Chapter 147
Chapter 147
James--
With Cora finally sitting alone at the other side of my desk, I’m cautiously optimistic about getting some work done with this meeting. She has an unreadable mask over her emotions, but I know where she stands now. She’s committed to Landon. It’s written all through their body language. They should get wedding rings like the humans do and get it over with. She’ll stay with him no matter what any other pack says. It’s nice for her and Landon, but unfortunate for me. Cora won’t be as dedicated as I am to finding a way to break or ignore the fated mate bond. I let her stew while I think through my plan for this meeting again.
No matter what Logan or Oliver say, I know the stars are just old light. There’s no point ‘fighting’ them, because fate doesn’t actually exist. The stars aren’t responsible for possibly inflicting me on Anna Carmichael. It’s an accident of biology, just like Cora said. The technology available now puts anything our ancestors could have imagined to shame. If this is an issue of brain chemistry, there are medications that alter that. If it’s a hormonal problem, that can be fixed, too. We just need access to more information and more informed wolf shifters.
After a moment of silence, I know which questions to ask first. “Why are you still so adamant about finding other packs?”
Cora’s eyebrows twitch higher on her forehead. She didn’t expect me to start there. “I have multiple reasons. The most important right now is that all four of you are practically flying blind. You have barely any history to draw from, what you do have is useless, and you don’t know anything about yourselves.”
“I disagree, though I see how you came to that conclusion. What are the less important reasons?”
Her mouth presses into a tight line. She feels dismissed, though I’m gathering all the information before I truly react– much like she would’ve done. It seems she finds it difficult to be on the other side of her own methods. “The other reasons are that you… we… need help. This fated mate chaos is turning all your packs upside-down. Sure, Logan and Landon are the only ones who have been mated– so far– but knowing it happened to them reminds everyone in all four packs that the possibility exists. I learned to deal with Landon, but someone else might not be so lucky. We need to find a way out for them. Just in case.”
I refuse to smile at the thought of Cora ‘dealing with’ Landon, especially when she finally says exactly what I wanted to hear. She’s still searching for a way out, but as a crusade for others instead of for her own self interest. This is almost better. She’ll think more clearly this way. “Interesting that you’ve given up on breaking your mate bond. I suppose Landon has found a way to be more endearing than you first thought?”
She rolls her eyes. “He says ‘thanks a lot,’ but I realize now that if there was a point of no return, I’m already far past it. I don’t even want to know what’s happening in my grey matter to make telepathy possible. So far, all we know is that it has something to do with scent– mine changed while Landon held me prisoner, and that’s what allowed his wolf to see me as his mate. He claims to have been drawn to me the whole time with no knowledge as to why. We need more. More cases, more information, more people studying that information. We don’t have all the facts.”
“And that’s what you really care about. Having all the facts.” I point out. If she– and Landon, through her– finds out that I already suspect Ms. Carmichael to be my mate, Landon will have the entire alliance matchmaking. I’ll never be able to stay away from her after that. I’ll never be able to… save her.
Cora is squinting at me. “You saw my childhood home. You clearly already know that I have some trauma responses to work through. I don’t need your judgement.”
I suppose my faintly disapproving mask could be mistaken for personal judgement. I don’t correct her, though. “So you are adamant about contacting other packs. You think it’s the only way forward.”
“I do, yes.” She nods definitively.
I allow myself to look faintly amused. I have to get this right. “You seem to have forgotten that you are not Alpha, nor even mated to one. You are to submit to the orders of those more dominant than you.”
The sound of Cora gritting her teeth is all that breaks the silence for a moment. I’m almost worried I overplayed my hand when she replies. “I am… working on that. I’m sure you can appreciate that it’s a difficult concept for me to grasp… Sir.”
She tacks on the honorific late, as a clear afterthought. It’s the first time she’s shown me the respect I’d expect from other shifters in this entire meeting. “I do understand. In that light, I think allowing you to contact them seems to be the only way to keep you from disobeying every Alpha in the alliance and getting yourself and your mate cast out.” Cora’s grin stretches unchecked across her face. “But!” Her face falls. “There are stipulations you must follow, and precautions to be taken. You have to agree right now to abide by any and all of those, no matter what they end up being.”
“Fine.” She says, mutinously. I am well-versed in dealing with brats, so I simply wait for the correct answer to spill from her mouth. It takes another painfully long silence, but she eventually figures out what I want. “Yes, sir. I swear.”
“Good girl.” I say with a nod. I hear an enraged growl from the other side of my door. It isn’t Edwards, so it must be Landon. When I look back to Cora for an explanation, it’s to find her blushing for the first time in our acquaintance. Ah. I should have anticipated that.