25

I was totally at his mercy with his scent.

I clutched his shoulders while lowering my head. Once my forehead met his chest, I let it out, the hidden insecurities and worries that I carried

around because of this weird pairing. Was he uncertain too? Maybe we

were just waltzing around in a confused dance together like everybody else who had been matched by our alpha.

Jada had done it. Plenty of other women in the pack had done it. I could do it too.

But that was just the thing: I didn’t want to do this. I didn’t want to be trapped in a marriage that was going to fall apart in a few years. I knew how it worked.

This was stupid. I pushed on Troy’s chest, trying to retreat deeper into the stall. I turned to the window and inhaled the salty breeze. I crossed my arms over my chest, keeping as tightly to myself as possible even as the skin of my back tingled with a desire to flip back around and face Troy.

Gods, what was I getting into with this crap?

“My parents were matched, you know,” I spilled uncontrollably.

“They weren’t like, unhappy or anything like that. But they weren’t really

happy either.”

Troy stepped up beside me, his gaze on the fields with his arms loosely hanging at his sides. He had such a non-lethal stance for an alpha. It made me feel safer.

I hugged my chest. “Their families did it. Can you believe that?

Emmett and I were the product of an arranged marriage. We grew up in that nonsense.”

“Did they fight?”

“No, they hardly ever raised their voices at each other. Maybe once, I guess.” I squinted at the distant trees. “Shoot, I don’t even remember what that was about.”

I saw Troy nod out of my peripheral vision. “Do they live on the ranch?”

My heart twitched. “They died a while back.”

“I’m sorry to hear that, Skye. That must have been painful.”

“It was…” I shrugged. Was it painful to lose people who weren’t particularly attentive? “I don’t know.”

His hand slid into mine. The motion brought with it an airy, light feeling of comfort like the first chilly breeze on an autumn day. It promised a cleansing I hadn’t realized was needed.

I squeezed his hand. “Emmett has been overprotective since then.

He shoved me into a bunker during the Gilbert invasion.” The scoff that left me was more out of irritation than disappointment. Though there was plenty of that too. “He kept saying he couldn’t lose me and that I had to carry on the family name.”

Troy’s responding squeeze provided more comfort. “It sounds like he cares about you a great deal.”

“Yeah, it’s stupid.” I laughed. “I could have done something other than sitting in a secured basement with a bunch of crying babies.”

“They were scared.”

I shuddered away from his tone. It wasn’t judgment. But it wasn’t exactly understanding either. What did I care? It wasn’t like he was

expected to do anything else except fight, fight, fight.

All I had to do was breed.

I redacted my hand and rubbed it against my chest, trying to get the burning feeling out of my heart. “I was scared for my brother. I was scared that we wouldn’t make it out alive. I was just…” I shook my head. “It’s over now. It doesn’t matter.”

“Your feelings always matter, Skye.”

“Now you just sound like Laurencia.”

A crooked smirk formed on his lips that I spotted without turning my head too much. He folded his hands behind his back. “Is that the one who dances with herbs?”

“That’s one way to put it.” He laughed. “She’s lively.”

“And annoying. And sweet. And protective.”

“Your friends love you, Skye. Your brother cares about you. Those are beautiful things to have in this life.”

Sentimental feelings lurked around those syllables. He was talking about so much more without saying so.

I sighed. “I know you lost your pack. I’m sorry.” “It’s the price of life.”

“That doesn’t mean it’s okay.”

He looked at me then, spirals of honey emanating from his gaze like liquid sun drops.

I could just die here and be content with the way he has looked at me today.

“Thank you,” he whispered. “That’s kind of you to say.” “Well, it’s—”

My phone’s alarm blared so loudly that I jumped. Two movements silenced the alarm and then I was truly alarmed by what I saw on the

screen. Lunch with Emmet in five minutes.

“Son of a donkey dick,” I swore as I raced out of the stall. “I’ve got

to go!”

“Where?”

I grabbed his hand. “No time. Let’s go.” And off we went to meet my brother.

Together.

Because maybe if I brought a man to lunch, Emmett would get the hell off my back about having babies. Yeah, that was a good plan. Show up with a man, tell Emmett all about my sexy mate, and then shove off those weird feelings of failure that were a result of not reproducing. Everybody

else around here was reproducing enough for the pack. I didn’t need to be doing it too.

No matter how squishy and magnificent this man made me feel, I wouldn’t sleep with him. I wouldn’t risk it. No matter what.