Page 150 of Mate
He clenches his teeth. “If anything happens to you, I’m going to— ”
“Kill me, yes. I know the drill by now.” I would love to hug him, but Anneke is right behind me, and she’s part of the Assembly. I don’t want to make things harder for him. “I think it’s gonna work, Koen. We’ll get rid of this threat, and we’ll . . . move on.” I smile. More or less. “Consider it my parting gift to the Northwest.”
“You already gave the Northwest enough.”
I swallow thickly. “I like to think that I simply didn’t take away one of its most attractive features.” It’s not funny. Neither of us is laughing. The pangs in my chest feel more like stab wounds.
“Sure.” He exhales. “I have to go, Serena. Before I chain you somewhere for real.”
I nod, willing away the full, prickling feeling at the back of my throat. Watch Koen spin around and put some distance between us.
But he stops.
Takes a deep, shoulder-heaving breath.
Turns again and marches back to me, taking my face in his palms and pressing our lips together.
It’s a simple, bruising, marking kiss. My fingers grip his wrists, and he smells like we never left his cabin. We’re still in our nest, measuring each other’s breathing. Marveling at how quickly we fall into rhythm.
“Whatever you need, you have to come to me. It’s a fucking order.” His voice is strained. “I don’t care where you are. I don’t care what it is. I want you to promise me that for anything you— ”
“I promise, Koen.”
He nods. Fills his lungs with air. Shakes his head. “Fucking nuisance,” he mutters, and then he’s walking, driving away.
Amanda and I enter Anneke’s car.
MY GRANDFATHER’S HOUSE HAS BEEN EMPTY FOR NEARLY FIVE DECADES. The outside, however, looks surprisingly intact, and no one seems to have initiated a stone-throwing contest toward the living room windows.
“Could I claim this property?” I ask, standing on the balcony. “Does it belong to me?”
“Technically, everything on pack territory belongs to the pack itself,” Anneke’s assistant tells me, a little pedantic.We should introduce her to Jorma, Amanda whispered to me earlier, after she offered us a croissant and pronounced it like we were fine dining in Toulouse.
“Is anyone taking care of this place?”
“Yes. People will stay here occasionally, mostly when they are between residences. They would be welcome to move in, but . . .”
“They know it’s the house where Constantine’s father was born and don’t want to commit?”
She nods.
“Fair enough. There’s probably lots of black mold in those walls.” It would certainly explain the family history.
“It’s also very close to the border,” she points out. “Over there, that line of trees? That’s Human territory. Very well patrolled, and we haven’t had issues in a long time. But . . .”
“Interesting.” I pretend to be learning something new. “Thank you for showing me.”
“No problem. I have to say, I was surprised when Anneke said you’d want to visit your grandfather’s home, but . . . I guess it makes sense.”
I smile. Ten minutes later, I lie in the grass with Amanda, staring up at the cloudy sky. My fingers play with my mother’s necklace.Put it on, Saul suggested before I left.It’ll make the lie that you’re all about reconnecting with your ancestors even more believable.
“This place gives me the creeps,” Amanda says, but my mind is on something else.
Someoneelse.
“Did I ruin it for him?”
She glances at me. “What? Who?”
