Page 53 of The Bookseller and the Alpha
“Luc,” I called softly. I couldn’t hear him moving around in the other room, but for a big guy he could move quietly. If he was there, he would hear me. My heart ached a little when I got no response. He was busy. I got it.
But I smiled when I got out of bed and opened the door to the rest of the suite. A covered plate sat on the small dining table, next to a vase with a single rose and a note.
Duty calls. I didn’t want to wake you. I hope you slept well. I’ll see you tonight. If you need anything, the guard outside your door will help you. Yours. Luc.
After the delicious breakfast Luc had left for me and a hot shower, I decided to use my day productively. The guard outside my door, a Shifter I didn’t recognise, seemed surprisedat my request to go to the library, but had been happy enough to take me there. And I hit the jackpot. Books on Shifter culture and history. They answered some of my questions. They told me about the Declaration of Intent and how I could choose to reject Luc’s Declaration. About what would happen to him if I rejected the bond.
I rubbed my chest as I turned the fragile pages. An ache had begun behind my breastbone sometime during the morning. Which was explained by the final piece of information I found. The information about bonding. The book told me that when Shifters found their true mate, they formed a psychic bond. Luc and I hadn’t formally bonded yet, I hadn’t taken his claiming bite, but it felt to me as if we already had some sort of connection. The ache in my chest at his absence was a sign of a developing bond. But there was more. My eyes had widened when I read that Shifters and their bonded mates could sense each other’s feelings and thoughts. A rush of longing filled my chest. I wanted that. The connection. I would never be alone again.
But the books also raised questions. Serious ones. First, there were no records of a Shifter like his Beast. Nothing at all in the books. Second, my research told me that Shifters normally shifted at puberty, bonding with their inner creature. Not doing so was dangerous. Very dangerous. And the longer the shift was denied, the higher the chance that the human side would lose control when the shift finally occurred. The hairs on my arms lifted as I recalled the battle Luc had fought yesterday. The battle against his Shifter side, when his Beast tried to wrest control. Why hadn’t he Shifted when he was younger? He’d taken a huge risk with his life. If a Shifter’s Beast took control, the Shifter was locked away, potentially indefinitely, until their two halves had achieved balance.
Tonight, Luc was going to answer some questions.
Chapter 60
Luc
“Can we talk about what happened yesterday?” Caly was waiting for me when I returned to the suite.
Rather than dropping to the couch beside her and pulling her into my lap the way I wanted, I moved to a nearby chair. Her heart rate kicked up as I neared. I didn’t smell fear in her scent but something was definitely off.
“Did my Beast form frighten you?” The thought of scaring her was like ice in my veins. I wanted to wrap my fingers around the curl she was nervously tugging. I wanted her in my arms. Yesterday I’d thought she had accepted me. All of me. Had she changed her mind now that she’d had time to think? I gentled my voice. “I would never hurt you.”
She didn’t run, Beast said.When she first saw our Beast form.She is brave.
“I know.” Her eyes met mine without fear, thank all the gods. She licked her lips. “But I want the full truth. Why did you only bond with your inner Shifter last night? Hadn’t you changed before?”Fuck, I knew that she would be too smart to miss that. “If you want me to be your mate, you need to tell me everything.”
She isn’t scared,Beast purred.She is curious.Looking out through my eyes, he saw how her pupils had dilated. Her scent had intensified. She is aroused by our presence. Bite her now. Tell her later.
I clenched my fists against the urge to throw her over my shoulder, take her to the bedroom and fuck her until she agreed to take my bite.
Chapter 61
Calypso
I was trying to stay strong. I wanted to know what had happened yesterday. Why Luc had never changed before then. I was going to have a conversation dammit. I wasn’t going to be tempted by his magic dick and his magic mouth. Or his magic fingers.
But the moment he’d entered the room, the persistent ache in my chest began to ease. And when he sat down near me, the tension drained out of my body. I just wanted to climb into his lap and have him wrap those strong arms around me.
No. I have to be strong.
“Can we talk about what happened yesterday?” I was proud that my voice wasn’t breathy.
“Did my Beast form frighten you?” He held himself very still, as if he was worried that I would run. “I would never hurt you.”
“I know.” It was true. He didn’t frighten me. It was important that he know that. He was scary, but I wasn’t scared. He was dangerous but that danger would never be directed at me. I paused, losing my train of thought. He was looking at me as though I was dinner and he was starving.
I told him that I wanted to hear everything. He hesitated. My eyes traced the curve of his lips. I remembered the feel of them against my core. I shifted in my seat, pressing my thighs together. My resolve weakened. Did I really need to know the answer? Iwantedto know it, sure. There must have been a good reason why he had never Shifted. As he said in the car yesterday when we left his parents’ house, he had secrets to tell me. He had sounded sad, as though those secrets could change my mind. And perhaps they could have. If he’d told me then, when I’d first asked him. And it would have been a mistake. Because anything he’d said would not have been as convincing as him showing me. Showing me how far he would go to keep me safe, even though he feared that he would lose me. Because he loved me. He’d shown me that too. The storm of emotions that he normally kept locked behind a wall. It humbled me.
So now, with him here, his burning gaze on me, it no longer seemed to matter so much. In fact, I realised with a sudden shock, it didn’t matter at all. If he wanted to tell me, he could. If he didn’t want to tell me, I wouldn’t demand it. He was entitled to keep his secrets. All that mattered was that by shifting last night, after denying the shift for so long, he had put himself at risk. For me.
It was time.
Don’t overthink it. Just do what seems right.
Slowly, I rose to my feet, taking a step back, towards the bedroom, pulling my sweater off my body and over my head. My bra was black and lacy.
Luc stood abruptly, stalking forward, his eyes tracking my movement before they locked onto my breasts. It gave me a rush of confidence that he liked what he could see. His entire body was tense, muscles taut. His head tilted, eyes locking onto mine, nostrils flaring. He looked like a predator, ready to chase. Ready to devour.
