Chapter 32
Valens
Elodie slept in the passenger seat as I finished the drive to the council building.
A quick touch of her wrist told me her temperature was high, her heat drawing ever closer.
I just hoped it would hold off until we were done with this task and had gotten back to our pack lands.
I’d already spoken to Lucien, and since neither of us lived alone and we didn’t have a home together, he’d offered me the pack’s bonding cottage.
It was quiet and private, the perfect place to ride out a heat in comfort and solitude.
But we weren’t there yet. First, we had to find out what the council knew, if anyone was pulling strings and hiding reports of missing supes, and who else might be siding with the pixie king in his quest for world domination.
I pulled up in front of the grandiose stone building, trying not to curl my lip at what was basically a shrine to the power wielded by those inside.
If ornate carvings and posts fit for the American White House pushed it over the top from the curb, I couldn’t imagine how gaudy an eyesore the inside would be.
Someone came out before I’d even put the SUV in park, probably expecting us. She was dressed in a simple skirt suit, probably the secretary Lucien had mentioned before we left.
I rolled down the window, and the woman stepped right up to the side of the car, her wide smile a little too toothy to be truly friendly. I got the first whiff of her and immediately picked up that she was lesser fae.
“Mr. Farkas, Councilman Vasilescu notified us that he’d be sending a delegate, and that you’d need a courtesy apartment for yourself and your… companion.” One eyebrow shot upward as she noticed Elodie snoozing peacefully in the passenger seat.
“Yes, that’s correct.” My words were sharp, urging her to move on. My wolf didn’t like the way she was scrutinizing our mate.
“Right, of course.” She was visibly flustered as she handed me a pair of cards. “Here are your key cards, and the entrance and parking are both around the back. If you need anything else—”
“Lucien, ah, the councilman told me room service was available if needed?”
“Yes, twenty-four hours a day. Just text your order to the number on the bedside table.”
“Perfect, thank you.”
I pulled away, not waiting for her to pepper me with questions. Lucien had warned me that everyone was looking for information all the time when you were on council grounds. His advice was to say as little as possible and avoid confrontation or perceived favoritism.
That couldn’t possibly be difficult, given what we were here to do.
I parked the SUV right behind the building in one of the marked spots, glancing over at Elodie, who still slept like the dead.
She didn’t wake when I lifted her from her seat, didn’t stir as we walked into the well-lit foyer of the apartment side of the council building, never flinched as the elevator dinged our arrival to Lucien’s assigned suites.
And when I finally laid her on the plush bedding, she merely sighed, tucking her face deeper into the pillow.
With her safe and sound, I jogged back down to get our bags from the back of the car.
Her sleeping so deeply, her temperature rising…
all that seemed like warning signs her heat was getting even closer, but I wasn’t sure.
I waffled for a moment about whether to call Brielle or Olivia, but decided on Brielle.
She was a doctor too, and just in case this wasn’t normal preheat behavior, she could tell me what to do.
Brielle answered with a yawn. “Hi, Valens, is everyone okay?” Most people would have asked if everything was okay, but Brielle was a doctor, so maybe she was used to these kinds of calls.
“I’m not sure.” I gave her a quick rundown of what was going on with Elodie as I rode the elevator back up, pausing just inside the door to our room so our conversation wouldn’t disturb her. Not that I thought much could, at this point.
“That all sounds pretty standard, and I’m not concerned unless she seems like she’s suddenly in pain or chilled. There are a few medications available over the counter that can make her more comfortable. I’ll text you a list.”
“Thank you.”
“Of course. Tell her I said to feel better and rest as much as she can. Her body’s gearing up to make a baby. It can wear a girl out.”
I stared blankly at the phone in my hand long after Brielle had hung up, her words bouncing through my head like shrapnel ricochets.
Her body’s gearing up to make a baby.
A very sticky fact we hadn’t discussed or even danced around. Honestly, I knew what the purpose of a heat was, but conception wasn’t guaranteed either way. Wolf biology had a lot of flaws when it came to procreation, as I knew painfully well.
But we needed to at least talk about it before her heat hit. We weren’t bonded, so I assumed she’d want to use birth control. But did she have it? Did I need to get it? What if she didn’t want to bond, but also didn’t want birth control?
I could be a father without a mate.
The idea struck me cold, and I finally moved, dropping the phone on a table near the entryway and crossing to the bed where Elodie was still out.
So many questions, but there would be no answers tonight. Tomorrow, I vowed, I would ask her. Before her heat started and things got too complicated. Her instincts in the heat of the moment might drive her to say things she didn’t mean.
I turned on the shower, but all the scalding water the council’s money could buy couldn’t wash away my fears.