."
My mouth fell open. "Is that what you want?"
"I want you safe!"
I stepped back as if he'd struck me, and inside, my heart was cracking, breaking apart when it had only just started to be whole. "So that's it? We just give up?"
"We aren't giving up." He closed his eyes and took a slow, deep breath. "We just need time, Brooke. I need time to take back what's mine," he said, his tone deliberately calm. "It will be a lot easier if we aren't actively under attack. I know you're capable of doing this." His jaw twitched, and he looked at me. "A part of me feels like you've already succeeded."
I was capable. I'd been training for this moment my whole life, but he didn't know what he was asking for. If my interactions at breakfast bothered him, he wouldn't stand a chance against my best. "It wouldn't be easy to watch," I warned. "Are you capable of controlling your wolf?"
With a bitter laugh, he straightened and started for the door. "Best to save it for the daytime."
* * *
I kept my flirtation beneath the sun's rays: lunch in the garden, dinner in the courtyard, long conversations on daily walks through the grounds. I laughed at Titan's jokes and smiled with all of my teeth. I stayed quiet, but not too quiet. I offered opinions, but never opposing ones. A light touch on his arm. A batting of eyelashes.
Mother was ecstatic. I couldn't remember her ever being totally satisfied with anything I did, but I was finally the perfect daughter she'd always wanted. She wasn't the only one who could lie.
Huck never asked me how things were...progressing. Each night, he led the way to the hidden room, packed a bag, then our time together ended before it had even begun. He rarely talked about anything anymore, and the closer we got to the weekend, the more his tension grew.
We'd be leaving in the morning, and he would be the only guard.
There was so much I wanted to say to him, to prepare him, but I could never find the words, and now my time was up. There would be no going to the hidden room tonight. "Better to rest," he'd said. So I was surprised when the knock sounded on my door.
I looked at the clock. It was five past ten, barely enough time to let Bear make it downstairs. I walked over and opened it, finding none other than Aster. I should have known. "Hello, Aster."
I glanced at Huck, but he kept his eyes glued to the far wall.
"I brought you something." Aster reached into her bag and pulled out a wide, silver cuff. "It is a very old piece of jewelry," she said, though it didn't look like it. A pattern of vines and flowers was etched into its frosted surface. "Here—" She held it out. "—Lift your hair and I will show you how it is worn."
I hesitated, but her insistent stare was too powerful to say no to. I gathered my loose curls and twisted them into a knot, turning around and bending so she could place the collar around my neck. She clicked it into place, and cool metal covered me from chin to collar bones, flaring out at the bottom—blocking all possibility of a bite.
I ran my fingers over the surface, reaching around to find the clasp. It was seamless. My brow furrowed, and I turned back to face her. "How do I get it off?"
Her eyes danced. "With a key." She held up a tiny pin, then stuffed it into her bag. "Have fun on your trip, dear."
Then she left, like she usually did after dropping some new, odd, life-altering thing into my lap. I looked at Huck. He wasn't staring at the wall any longer. Instead, his eyes were on my neck.
"You can help me get this thing off, right?"
He met my gaze and shook his head slowly. "I think that was the point."
"So I have to wear this all the time?" I pulled at it. While it didn't exactly hurt, it wasn't comfortable either.
"We can use all the barriers we can get," he said.
I swallowed and gave up on the necklace, letting my hand fall limp at my side. "About tomorrow—"
"I'll be fine."
His tone sent a clear message to drop it, but he didn't understand. "I just want you to know it doesn't mean anything."
"I know."
"But does your wolf?"
A peek of orange flickered across his irises, and he focused back on the wall. "Get some sleep, Your Grace. It's going to be a long weekend."
* * *
Early morning came too soon, and I was disappointed to learn we wouldn't be traveling in separate vehicles. A luxury SUV idled in front of the castle, and Titan helped me into the very back, while Huck and three sentinels filled the remaining seats in front of us.
Titan stretched his arm across the seat behind me. We were sitting so close our legs were touching, and I was hyper-aware of Huck's position less than three feet away.
