Page 99 of Love Bites

Overall, he was our best chance.

But he wouldn’t fight without the promise of a siren to mate with him.

If she was offering that, there was no way I could turn her down. Not from a leadership perspective, when it could promote peacewith the wolves. And certainly not from a mate perspective, when I knew Curtis would be giddy at the chance to hurt my female if he ever had the opportunity.

“You’re not telling her no,” Blair grumbled, though she didn’t look surprised.

“I’m trying to think of a way to say yes without making you hate me again.”

Blair groaned. “Not you too.”

“It’s the best option, and we all know it,” Izzy said. “He’s not cruel, is he?”

“Porter? No. He’s distant, though. He probably wouldn’t try to bond with his wolves if he were the alpha. Truthfully, I don’t know that he would try to bond with his mate any more than he had to, either.”

“This just gets even better. Do you have a picture of him?” Izzy checked.

I glanced at Blair. Though she didn’t look happy, she didn’t look like she despised me the way she had when I all but forced her to agree to be my mate.

That was good.

Probably.

I pulled up a picture of me, Porter, and Bane when we were younger, turning the computer screen around so they could see it.

“At least he’s hot,” Izzy put in.

“You were all friends?” Blair asked.

“Yes. Power forces you to befriend others with similar strength, to avoid issues,” I said.

“What’s he like?”

“He used to be the wildest and most rebellious of the three of us. I’ve only seen him a few times since his family was killed, and he’s been very quiet and serious. When I try to spend time with him, he hangs up or goes off the grid.”

“So his baggage is heavy,” Izzy said, propping her feet up on my desk.

Blair’s eyes flicked to me, like she was worried I’d care about her sister’s feet, but I didn’t give a damn. It was just a desk.

“Very heavy.”

“Well, I’m in. How does it work from here?”

“I’ll call him back and let him know you’re willing. He’ll insist on sealing the bond before he challenges Curtis. I’ll agree, but ensure you stay with me until the bastard is dead for safety purposes. He’ll issue a challenge immediately.”

“How long until he comes for me after you call him?” she asked.

“He won’t want to give you time to change your mind, so I imagine he’ll be here within a few hours. He lives outside the city, so that’s as fast as he can make it.”

She nodded. “When do you want to do it?”

“That’s entirely your call, Izzy,” I said.

“You should give it a few days,” Blair put in, her gaze fixed on her sister. “So you have time to think it through. If he’s notgoing to let you change your mind, you need to make sure you’re positive.”

Izzy flashed her a small smile. “I’ve been trying to come up with a way to leave that doesn’t risk my life since we got here, Blair. I’m not going to change my mind.” She looked at me. “Call him. I want to see how he responds.”

“You can’t give orders to a king,” Blair warned. “Anddon’tdeny that you’re the king, Damian.” She shot me a warning look that had me lifting my hands in surrender.

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