“But now that you’re about to face the trials, it’s fine.”
The irritation in her voice was unmistakable. Gripping her chin again, he lifted her face to him once more.
“I am going to survive the trials,” he said.
She nodded, but his words didn’t ease the sorrow in her eyes.
“And I won’t claim you before the trials,” he said.
“Why not?”
“Because others cannot know what you are to me until the trials are over and I’m around to protect you. They’ll see you as a weakness to me, and they’ll go after you to get at me. And I will not let anything happen to you.
“When the trials are over, the throne is mine, and I can protect you better, I’ll make sure every immortal knows what you are to me and that fucking with you will equate to a swift and brutal death. Until then, only Brokk can know what you are to me.”
Chapter Seventeen
Lexi wasn’t sure what to say. She would give anything for five minutes alone to think and maybe scream a little. Then she would sort this mess out.
She should be happy. He would never cheat on her or forsake her for another. They would be together forever, but she wanted him to love her for her and not because of his lycan biology.
And was eternity something she wanted? Yes, she loved him, but she was still young, and he was the only man and the only relationship she’d ever known.
Shouldn’t she experience more?
She tipped her head back to gaze into his striking blue eyes. They pierced straight into her soul and caused her heart to race. Could she ever let another touch her in the same way as him?
Her stomach rolled at the possibility, and bile burned her throat. No. She could never touch another or be with another like she was with him.
She was young and inexperienced when it came to men, and she would always remain that way. Well, maybe not so inexperienced as he was always teaching her something new, but she would never know another man.
She loved him too much for that, and even if he didn’t profess his love in return, he was as much hers as she was his.
“We can discuss the details of the bond when you survive the trials,” she said.
A small smile curved his mouth, but it didn’t sparkle in his eyes like it normally did.
“What about the Lord?” she whispered.
Cole stiffened against her. “What about him?”
“What….” She glanced nervously around though it was only the two of them here. “He killed your father, Cole. What do you plan to do about that?”
“I plan to kill him.”
Lexi had suspected such a thing, but hearing it confirmed made her gulp.
“I’m not sure how, but that man will die,” Cole vowed.
A knock on the door in the outer room pulled his attention away from her before she could respond.
“What?” he demanded.
“The council has sent word,” Brokk’s muffled voice barely carried through the wooden door and both rooms.
Cole hugged her close before reluctantly pulling away. Lexi rolled out the other side of the bed and lowered her feet onto the gray stone floor before rising. The stone was cool against her bare feet, and she wished for her slippers.
Near the fireplace was a fluffy white rug with the head of some monster she’d never seen before. She hadn’t stepped fully onto the rug, it seemed wrong to step on dead things, but she did push on it with her toes and discovered it was soft and fluffy.
The gray stone walls of the room were bare and austere. Though it was luxurious with its massive, king-sized bed and bathroom with a tub big enough to swim in, there was no warmth to the room.
Cole strode over to a dark wood armoire, opened the doors, and pulled out a pair of lightweight, brown pants and a black tunic. Lexi padded over to the corner of the room and the bag she left there last night.
She pulled out a pair of jeans, her T-shirt, and socks. She was tugging on the socks when Cole finished dressing. He held his hand out to her as she pulled on her last sock. Jumping up, she steadied the tremble in her hand when she claimed his.
She forgot all about her astonishment over discovering she was his mate as their hands joined. It was such a small thing to be upset about when he would soon be facing something that could kill him.
Lexi struggled to conceal her growing anxiety from him, but it felt like a fist had punched into her chest and squeezed her heart.
He released her hand to open the door. Brokk stood on the other side, and if the look on his face was any indication, she wasn’t going to like what he had to say.
“What did they say?” Cole asked.
“The trials start tonight,” Brokk said.
Lexi suppressed an urge to cry out, but she couldn’t stop her hand from going to her heart before she lowered it. She wouldn’t let Cole see her distress. He was the one facing death; she was the one…
She was the one who would wait to see if he survived.
And that sounded like Hell to her.
“Good,” Cole said, which was the exact opposite of what she was thinking. “We’ll be down in an hour, and I’ll escort you both back to Lexi’s manor.”
Brokk bowed his head, but he looked about as thrilled as Lexi felt. Cole closed the door and, before she could speak, pulled her close and kissed her.
Three hours later, Lexi found herself in front of her manor once more. She couldn’t recall why she’d been in such a rush to return now that they’d arrived.
So what if she was hiding Orin and the refugees? What did it matter when Cole would leave her here and she might never see him again?
He pulled the horse they’d rode from the Gloaming to a stop in front of the manor. The animal was a large, black stallion with an intriguing white stripe of hair in its mane. She’d spent most of the ride playing with that stripe as she tried not to think about the wait to come.
Cole could have created another portal that would have led them straight here, but since opening portals was draining to an immortal and he needed to be at his strongest for the trials, they came through one of the portals connecting the Gloaming to the human realm.
She’d made sure he fed on her again before they left the Gloaming. She hoped it would be enough to fuel him through the trials.
“How long will the trials last?” she asked as Sahira opened the front door. Her familiar, Shade, sat at her feet. The cat didn’t move as it watched them.
“I don’t know,” Cole said, “but I’ll return as soon as I can.”
This time, she didn’t doubt it.
She turned in the saddle and, resting her hand on his cheek, drew him down for a kiss. It was on the tip of her tongue to tell him that she loved him, but the words stuck in her throat.
Instead, she broke the kiss, and her forehead fell to his. “Be careful.”
“Always,” he promised. “I will return, Lexi.”
“I know.”
He slid from the saddle and, grasping her waist, lifted her from the horse. She slid down the length of him as he set her on the ground and held her close. Behind them, Brokk dismounted from his horse.
“Can I put him in the stable, Lexi?” he asked.
“Yes. There’s an extra stall in there.”
He led his stallion away, and Sahira closed the door.