"I think we should wait until Thursday to begin." He dropped his hands and took a step back. "It's still not healed enough for extensive training."
"That's fine." Mr. Hale waved him off. "You two head on out.”
“She can stay here if she wants.” Liam stood tall.
“No, she can’t.” Mr. Hale lifted his chin, and power rolled off his body. “I’m still in charge, not you. At least, not yet.”
It’s fine. The last thing I wanted to do was to come between him and his parents. Meet me back at the dorm when you’re done.
It won’t be long. He leaned over and kissed my cheek.
Mr. Hale sneered as he watched his son’s actions toward me. “Oh, and Ms. Davis, I’ll be expecting to see you tomorrow in the restaurant for coffee at noon. Don’t be late.” The animosity in his voice was clear.
If I had thought he might have been accepting of me, all that hope vanished. He looked at me with pure disgust. Mr. Hale was the reason I was at Wolf Moon. Bree had told him about how I stood up to the heirs at a party and that there was something about me. He’d paid for my first year here for two reasons. The first was that he didn’t want anyone to have any effect over Liam, and two, he was intrigued by my wolf’s strength. At first, he was ecstatic about me being here and even mentioned mentoring me for a city alpha position. Despite that, when he learned I was his son’s fated mate, he wanted me gone. The closer Liam and I became, the more Mr. Hale’s dislike of me grew.
It couldn’t be a good thing when a council member wanted you gone.
Chapter Two
When I walked into the dorm, I found Bree on the sofa, crying, her long dark brown hair cascading over her shoulders as she cried into her hands. Her face jerked up, and her blue eyes widened when she saw me there. "What … What are you doing here? You have class."
I was just going to ignore that since she was deflecting. "Hey, what's wrong?" I hurried past the first hallway on the left, which led to my bedroom, and sat down next to her.
The dorm was the nicest place I’d ever lived. Our room was on the top floor, which was reserved for the council’s family. The walls were painted the silver of our school’s logo, which made the rooms feel larger. The room was furnished with a recliner on either side of the blood-red leather couch and a huge flat screen on the wall across from the sofa. Our kitchen was in the corner of the room with partial walls that kept the rooms somewhat separated.
"It's nothing." She sniffed and wiped a tear away from her face.
"It sure doesn't look like nothing." I didn't want to pressure her, but she needed to know I was there for her.
"Well, it's Nate." Her bottom lip pouted a little. "He's wanting me to come home to meet his parents over fall break, but I can't."
"Why not?" To me that sounded like a very good thing. He was ready to take their relationship to the next level.
"Don't you remember who my parents are?" She placed her hands in her lap. "They are pissed about Liam and you. Could you imagine how they would take news of Nate? I can't bring that into our relationship. I can't ask that of him."
"But it's his choice to make. You don't have the right to make the decision for him." That's what Liam had done with us. He decided on his own that I wouldn’t want to take all the risks of becoming a council mate. I'd be a target for anyone that wanted to hurt him, but the thing was, he was worth the risk. "Look at how that worked out with your brother."
A small smile spread across her face, and she leaned over to wrap her arms around me. "I am so lucky to have you in my life."
"I love you too." I hugged her back. "I’m thinking you don't plan on leaving him, right?"
She pulled back and frowned. "I know I'm supposed to, but... I can't."
"Honestly, there is absolutely no reason why you should." Yes, it was clear that the council thought fated mates made them weak, but I didn't agree. Destiny had to know something we all didn't. In my case, I was meant to be the Overseer, so it made sense that Liam and I were meant to be. "It's something I hoped the heirs changed when they take over." Hell, I'd be taking over with them, and I’d make sure it changed.
"You really think there is hope?" Her eyes lit up as she anticipated the next words out of my mouth.
"If I have anything to do with it, there will be." Nate was the perfect half to her. He was amazingly kind and treated her like gold. That was what mates were meant to do; make you strong and complete. After everything we’d been through, finally, Liam was coming around.
If the both of us could handle the pressure of the council, there was nothing that could get in our way.
"Then, I'll tell him yes." A small smile spread on her face. "I'll come up with something to tell Dad." She waved her hands around.
The front door swung open as Liam entered the room. His face was tense, and his jaw ticked, which was a sign of him being royally pissed off.
"I take it things didn't go well?" There was always such turmoil around and involving the two of us. I hated that we couldn't just be happy.
"No, but he'll learn to deal with it soon." He walked over to pull me to my feet and into his arms.
"Dad?" Bree stood beside us and arched an eyebrow.
"Yeah, he wants me to reject her." He ran his fingers through my hair. "I told him he could go to Hell."
"I never thought I'd see the day when you would challenge the council." She headed toward her room. "I have a feeling I don't want to see what comes next." She slammed her door.
As soon as we were alone, his lips were on mine.
It bothers me that I'm causing so many problems for you. Even as I said the words, his lips were making goosebumps climb my skin.
You've made me the happiest I've ever been, and I'm not giving you up. He grasped my waist, lifting me up, not missing a beat while continuing to hold our kiss.
I wrapped my legs around his waist as he headed to my bedroom. Within seconds of slamming the door shut with his arm, he was on top of me on my bed.
He placed his hands on the blood-red comforter on top of my bed to hold himself up and kissed down my neck, scraping his teeth against where he'd already marked me. One hand slipped under my shirt, and I raised myself slightly as he pulled it from my body.
I winced as my shoulder twinged with pain from the movement.
"Dammit, I tried to be careful." He threw my shirt on the ground, and his eyes zeroed in on my injury. It was only scabbed on the surface, but the tissue Simon had bitten through was still healing internally.
"It's fine. I'll be healed by tomorrow or Thursday." I lifted up and kissed his lips, wanting to get his focus back on me. He’d refused to have sex with me until I was better, so this wasn't going to go in my favor if I didn’t get his attention elsewhere.
"Then, we can wait until then." He started to pull away from me, but I wrapped my legs around his waist, forcing his body forward.
He caught himself at the last second, trapping me within his arms.
"No, not allowed. You don't get to deny me this morning." I pushed him over and rolled on top of him. My lips slammed onto his, and I reached down, rubbing my hand along him over his pants.