Page 106 of Fated to the Warrior Wolf

I skipped right on past his polite ignorance, because I knew damn well the man knew every single thing that occurred under this massive roof, and chose to get to the point. I rattled off an extensive list, and he nodded as he jotted each thing down on his notepad.

“Anything else?” he asked when I stopped. “No, the last thing I’ll handle myself. Here’s my card, and I’d like as much of it as possible delivered this afternoon. Actually… if any of the maids have had kids before, ask them if there’s anything else a pregnant mother would want, and add that to the list.”

“I’ll make it happen,” he said with a formal bow.

“Thank you, Cristian.”

“Of course, Gael.”

I paused in the doorway. “Any word back from my father?” I tried not to let my teeth grind together as I waited for the answer, but as usual when dealing with my family, maintaining my patience was hard.

“No, sir. It seems mum’s the word with them after you sent Celeste home.”

“I wish I could say I was surprised. Thank you. Let me know if that changes.”

“Of course, sir.”

Leave it to my family to feign ignorance when I’d reached out to see about alternate conditions for dissolving the engagement. I had a mate; surely marks weren’t theonlyacceptable way of proving that? I’d pay whatever ungodly fine they demanded, but I wanted freedom from the damn obligation as soon as possible. There should be nothing standing between me and Leigh, especially notCelesteof all people. The thought made my lip curl.

I jogged back up the stairs to Kane’s office for our morning meeting, only to find Kane and Reed already in the hallway, coming in my direction.

“What’s up?” I asked, pausing to let them meet me.

“Lucien got us into the first slot of the day with the council. We’re heading back to the council building right now for our petition. Are you ready to go?” Reed asked, shooting a disapproving glance over my slightly rumpled attire.

“Give me five to change, and I’ll meet you at the cars.”

Our convoy stoppedin front of the council building, and it was only when the other SUV emptied that I realized Leigh and Brielle weren’t with us. I turned to Kane.

“Where are Leigh and Brielle?”

Kane waved his hand vaguely in the air. “Brielle scheduled them for some sort of class in the village at the medical center. All inquiries stopped at the wordsplacentaandbreastfeeding.” He shuddered, and I rolled my eyes.

“You realize one day your mate is going to go into heat herself, and you’re going to be the one learning about placentas, right? It’s kind of cool, actually. They grow a whole new organ for the baby.”

“You’ve been reading up?” he asked, sounding surprised.

“I haven’t had much else to do in the evenings these past few weeks,” I said with a shrug. It made me feel connected to her and the baby, while I was honoring her request for space.

Although spending last night with her andno space whatsoeverwas definitely worth pausing on the next chapter in the baby book. We had a while until Petal would be teething anyway.

Dirge clapped me on the back. “Good man. She’ll need your support, even if she’s too stubborn to ask for it.”

“Did Leigh know about this class?” I asked, something niggling at the back of my mind. It seemed like the sort of thing she would have mentioned while we were out last night, but it was possible Brielle hadn’t told her.

Right? So why did I feel anxious?

“It’s normal, man,” Kane said with a grin as he studied my expression. “I was on edge all the fucking time before Brielle and I completed the bond. She’s going to be okay, though. Sergei’s with them, and I’ve got a team of two in a trail car. Right now, we’ve got to focus on this petition.”

“Right. Let’s do it.” I forced a neutral expression as we walked through the front doors.

The same secretary—Karina, I thought her name was—in a white skirt suit this time, greeted us and led us straight back to the council chambers.

It was odd, walking through those giant double doors to see Lucien sitting up there at the table with the rest of the council members, looking bored.

“Councilman Fortier, I’ve got your morning appointment for you, right on time,” she announced as we all stepped through. She bowed respectfully toward each side of the long table, then backed quickly and silently out of the room, leaving us to suffocate in its grandeur.

“High Alpha, Pack Blackwater,” Fortier said with a hint of a nod, gesturing us all forward.

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