Page 42 of The Bookseller and the Alpha
I couldn’t help it. I giggled.
Luc’s hands tightened briefly around me, then he dipped his head, kissed my hair, and lifted me off his lap. “I’ll be right outside if you need me,” he said, his voice low.
After Luc shut the door behind him, Simon invited me to sit opposite him at the desk. “As I said before, you’re overflowing with power. If you let me draw on you for the ritual it will make it easier for me and will be safer for you afterwards. It will take some time for your power reservoir to refill and you can use that time to start practising control.”
“Yes please,” I said. I needed to have control of at least one aspect of my life. “I know the theory,” I said. “Just never expected to have to apply it to myself.”
“I’m sure it’s a shock. But you’re doing really well. All I need is for you to give me your hand.”
“That’s all?” I licked my lips, and discreetly wiped my suddenly sweaty hands on my leggings.
Simon nodded. “Basic power transference.”
Ah. Yes. When he put it like that it was easy. I knew this theory. My nerves settled. This was a simple piece of magic. I reached my hand to Simon’s outstretched one, and my fingers clasped his. A jolt, like an electrical current, pulsed through my system. And then there was a tug in my chest. Itwas uncomfortable, not precisely painful, a sensation similar to being pinched.
“All right?” Simon asked.
I nodded. I sure as hell didn’t like it, but it was manageable.
Chapter 48
Luc
I shut the door behind me, leaving my mate with my dad. If it had been any other man, I would not have left her alone. I wouldn’t have been able to. As it was, I already felt a tug in my chest, telling me to go back to her side. To never let her out of my sight. I rested my body against the closed door. I couldn’t be in there with her, but I could stay close to her. I would be there if she needed me.
“Stop growling and come here.” Mum’s voice carried clearly from the kitchen even though she hadn’t raised her voice. The vibrating rumble that I hadn’t realised I was making stopped abruptly in my chest. Just having my mate out of my sight was sending me feral.Told you, said Beast.The longer we wait the worse it will be.Fuck.I’d known her for less than a week and I was already at the limit of my sanity.
“Your mate is safe. Come and make yourself useful rather than standing outside her door like a lost puppy.” I rolled my eyes but smiled despite myself. Only my mother would call me a puppy.
She wasn’t wrong when she said I could be useful. She put me to work, chopping ingredients for our meal, setting the table, and generally giving me busywork. She told me abouta holiday she and dad were planning to take, keeping the conversation light, asking nothing of me. She understood how wound up I was feeling and she was giving me a distraction. I knew she was curious about Caly, about my Declaration and I was under no illusions that she wouldn’t press for details. But she was patient and cunning. She’d find out in her own time.
Her plan worked for a while. Until I sensed Caly’s burgeoning distress through the bond. I stiffened like I’d been shocked with an electric prod. I turned towards the study, like a compass finding north. I had to go to her.
“No Luc. You have to let them finish the ritual.” My mother blocked my way. I snarled at her. Caly’s pain worsened. My mate was hurting. I stepped around mum, but she moved again, not letting me pass.
“Get out of my way.” My voice was guttural. This was my mum. I wouldn’t hurt her, but neither would she stop me from going to my mate.
“No. They need more time.”
“It’s too much for her. I don’t care about the ritual if it hurts her.”
“She wanted to help. It’s not your call to make, Luc.”
“Like fuck it isn’t.” I would keep her safe. Always.
“Has she agreed to be your mate?” Her claws on my arms held me still. The words burned like acid.
“You know she hasn’t.” The words were almost unintelligible around my elongated canines.
“Then you have to let her make the decision. She has to decide if she wants your help.” If she wantsyou, was the implication she left unsaid. I wanted to roar. I wanted to charge down the corridor and scoop her into my arms. Take her away and hole up in my den until she agreed to be my mate. I shook as I fought with my instincts. Mine and Beast’s. Mum’s grip softened. Her claws retracted. She wasn’t scared of me. Howcould she be? She was the biggest, scariest Beast. The reason I’d locked my own Beast away.
But the memory of that night; of the carnage, the blood. The body parts. It no longer scared me. I was finally beginning to understand. My Beast existed for a reason. As did hers. She had done what she needed to do and no more.
“Trust your dad. Trust her.” I couldn’t breathe. My chest heaved like I’d run ten miles. My gums ached as my canines retreated into my gums.
On shaky legs I stepped back, almost collapsing onto the couch. Caly’s pain was burning in my chest. This couldn’t go on.
Chapter 49
