Page 11 of Forsaken By Fate

I stifle a sigh, determined to win her over as the floor trembles harder underneath me. Maintaining my grin, I pat the bed beside me. “You don’t have to worry about them or anything else, Aurora. You’re safe here. I guarantee your safety personally.”

Skeptically, she pads toward me and perches on the edge of the mattress. “Am I?”

“Of course,” I tell her genially. “You’re our guest.”

She laughs hollowly. “That’s not what your brother said.”

I wave a hand dismissively and sit upright, bopping her nose playfully. Dumbfounded, she gapes at me. “You can’t fault us for being a little wary of you,” I tell her. “You showed up here out of nowhere without much of an explanation. How would you feel if the roles were reversed? You have to cut us a bit of slack.”

The energy in the room settles again as her shoulders sink, her eyes darting behind me as if she expects Fenris to burst back through, howling and complaining.

“Look at me,” I command her, and she does, inhaling shakily. My smile returns, and I inch closer to her. “What can I have the chef make for you? You can have anything you want, and it will be made to perfection. I guarantee that, too.”

Her lips press together, and I find myself staring at them, my gaze lingering over them for too long, as if magnetically drawn to them.

“Why are you being so nice to me?” she whispers.

“I want us to be friends,” I tell her. “Or would you rather we spend our time fighting and arguing?”

Her body stiffens, and she turns away. “I don’t belong here!”

Outside, a flock of ravens caw, flocking to the balcony in an unkindness, their beady, black eyes peering into the window inquisitively. They pile on top of one another, higher and higher, until I can’t see out the window at all.

“You’re here for a reason,” I counter quickly, eager to put her at ease again. “Or you wouldn’t be here. You came through a magically protected portal when no one else can. That must make you very special.”

Aurora’s head tips back defiantly. “You don’t really believe that. I heard what you said about getting rid of me.”

“That wasn’t me,” I correct her. Once again, her shoulders relax as she reads the sincerity in my eyes. One by one, the ravens fly away, the tension subduing for the moment.

“Let me see what the staff can whip up for you, all right?” I say, backing out of the room, my pulse quickening slightly. I’m not sure what’s happening here, but it’s clear that Aurora’s moods are in control of it.

Victor’s right. We need to treat her well. I don’t want to see what happens if we don’t.

I hand deliverthe silver tray with butternut squash soup and homemade garlic bread to her suite myself.

“Something’s wrong with the electricity,” one of the housekeepers complains as I make my way up the stairs. “The lights keep flickering, and the lightbulbs keep burning out.”

“I’ll check the fuse box later,” I mutter, knowing full well it has nothing to do with the circuit breakers. “I’m going to need more clothes for our visitor. When she’s finished eating, go into her suite and order her whatever she likes.”

“Yes, Alpha.”

I find Aurora in the sitting room, flipping through a copy of an old classic book, when I re-enter.

“You like to read?” I ask casually.

She glances up from the sofa, her eyes brightening at the sight of the food, and I can see I was right about her hunger, even though she’s trying to hide it. Setting the tray down just out of her reach, I slide onto the arm of the sofa, spreading my legs wide to loom over her as she eyes the laded food, no doubt wondering what hides beneath.

“Yes,” she replies. “But I don’t get a lot of time to do it. And I had to leave a lot of my books behind when I left Oklahoma.” There’s a hint of sadness in her tone.

“What do you like to read?”

“Everything!” she tells me enthusiastically. “Classics, contemporary, modern romance?—”

She abruptly stops. “Sorry,” she mumbles. “I’m babbling.”

I frown. “You’re not. I asked.”

Shaking her head, she doesn’t continue, but she eyes the food again, and I see my in.

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