Page 20 of Beyond the Grasslands

Thorin gave a quick tip of his head to indicate he heard me, but his eyes glazed over in a tell-tale sign that someone from the pack had mind-linked him.

I waited as he had the conversation in his head. It was the equivalent of a human having a cell phone conversation and forgetting they had someone in person who might think it was rude to cut out in the middle of a conversation to have another one. The difference was that Thorin was the Alpha of the pack and it was to be expected even if slightly annoying.

“Sorry about that,” Thorin finally said as he looked up at me. “I had asked Warren to track down my cousin earlier, but Vik seems to be blocking the usual methods of contact.”

“I assume it is not the norm for pack members, especially family, to go to such an extreme.” When he shook his head, my thoughts wandered to Janella. I truly hoped the man was not her mate because his behavior did not bode well for her.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t think to take you by the dining hall to get some breakfast before we came here.” We stood outside Thorin’s office by then and I shook my head as if to say it was okay. “I’ll have someone bring us some food. We can eat here and get towork.” He glanced back at me as he unlocked the door. “What would you like?”

“I’m not picky. Anything that will sustain me through work will be just fine.”

Thorin nodded and then his eyes clouded over again as he threw his hand out in invitation for me to enter his office. I was shocked to see that there were two, identical desks set up. Each of them faced the other from across the room. There were no chairs in front of each desk. Instead, the chairs and a couch were placed around the room in a semi-circular pattern that branched out from the desks. The setup intrigued me.

Thorin must have taken notice after he put in an order for our breakfast to be delivered because he smiled and then moved toward the desk on the right. “This is your desk,” He explained as he tapped the wood along the edge. “If you require anything that isn’t here, all you need to do is ask and I’ll have it prepared for you.” Then Thorin pointed across the room. “That is my desk.”

“This is an unusual setup.”

“My parents worked together like this right up until the end.” His brow furrowed a bit before he added. “Well, right up until my mother’s health took an unexpected turn. They didn’t believe that either of them held a more powerful, or more important, position. My father always thought of them as equals in running the pack. My mother took on the plight of the families, women, and children for the most part while father took on the men, security, and diplomatic situations between packs.”

“That seems to be a fairly normal split.”

Thorin shook his head and I watched as a smile bloomed on his face. “My mother was the one who wielded the purse strings for the pack. She was a natural with numbers and took to accounting like a duck takes to water. My father was happy to hand that over to her. On important matters, they conferredwith one another and came to an agreement before anything was done.”

“Would you like us to run the pack in a similar manner?” I asked him, wondering if he held true to the same values his parents had held.

“I would, if you are amenable.”

“I’d have to be crazy not to agree to that. I’ve seen a few Lunas in my time who were relegated to breeding new Alphas and not much more.”

“Those Alphas are what’s wrong with our community. If they valued their women more, they might find their pack retained more families and they would grow more. Instead, they point fingers at everyone but themselves for their lack of success and eventually, they grow resentful, prideful, and try to wage wars they cannot win. The only people harmed in those wars are the pack members who tried to stay loyal for whatever reason.”

I giggled. “Tell me how you really feel.”

To my complete surprise, Thorin rolled his eyes at me. “Sorry, my father used to go off on tangents like that.”

“If that is a trait you inherited from your father, then it is a good one to have. I am happy to hear that you have taken all of those things into consideration and understand what it takes to keep a pack running smoothly, efficiently, and happily.”

“I hope to do more of the latter with you here by my side.” I nodded as we both settled at our respective desks.

“What do you think about putting a round coffee table in the middle of the room and have chairs surround it, that way, when you have meetings, everyone appears to be on equal footing? There’s so much space between these desks. Besides, that way, if your meeting runs over, you can order in food and have a place to serve it.”

Thorin’s wide smile made another little chunk of ice in my heart melt. The warmth his eyes directed my way said he approved of the idea long before he voiced the words.

“This is why there should be an equal partnership. You think of the details that I left out.” He pointed at the seating on the periphery. “You’re right, that isn’t very welcoming to others, is it?”

I had to laugh. “Not unless you were to sit there with them. It’s like they’ve been exiled to the far reaches of the room while we look upon them from our respective thrones on either side.”

Thorin chuckled and nodded his head. “You are right. We’ll remedy that immediately.” He huffed out another half-laugh and shook his head. “If only I had thought of that sooner, we might not have to share our breakfast from across the room.”

I grinned and pulled my chair around to sit in front of his desk. “We’ll make do this morning.”

The sexy, smoldering look he sent my way almost made me drop and present myself to him then and there. My fingers immediately flew to my neck as a reminder of why that wasn’t an option. My faith in my potential mates had been shattered and the reminder of what happened when I let my guard down was necessary. I needed to feel secure in the pack as well as Thorin before I gave in again.

Thorin’s smoldering look melted away to one of instant regret when his eyes tracked the way my hand moved to my neck and the mark his wolf had left there.

“Nika,” He whispered. I shook my head.

“I really don’t need to hear any further apologies, Thorin. I already know. That doesn’t mean the time and distance I put on our relationship will be swept under the rug just because we agree, or you seem far more charming than usual. It might be uncomfortable for you, but the reminder of what I stand to lose if I don’t do this right is necessary for me.”

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