Page 32 of The Silent Mate

Whatever hopes I’d had for me and Aria this evening were snuffed out by a summons to the pack house.

Roman wanted our presence for a formal dinner with a visiting alpha from the south—one that he’d failed to inform me of until an hour before it began. He’d invited the alpha to visit theIntonat NoctePack for the sole purpose of meeting the male’s daughter. She possessed an alpha’s blood and a fertile womb—the only two prerequisites my brother deemed necessary in a Luna.

To make matters worse, something was wrong with my little dove. From the moment I returned to the cottage this evening, every smile failed to meet her eyes and she quietly avoided my gaze. Nervous energy prickled in the space between us.

This was before I even told her about Roman’s dinner party at the main house.

Now, we made the trek to the pack house in silence, only the sounds of our footsteps and evening crickets filling the air. Myfingers furled and unfurled into fists, an outlet for the anxiety roiling through me in waves.

She was sad. I felt it as readily as it showed on her face, like whatever turmoil pulling on her heartstrings tugged on mine, as well.

Goddess,what had I done? What had changed from last night?

As far as I knew, she spent the day with Emerson and Estelle in the clinic. According to the head healer, Aria was a natural and blossomed under the pressure of treating new patients. Pride had swelled in my chest at the news, and I’d been excited to ask Aria about it in another round of passing notes over dinner.

Now, I could hardly get her to look at me.

Something must have happened, but I detected no foreign scent on her skin nor any sign of injury or ailment. Whatever plagued my little mate, it was a pain of the heart.

With every step we took toward the pack house, I cursed Roman and his piss-poor timing.

The castle-like pack house loomed before us now, but before we could cross the threshold, Aria’s steps faltered. I turned to my little mate, who stared wide-eyed at the massive structure. In the dying light, her face looked pale.

“Sorry,” she murmured, shaking her head. “I was just thinking about the last time I made this walk.”

Understanding swept over me. The last time she made this walk, her father walked beside her, intent on gifting his only child to Roman. Disgust still curled in my bowels at the memory of Mason Knox’s surrender, serving up his daughter on a platter for Roman to do with as he pleased. Though I only felt disdain for the man, I knew Aria undoubtedly held affection for her undeserving father.

I shifted the weight on my feet, slowly invading Aria’spersonal space in order to place my hand on her cheek. In our short acquaintance, I’d learned that touch always brightened her eyes.

Her lashes fluttered as she lifted her chin to meet my gaze, a gasp slipping past her parted lips. Her skin warmed beneath my palm, and I dared to stroke her cheekbone with my thumb to comfort her. One beat passed before Aria relaxed into my touch, closing her eyes as she nuzzled into my palm.

And, though it was something I’d never done before, I closed the remaining distance between our bodies and dipped my face to hers.

I kissed her, just the briefest brush of my lips against hers, half-afraid that she might recoil at the touch of my twisted scar tissue. Electricity sparked where her soft flesh grazed mine, kickstarting the organ in my chest.

I pulled back in an instant, my heart thundering erratically against its cage. I was certain it might break a rib. I slipped an arm around her waist, while my hand on her cheek buried into her hair, cradling her head against my chest. I was terrified of what I might see in her eyes when the embrace stopped, so I held her.

Aria melted into me while a lethal dose of adrenaline shot through my veins. I struggled to pull air into my lungs, elation and desire and nervousness wreaking havoc on my system.

“Thank you,” she whispered at last. She clasped her hands behind my back and held onto me.

Slowly, with Aria secure to my front and shadows creeping to conceal us from any onlookers, a sense of calm settled over me. I nuzzled my nose and mouth against the top of her head, inhaling her sweet scent.Goddess,she fit so perfectly against me.

Knowing that Roman would fume if we arrived late, I released Aria and took a small step back. To my pleasure, therewasn’t a trace of disgust or fear in her eyes. Only affection pooled in those crystalline depths.

“Do you think we’ll be able to leave early?” A mischievous smile curled on her lips, and her cheeks held a rosy tinge that hadn’t been there before.

Doubtful,I wanted to say. Instead, I lifted a shoulder in a shrug and slipped my fingers through hers. Hand in hand, we entered the pack house.

Roman had spared no expense in decorating for the visiting alpha and his daughter. Candelabras lined the main hall. The floors had been polished. Portraits of our blood ancestors were on full display, glaring down at every newcomer with vacant coldness. Soldiers stood at attention every five paces. Roman wanted to impressandintimidate.

His efforts only made me roll my eyes.

Aria’s grip on my hand tightened as we walked further into the belly of the castle, and I squeezed her hand thrice. A reminder that she was not alone and my brother could not hurt her.

I smelt the foreign alpha before I saw him. He bore the stench of saltwater, a tribute to his pack’s home on the southernmost sea cliffs. It was a territory that Roman had not fancied taking for himself.Yet.

Aria and I turned into the grand dining room, and the conversation went silent. Every eye in the room followed our movements as we hovered in the doorway. Platters of food waited, untouched, at the center of the feast. My brother sat at one end of the table while his guest sat opposite him. Every other seat around the table was filled by emissaries from the visiting pack andIntonas Noctemembers.

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