Chapter 42

I won’t allow my mate to go all the way to the Blood Lust Pack alone. No matter what, I won’t see her put in danger just to prove a point. I didn’t know if this had something to do with her father’s death or something much more than that as though she felt she needed to prove herself. She was brave, I admitted to myself, but she was still a woman underneath everything and at the very core. She could still be hurt or worse. Much worse. There were things that could be done to a woman that one could never emotionally recover from. I loved her. I didn’t want to see her hurt. I frowned as she reluctantly agreed but only on the condition that I accompany her as her chaperone. I would have liked us to go as mates, but I understood her rationality. If the two of us bore the same mark they weren’t likely to fall into our trap and they were less likely to try anything. They weren’t likely to be caught in the act if there were two of us that were bound together. I was particularly curious about this so-called Leon whose name seemed to strike a chord inside of Charisma. Every time his name was mentioned her voice would shake and her face would droop. Who was this man to her? Why did he invoke such a reaction? What exactly was she hiding from me and why? All questions with none of the answers. It rankled and it caused me to become even more suspicious the more she avoided talking about him. The journey by car was a long one, mainly filled with silence. Uncomfortable silence for both of us were out of sorts. I glanced at my mate, but she continued to focus on the dirt road in front of her, her brow wrinkled in concentration. Her men were following her but would keep a respectful distance behind us and then fan out once we supposedly broke down, allowing them to survey the pack, intending to make their move once Charisma gave the signal. They were packed with provisions, having been used to such assignments during the war. I trusted that they would take good care of the Lycan Queen, all of the men supposedly the most loyal ones that Charisma could have chosen. Charisma glanced at me, her caramel blonde hair and big blue eyes, thanks to contacts, still difficult for me to grow used to. She still looked beautiful, but she no longer resembled the fierce warrior woman I was used to. She was different, not just on the outside, but sometimes even her personality came across as different as well. Perhaps because we had been arguing so much lately.