"Tell me a secret," Titan murmured, bending his head toward mine.
I swallowed and searched his expression. Did he know something? "What kind of secret?"
He grinned. "How many secrets do you have?"
"A lady never tells."
His smile faded slightly. "It doesn't have to be that way. Not with us."
Something about his tone caught my attention. "What do you mean?"
"You know what I mean." He ran his knuckles over my cheek. "I don't want you to think of me as another piece on the chessboard. I grow so tired of the constant maneuvering, don't you?"
I nodded. It was the most honest thing I'd ever heard someone say about society. Had he decided I was worth keeping alive after all?
Titan leaned back, sinking into his seat until his face was level with mine. So different from his usual demeanor.
"You seem relaxed," I commented.
"I'm on vacation with the most beautiful woman alive. Shouldn't I be?"
Huck didn't make a sound, but I could somehow feel his blood pressure rising. If our roles were reversed, no way would my wolf remain so calm. Even now, she was raging to get away, and it had never been harder to control her. I forced the best smile I could manage.
"Now," Titan said. "Tell me a secret."
Would he prefer to hear about the murder of his driver or my current dealings in a seditious conspiracy against him? "I used to steal Mother's wine and stay up late watching R-rated movies."
His eyes danced. "I had no idea my luna was such a rebel."
"Are you terribly disappointed?"
"On the contrary, I'm corrupted. Let's do that tonight. I'll supply the wine. One perk of being alpha is that I get to have my own."
"Really?" I gushed. Goddess, help me, that was the last thing I wanted to do. "That sounds perfect." I hated saying it. I wanted to decline, but the way to a man's heart was through his ego. Mother had drilled that into me for years. If a man buys you a meal, it must be the most delicious thing you've ever eaten. If a man chooses anything, you must proclaim it your favorite. Fickle creatures, she'd called them. But easy to manipulate.
"I like this," Titan said, running one finger over the necklace Aster had forced upon me. "Where did you get it?"
"Isn't it lovely?" I lied. It was the most uncomfortable, ridiculous thing I'd ever had the displeasure of wearing. "Aster gifted it to me last night."
"Did she?" His brows lifted. "You must have impressed her. Aster usually gifts people a whack with her cane."
I huffed a laugh. If that wasn't accurate, I wasn't sure what was. "I must be special," I said.
"You're remarkable."
My wolf recoiled from his tone. Too soft. Too genuine. Had I achieved what Huck wanted me to do, or was this another lie? It was hard to tell now. After all, I hadn't been capable of spotting so many others.
Titan tucked a piece of fallen hair back behind my ear. "You look as if you don't know that."
"No, I do."
He laughed, and for the rest of the trip, I let him do most of the talking, going on about everything he'd planned for us to do: cafés, museums, shopping on the square.
I asked questions when appropriate and gave all the right reactions. Thankfully, the conversation dwindled, and the bulk of the ride continued in blessed silence. I kept my gaze toward the window, taking in the scenery as if trees were the most interesting thing in the world. But once we made it off the mountain, I didn't have to pretend anymore. Billboards and buildings and an overabundance of cars looked different in person than they had on television. Even my wolf hushed, and I straightened in my seat, taking it in as if I'd just stepped foot on an alien planet.
"What do you think?" Titan asked as we entered the city.
"There's so many people."
Too many to count filled the sidewalks, making the high town look empty by comparison. Shops upon shops, restaurants, and high rises stretched so far and wide they blocked out the earth. Patches of grass and lonely trees were sprinkled strategically within the concrete, drops of nature in an ocean of unnaturals.
The SUV pulled up to the curb, and everyone apart from the driver climbed out.
"Park it and secure our rooms. We'll arrive after breakfast," Titan said, then he turned and placed his hand on the small of my back, leading me toward the little café he'd mentioned. "Let's take a picture. Our first brunch in the city." He pulled out his phone, opened the camera, then passed it to...Huck.
My smile tightened as Titan wrapped his arm around my shoulder, but I wasn't prepared for what happened next.
He cupped my cheek, turned my head, and kissed me.