He’d said the wrong thing.
It was obvious, in her accelerated heartbeat, in the alarm she felt. “We…we haven’t agreed to that,” she said.
“I just assumed we’d—”
“You assumed?” She sat up. “Assumed what?”
He opened his mouth, but nothing good came out. “I—that we—”
Her beautiful face was shadowed with suspicion. “That you’d already decided everything?”
“No,” he protested. “I just—wasn’t it? I thought we—”
“We do,” she said. “I mean. We…I like you. I like you a lot. I—I’ve never felt this way. But that doesn’t mean I’m ready for…for all of this. I just found out you were a werewolf this morning!”
Okay, that was fair. “I know this is confusing,” he said. “But—this is how I expected—this is how it happens. How it happened for Oliver and Elliot. You know, and then…you don’t hesitate, you just act.”
“I’m still not a werewolf,” she said. “I’m a Queen, whatever that means. And…I’m not ready to just act.”
He pulled his pants up. They’d done too much. He’d moved too fast. But at the same time…a lone queen was a vulnerable queen. He couldn’t just leave her alone. He could help her with clan business, he could help keep her safe—he needed to keep her safe. He felt compelled to. This alliance, this partnership, had to happen. He knew it.
How could he get her to see it? How could he show her?
There was a knock at the door. Shit. That was probably the food. “Why don’t we eat?” he said. “Maybe…maybe—”
“I’m not gonna change my mind on a full stomach,” she said, grabbing her jeans.
It made him sad every time that beautiful skin disappeared under that light fabric. So smooth and dark, like velvet. Maybe he’d just come, but he wanted her all over again. “I don’t think you are,” he said. “I…was just hoping you’d be less angry with me.”
She looked at him, a thousand emotions playing over her face. “I wouldn’t hold my breath if I were you,” she said. “But you’re right. I’m hungry. I bet you’re hungry too.”
“Starving,” he said. “And after that, maybe you’ll accept my apology.”
“Maybe,” she said, her face lightening a little bit. “I’ll get the door.”
It took her a second to get herself pulled together, glancing at herself in the bedroom mirror. God, she was beautiful. Even when she was angry. Maybe especially when she was angry; after all, she was the Queen. She might not be willing to admit it, but he could almost feel the power rippling through her.
The knock came again, more urgent. “I’m coming,” she called. Jason zipped his pants so he wouldn’t be obscene when he got out there. Did he smell something familiar?
“Lucy,” the voice said, a man’s voice, familiar. The man from Oliver’s.
“Richard,” she said. “Is everything all right?”
“Just fine,” he said. “Can I come in?”
There was someone—another werewolf—at the back door.
What the hell was Richard trying to pull?
He stayed back. Maybe Richard didn’t need to know he was there just yet. The werewolf would know, but in wolf form, he couldn’t exactly send Richard a text. His wolf wanted to jump in and start ripping throats, but he told it to stay calm.
This was going to be up to Lucy. Whether she—or he—wanted it that way or not.
“I wanted to review some things about the paperwork,” he said. “Do you have a minute?”
“I guess so,” she said. “I have some food coming in a minute, but—”
“It won’t take long,” he said. “I really appreciate it.”
“So what is it?”
He put his briefcase on the table. Jason tried not to think about what they’d been doing on that table earlier. “I’m afraid I’ll have to speak frankly. It’s about your clan.”
“Clan?” Jason heard Lucy’s heartbeat spike. He suppressed the desire to run out and demand that Richard explain himself. Lucy was doing all right. Playing dumb was probably the smart move, especially with Richard not being a werewolf himself. He couldn’t tell how nervous Lucy was, how her respiration had picked up. Jason just had to keep track of the werewolf at the back door. At least there was only one. Whatever he was up to, he couldn’t have much support if only one wolf was backing him up.
“Your uncle was a werewolf,” Richard said flatly. “I’m sure you’re aware of it, as you brought a werewolf to your uncle’s home. From another clan, at that.”
“I don’t understand this clan thing,” she said. “What, are there rivalries or something?”
Okay, she was piling it on a little thick at this point, but it sounded like it was working. Richard smelled more like annoyance than suspicion.
“I worked for your uncle for more than twenty years,” Richard said, sharply. “I was well aware of the clan’s inner workings. That man is attempting a hostile takeover of the clan. Your responsibility is to choose an alpha, to make sure the clan will be managed responsibly.”
“But…why are you asking me? Why not Frieda? She’s the oldest.”
“She doesn’t have the gift,” Richard said. “You do.”
“How do you know all this?” Jason had to admire the confusion Lucy was faking. “Are…are you a werewolf?”
“No,” Richard said. “I am just fortunate enough to have had the trust of the clan for many years. And there is an ideal candidate to be alpha to the clan.”
“Yeah?”
“I hope you’ll allow me to introduce him. And then there are certain…rituals that will have to be obeyed. Once we have your word…you will be free of this, and the clan can flourish, as it has for centuries.”
“Rituals,” she said. “What…kind of rituals?”
Jason wanted to know the answer to that question himself.
“Don’t worry,” Richard said. “They’re very simple, straightforward. But it has to happen on the night of a full moon, which is tomorrow. So we have to move quickly.”
“I see,” she said.
“First we need your signature on the legal forms, of course. The inheritance has to be—”
“I have another question,” Lucy said.
“What?”
“Do you think I’m stupid?”
***