What, what?"
Preston was dumbfounded.
"Go back to the pack manor and ask Mr. Sheridan to prepare the mating ceremony gifts."
It took Preston a few minutes to take in what Griffon had said and to regain his ability to speak after the shock he'd been delivered.
"You can't be serious. Are you really going to mate Tara? Her character is questionable at best for a Luna. Our pack needs someone kind, someone full of light and love…someone who respects other people."
Griffon didn't reply. His vacant eyes were filled with a dim light.
He felt as if he had fallen into a lonely abyss.
Preston's eyes were full of sympathy and helplessness.
"Griffon, we can wait a little longer. There's no need to-"
"What's there to wait about?" Griffon snarled.
Preston opened his mouth and wanted to say something, but it was useless.
No matter if they did it immediately or waited, the outcome was still the same.
Instead, Preston simply nodded and said, "I'll have Mr. Sheridan prepare the mating gifts."
The Rolls-Royce stopped at the entrance to Taya's neighborhood. Taya, lying in the back seat, had not woken up yet.
"Alpha, should I wake Ms. Palmer?" the driver asked.
Jackson turned his head to look at the peacefully sleeping Taya, feeling a bit reluctant to disturb her.
"Call for one of the men to pick you up. Leave the car to me."
The driver nodded and handed the keys over to Jackson before getting out of the vehicle.
Jackson didn't know which house Taya lived in, nor did he know when she would wake up.
After hesitating for a few minutes, he started the car and took her to his villa.
He had planned to stay there when he came to Arcadia for the bidding, but Ms. Thorin had insisted on arranging a hotel for them, so he had never been there.
One of the many perks of being a rich Alpha was the ability to have someone purchase real estate for you and take care of getting it set up.
After he parked the car, he carried Taya into the villa.
How was she still not awake?
"Alpha, you're here." Cora, who was waiting in the villa, hurried over when she saw Jackson.
He nodded and instructed, "Prepare a set of clean pajamas."
Cora glanced at the girl in his arms and dared not ask any more questions. She replied with a "yes" and went to find pajamas.
Jackson put Taya on the bed in the second bedroom. Looking at her peaceful and beautiful face, the sense of paranoia that had been plaguing him eased slightly.
He raised his hand and caressed her hair.
For a long time, he sat by the bed and watched her before asking Cora to help her change into the pajamas.
Then he went to the bathroom, washed up, and returned to the bedroom to look at Taya.
Seeing that she had turned over and changed her sleeping position, he heaved a deep sigh of relief.
It was as if she had pa*sed away silently when she fell asleep.
Now that Taya was safe and sound, he gently closed the door and turned to the main bedroom.
When I woke up, it was the next day.
I looked around the unfamiliar room in a daze.
Vaguely, I remembered crying on the sofa yesterday. I'd cried so hard that I was winded and fainted.
But… I was at the Knight pack's headquarters yesterday. How and why was I waking up in such a strange place?
I struggled to sit up, only to find that my legs were sore, and I couldn't move.
Glancing around the room, I saw my purse on the sofa across the room. I needed my medicine from it…but the sofa was so very far away.
I was about to crawl over to get the medicine, when the door opened and Jackson came in.
Goddess, he looked wonderful. The sunlight coming in through the window behind he made him glow, and I felt like I was looking at seventeen-year-old Silas.
"You're awake."
Jackson's gaze was gentle as he looked at me.
"Yeah." I felt uncomfortable and nodded before looking up at him. "Where am I?"
"This is my villa in Arcadia. I didn't know where you lived, so I brought you here."
"You have a home here? Then why didn't you refuse the hotel room?"
"Ms. Thorin insisted that you arrange a hotel for me. If I refused, she would have blamed you and said you messed up, right?"
He was right. "Thank you," I said quietly, nodding. "What was the result of the bidding?"
"The Sterling pack won the bid. And the Knight pack will be directly managing it, which means you'll be off the hook with Ms. Thorin."
My eyes widened. Griffon wasn't going to have the MPC handle project management?
But, what about Tara? Wasn't Griffon aware of just how bad this would make her look?
I couldn't quite figure it out, but I didn't ask anything further. "Congratulations."
Jackson's brows narrowed, and he opened his mouth like he wanted to say something, then closed it.
"Are you hungry?" he asked.
I shook my head, looking everywhere but at Jackson. This was too intimate. I noticed my clothes lying next to my bag, then looked down to see that I was wearing unfamiliar pajamas.
My gazed shot up to Jackson's face.
"It was the maid who helped you change."
I breathed a sigh of relief.
I needed to leave, to get away from Jackson, but my legs…
They were still frozen. I was trapped here.
I needed Jackson to take me home, but he would expect me to get out of bed…and I couldn't.
As I was thinking about how to get my pills without alerting him to the fact that I couldn't move my legs, he turned toward the door and called for someone.
"Cora."
A middle-aged woman in her 40s or 50s came in with a plate.
The woman-Cora, I presumed-looked kind. She had a gentle smile on her face, and her figure was plump. She looked like…a mother.
After placing the food tray on the table, she smiled. "Miss, I don't know what you like to eat, so I prepared some breakfast according to Alpha Sterling's tastes. Later, I can make you lunch according to your tastes instead."
Her kindness made me feel a little less uncomfortable. "Thank you."
Cora waved her hand. "You're welcome."
She walked out and closed the door behind her.
My heart stuttered when she closed the door. She must think we needed privacy, that there was intimacy between.
Now I felt even more uncomfortable than before. I struggled to sit up in the bed, only able to use my arms to shift around.
I leaned against the headboard, a little embarra*sed, and asked Jackson, "Can you take me home?"
Jackson didn't respond right away. After a few seconds, he frowned, heaved a sigh, and asked, "Do you have any other disease besides your heart issue?"
"Then why do you have to struggle to sit up?"
I sighed internally. No matter how well I pretended, Jackson could see through me.
"I have an insufficient blood supply, so I feel weak when I'm tired."
"Insufficient blood supply?"
His tone was full of skepticism.
"Do you have to hear the words 'terminal illness' from my mouth before you believe me?"
Jackson briefly explained. "That's not what I meant. I just think I interrupted him. "It doesn't matter what you mean. I don't have to report my physical condition to you. Or has something changed that I don't know about, and I'm required to?"
He looked taken aback for a second. No one spoke to an Alpha the way I'd just spoken to Jackson. And humans? H ell, "regular" humans probably rarely spoke to him at all.
He quickly recovered, and a glower slid over his face.
I was treading on thin ice with him, but right now, I am doingn't care.
"Would you like to rethink the tone you're speaking to me in?" he growled.
"No," I said matter-of-factly. "Especially regarding our history where my heart condition is concerned. And I'm not some simpering she-wolf who will flatter you, if that's what you're looking for."
I stared at Jackson without blinking.
Did he have a conscious? Even remotely?
He was the one who had damaged.