Page 41 of In Your Eyes
“That’s possible,” I said. “It would have been hard for Dirk to have done it on his own.”
“Exactly.” Korban nodded and sighed in frustration. “But there’s no way to prove anyone else was involved, and even if someone was, there’s no way to prove it was Dennis. That’s why the interpack council can’t touch him no matter how much they suspect he had a part in it.”
The possessive nature of Alphas and the strong sense of pack pride in members meant pack governance rested within the pack. The interpack council got involved only in rare and extreme circumstances, and even then, the council limited their role as much as possible. Doing otherwise would risk drawing the ire of the entire pack and even other packs, who would worry about their own control being usurped.
The situation surrounding Dirk’s challenge of my father had already stretched the limits of the council’s role beyond what they normally did—they had unseated one Alpha and handed over another as a tribute. Stepping in and questioning a third Alpha would be too much, especially with nothing but speculation as a reason. But that didn’t explain why the pack would want a man like that to lead them.
“I’m surprised pack members want him as Alpha,” I said. “Having an Alpha with that kind of cloud around him diminishes the pack. Besides, your uncle is well past the age of a newly inducted Alpha.”
“You’re right.” Korban frowned. “It doesn’t make sense, does it?”
I shook my head. “No, it doesn’t.” Protecting the pack, bettering the pack, caring for the pack—those goals had been ingrained in me since birth. Apparently they extended beyond the boundaries of my own pack, because I found myself worrying about the Miancarem shifters. “I think you need to find out what’s going on. Your pack might be in trouble.”
“I’ll make some calls,” he agreed. “But Miancarem isn’t my pack. Not anymore.”
My stomach dropped. I had done that. I had yanked Korban from his home and his position. I had put an entire pack at risk because of my ill-planned thirst for vengeance. Too ashamed to meet his eyes, I looked away.
“Stop.” Korban grasped my chin and returned my focus to him. “Whatever you’re thinking right now, stop. What I meant was you’re my mate and Yafenack is your pack. That means it’s my pack now too. Like I said earlier, honey, I’ll be by your side from here on out.”
“But you were Alpha. You’d been waiting for so long, and I—”
“No. I was Alpha because my father was an idiot, but I hadn’t been waiting for it.”
“What do you mean?” I asked, feeling lost. “You’ve always been the presumptive Alpha of Miancarem. Everyone knows that. And you said pack members were waiting for your father to step down so you could take his spot.”
“All true.” He nodded. “But what people thought and what I wanted weren’t the same.” Korban sighed. “The only thingI’vebeen waiting for is you.” His lips tilted up a smidge. “From the moment I saw you and realized who you were to me, I knew I had to figure out how to be with you. That’s what I’ve been planning for the last fifteen years, not how to be Alpha of my pack.”
“How to be with me,” I repeated quietly.
“Yes. You were going to lead the Yafenack pack. Even when you were eight, I knew it. You were so serious, so focused.” He smiled softly. “So damn cute.” He shook his head as if to clear it. “Anyway, I knew you’d be Alpha here and I knew I was your mate, so I had no intention of taking over for my father long-term. But I needed you to feel it and I needed to figure out what it would mean for us because of the whole male shifter, female shifter lore.”
“Lore?” I said, repeating his word for no discernable reason. I knew what he meant.
“Uh-huh. But that stopped being as big an issue when Zev Hassick mated with a male. I mean, people will still question us and some of them will probably get angry, but once I found out about him, I knew we’d have an easier time.”
“And what was your plan before you heard about Zev?”
Korban grinned. “I was going to trust my mate.”
I arched my eyebrows in question.
With a shrug, Korban said, “I couldn’t come up with a solution, but I figured once you felt who I was to you, you’d use your big brain and all your knowledge about our history and lore to make sure people understood.”
I wanted so much to be the shifter he thought I was, but I hadn’t proven myself worthy of that kind of trust. “You put a lot of faith in me considering my brain didn’t realize you were my true mate for all those years,” I whispered hoarsely.
“You have a brilliant mind, don’t doubt that.” He flipped my hand over and gently ran his fingers over my palm. “So brilliant that maybe sometimes your brain takes up all the available space and doesn’t leave room for what you have in here.” He rubbed my chest.
My father had tried to tell me a version of that time and again, but I had never truly understood. Yet, hearing Korban say the words made the lightbulb go on, and I finally realized what my shortcomings had been in relating to my pack. At first, I wondered at that. After all, my father had been an excellent communicator. And then it hit me—there was no way to understand what it was tofeel.
When my father had taught me, I hadn’t had a frame of reference for the kind of emotional connection he wanted me to form with my pack. He had tried over and over; he had used every word possible, all to no avail. It was akin to describing the color yellow to someone who had been born without sight—all the descriptions in the world wouldn’t solve the riddle. But finally I understood.
“Korban?” I pushed my chair back, walked over to him, and dropped to my knees. “I think some new room opened up in here.” I took his hand and laid it on my chest. “I can feel you.”
That was an understatement. Where once I hadn’t had emotions to match the words I’d heard, I found myself feeling so deeply, so viscerally, so completely for the man in front me, that no words were powerful enough to describe the all-encompassing emotion. I wanted him to know. I needed to show him that my years of confusion were behind us. Actions would express what I couldn’t find a way to say. Trembling from the inferno raging within me, I placed my hand on his groin and gazed up at him.
His breath hitching and nostrils flaring, Korban spread his legs to make room for me.
I knelt between his thighs, tucked my fingers under his waistband, and waited for him to lift his backside before tugging his pants low enough to expose his thick cock and velvety sac. “Mmm, love how you smell,” I whispered as I buried my face in his groin. I lapped at his balls, groaning as his taste, scent, and heat washed over me.
