Page 68 of The Last Ultimatum: Part 1

“Shit you not. I seriously thought I was gay for a hot minute.”

She giggled. “Should have seen the looks the team gave him. They thought he'd lost his mind.”

“But at least your team didn't sedate you and fly you away from her.”

That sobered them up quickly.

“I heard about that too. That was bullshit, but having watched others go crazy and cause some major shit during mating, especially on missions, I can also understand why they felt they had to do that,” Grant told me.

I sensed he wasn't looking for a fight, but was being honest with me. Maybe I was too close to the situation to see their side of it.

“We almost lost Jake when he took Alaina for a mate.”

“That's a bit different. They're human. They had a choice.”

“I know it doesn't feel like it, but so do you,” he said.

I considered that for a moment.

“She may be forced to mate another,” I said sadly.

“What? There's another man?” Taylor asked. “We didn't hear about that part.”

“They probably didn't know that for sure when they told you.”

“How are you even here right now? Are you like superhuman or something?” Grant asked. “I want to lose my shit on your behalf. She is your true mate, right?”

“She is.”

“But she might mate someone else?” Taylor asked.

“She might.”

“And yet you're still here?”

“Like I said. It's complicated.”

“But she would actually choose a compatible mate over you?” she spat out.

I sighed. “I'm not even sure how compatible they are. More like an arrangement. It's a Tribal alliance thing and she would be the future she-Alpha of Campbell. I can't offer her that. It's the highest Tribal ranking any female of my kind can reach and it's a great honor, even in an enemy Tribe.”

“The Campbells and Kings are enemies?” Grant asked.

“Not exactly, but they aren't allies either.”

“It's complicated,” the three of us said at the same time.

Lachlan

Chapter 19

For two more days we sat around the suite, hanging out in the hot tub, and generally doing nothing productive as far as I was concerned.

I hadn't seen anyone from my team in that time, and I had so far refrained from calling home to talk to Tilly or even check on her. I had to believe she was safe. But I had worn a path in the carpet.

I knew that if I spoke to Tilly I would need to go to her. With each passing day it was getting harder to stay away.

“Stop pacing,” Grant said. “You're starting to put me on edge.”

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