Chapter 7
Chapter
Seven
ROWAN
Iwas good for nothing in the back-to-back online meetings I had. Visions of Evie sliding down my body and putting her mouth on me haunted my thoughts so much that Soren snapped at me.
“Rowan! Godsdamn man. Are you alright?”
Ethan smirked at me through the computer screen, though he stayed silent. Caelan’s black look almost made me laugh.
Thorvin kept his face blank, but even stoic Ben seemed annoyed.
“I’m fine,” I snapped, annoyed that I had to leave Evie to deal with political bullshit. Again. “Momentarily distracted, that’s all. What were you saying?”
Soren’s lips twitched. “We need to hold another in-person meeting, this time away from Caelan’s territory. Ben’s territory is available.”
We met in the same place ninety percent of the time. Soren was making an unusual request. “Why not Caelan’s?”
Ethan’s amused expression faded. “There are concerns of dark magic workings swirling around his territory. Caelan will not attend this one.” His lips twisted. “An anonymous source sent a message to my assistant.”
Caelan’s teeth pulled away from his lips in a snarl. “I’m sitting right here, you assholes.”
Ethan’s fingers tapped on his desk. “Then perhaps you should heed our concerns and allow the Floromancer to help you.”
Caelan’s furious gaze. “Just like Evie helped Rowan this morning?” His mocking tone made the other Lords tense.
We were behind computer screens, none of us in the same room, but I still wanted to rip his throat out just the same.
Bears and wolves didn’t get along in the wild for one main reason.
We were both predators. At best, we coexisted.
Caelan and I had once been good friends.
I mourned for that part of our shared past, even knowing we’d never get those days back.
He treated someone I loved horribly, forcing me to stand back and watch.
While I never directly intervened, I tried to steer him on the right path with her, even knowing she and I might have something if allowed to explore things.
After this morning, it was all but a certainty we were meant for each other. With the revelation of the fae bond…I found myself, for lack of a better word, gobsmacked, I’d been so fucking blessed.
I refused to let him get under my skin. Instead, I allowed a slow, satisfied smile to curve my lips up.
Soren choked on a laugh. “Gods, man. Are you itching for a fight?”
I ignored him and focused on Caelan. “She did help me. Repeatedly.” The sounds of her ragged breath and low moans, and the way her back arched when she took her pleasure…gods. I wanted to stalk outside, throw her over my shoulder, and do it again and again and again, until she was sated and weak.
Ethan closed his eyes. Ben scrubbed a hand over his face and sighed.
“You should see my land, Caelan.” I closed my eyes and inhaled. “It’s stunning. When she’s happy, everything around her blossoms. My shifters, my personal lands, my entire territory.” I opened my eyes and let a little gold flow in. “Me.”
Claws slipped from Caelan’s fingers. He moved them off the desk into his lap, but he couldn’t hide the gold rising in his eyes. Satisfaction and loathing warred within me. Caelan would come for me one day.
I would be ready.
Ethan cleared his throat, a warning look in his eyes.
“We’ll meet four days from now. Evie is due on Thorvin’s land soon.
Once the results of that experiment are apparent, we’ll discuss what comes next.
Caelan, you are always welcome to attend our meetings, provided you are free of any extra influence. ”
Caelan turned his attention to Ethan. “You might be taken in by the Floromancer’s supposedly gentle nature, but she is the fae queen.
Her people have been trying to exert their influence on our lands for years now, and even if she’s not complicit, they are using her to steal our territory right out from under our noses.
Mark my words. She will be our downfall.
” His golden gaze met mine. “You are the most vulnerable. Allowing her to claim a large part of your territory leaves you vulnerable. She can rip it right out from under you and what would you do?”
I studied him, noting the slump in his posture and the exhaustion etching lines around his eyes.
Even through a screen, I could see Caelan was having a difficult time.
“She could do that to any of us at any time, or have you forgotten Donovan and the subsequent lesson she taught Dario when he tried to usurp her rightfully claimed territory? If you think that way, then none of us is safe.”
“Then you welcome our floral overlords?” Ethan asked dryly.
Soren barked a laugh.
I held my hands out. “I’m merely pointing out what Evie could do if she had the proper motivation. She has sworn she will release our territory once the magical threat is passed. I, for one, believe her.”
“Because she’s your mate,” Ben growled.
“We are not formally mated,” I pointed out.
“Things are going in that direction, but I will not force Evie into anything she’s not ready for.
” A pointed blow at Caelan. “If she chooses not to accept me, we’ve already agreed she will return the land and refrain from additional Floromancy within Keep grounds. ”
Ben’s brow furrowed. “You’d allow your mate to walk away from you?”
“I don’t allow Evie to do anything. She’s her own person. We all know how the bond works. I choose to believe she will accept me, but she is dealing with the unfortunate after-effects and trauma that comes from prior relationships.”
Caelan let out a derisive snort. “And yet, she’s fucking you.”
I smiled. “You see my point,” I said mildly before turning to Caelan. “I’ve already promised to take you to task for speaking about Evie that way. This is your last warning.”
Caelan’s smile was full of teeth. “Any time you want to go, brother. I’m ready.”
“I stopped calling you brother the day you abused a woman whose only crime was loving you too much.”
Silence fell like a stone. “Send me the meeting details,” I snapped. “Other than that, I hope to hear from no one for the next five days.”
I cut off the call and leaned back in my chair, willing my breath to steady before I went out to see Evie. She’d sense my anger, especially now. While our bond wasn’t complete, I could now sense her exertion outside, as well as her annoyance. No doubt she could sense my fury.
I closed my eyes and took a few deep breaths. Caelan and I would come to blows one day. I had no doubt, but it would not be today.
Once I could focus without wanting to smash my fist into something, I rose and went outside.