Lucas smiled at me over his coffee cup. "How about we go to the pack house and meet some of the pack today. What do you think?"
I let my jaw drop in fake shock. "You mean there are other people in your pack? I thought you were an absolute one-wolf show."
"As much as I would love to be that..." He set his cup on the table and leaned towards me. "... I'm merely a small part of a family empire."
"I could argue that you're definitely not a small part," I mumbled around a forkful of pancake.
For a long minute, he stared at me with that deep, all-knowing, straight-through-me gaze of his. The corner of his mouth twitched, and he broke out laughing.
"I knew that there was a minx in there somewhere. Man... I wasn't expecting you to say something that bold out loud, but I love it."
"Don't get used to it," I muttered. "I'm not going to make a habit out of it."
"Duly noted," he said. "But seriously...how about officially meeting some of the pack today?"
"Do they...know that you found your mate?" For some reason, the thought that going in cold turkey as a stranger felt very unsettling.
He leaned back in his chair with a shrug. "They all saw me possessively dancing with you, and then we disappeared for the rest of the night...and the following three days. So yeah. I think they know."
I flushed at his insinuation. Sure, most people would put two and two together, but I didn't know if his parents had made an announcement after we'd left. Besides the fact that we'd been shut up in his house for three days, maybe him disappearing with a girl wasn't anything out of the ordinary.
"Karina?"
I hadn't realized that I'd mentally wandered off until my gaze snapped back to my mate. Any trace of humor had faded from his features, and his gaze made me wonder if I'd spoken out loud.
"I haven't slept around," he clarified. "I'm a lycan, and my family takes a mate bond very seriously. They threw a ball for my sister when she found her mate."
I gawked. "Are they going to..." Good grief. What would they do for us?
He waved off my concern. "My parents will only public celebrate if we want to. They wouldn't dampen my sister's mood by throwing another party on the tail of hers. We're safe on that."
He rose from his chair and circled the table to stand behind me. When he gripped my shoulders, happy mate sparks flashed through my veins. I tipped my head back to look up at him.
"I'm serious, Karina. You are my first and only in every way. Okay?"
"Okay," I whispered.
He bent down and kissed my forehead. "Go put on something snazzy, darling. We're going to meet the pack."
I wasn't totally sure what 'snazzy' meant, but ten minutes later I returned to the kitchen in a pair of jean shorts, a nice tank top, and a pair of dress sandals. I'd tossed my semi-wavy hair up into a high ponytail. A light layer of makeup finished the look.
Lucas whistled when I stepped around the corner. "Good thing I've marked you. Otherwise I'd be warding off every unmated male in my pack."
I rolled my eyes and tucked myself against his side. "Sure, sure. Can we just get this over with? I'm plenty nervous as is."
"Don't be nervous." He wrapped around my shoulder and squeezed. "I'll be by your side every moment."