Chapter 26 Royal
ROYAL
WICKED SMART MATES
What alternative reality is this? I grip the steering wheel a little tighter, then let it go.
They say when you meet your mate, you’ll just know.
And holy shit, is that true. The gray skies are a little brighter.
The wind is a little less cold. My cocoa tastes better than normal, and I don’t feel anywhere near as nervous as I was about showing her my wolf.
Not alternative reality. Perfection. My wolf swoons. He urges me to reach across the too-spacious SUV and hold her hand. Or to brush the lock of golden hair that’s fallen into her face away from her sea-blue eyes. Or to tell her that I love the way her shirt dress swooshes around her hips.
I can’t do any of those things. But the more he presses, the harder it is to hold back.
“So, can you tell me now that we’re in the car together?” Leticia turns in her seat a little bit so she can see me better.
“Well, I can give you a few details. There was a little coup within our ranks, and some bad things happened. I got pulled away during our lunch, and my phone was completely destroyed. I got a new one this morning, though, so we can text again.” I edit a bit and censor a lot.
I’ll give her all the details, but not when there’s a risk of her jumping out of a moving vehicle. And when I can adequately show her I’m not making up the whole wolf shifter stuff.
She’ll believe us. My wolf comforts me. She’s smart and will believe.
“And what happened to your leg?” Leticia pushes for more details, and I love her inquisitive mind all the more for it.
“I had a little run-in with a projectile.” I avoid the words ‘bullet’ and ‘shot’ in hopes of softening the blow.
“Oh my god. You were shot?” Leticia is too smart for me and worked that one out.
Time to lie. My wolf urges me to de-escalate.
“Yes.” I don’t lie to her, and my wolf practically falls over with frustration. “But —” I hold up a finger, trying to slow down the panic that’s filling the car with tension. “I am fine, as you can see. I’m up and walking around like normal.”
“You should be at home, resting, and I don’t know . . . healing. Definitely resting,” she harrumphs.
“I’ll do as much resting as I can in the next couple of days. Does that sound fair?” I try to compromise.
“Fine.” She crosses her arms in front of her chest.
In case she’s cold and not just guarding herself against the bad things I told her, I turn up the heat.
We’re finally out of the city and nearing the highway exit to turn home when, with the smallest voice, Leticia asks, “Do you think Toni had something to do with the coup, and that’s why she isn’t texting me back?”
“Antonella didn’t have anything to do with the coup.” I confirm, hoping she hears how serious I am. But the coup had everything to do with why she’s not texting you back.
“So is her phone damaged too, or is it something else?” Leticia is so brilliant and curious that if I wasn’t on the business end of keeping secrets, I’d be much happier about this.
“There are some security concerns with phones right now. It’ll make more sense when we get to the house and I can explain.
” I chew on my bottom lip for a second. “I promise, it’ll get more confusing and then it will all start making sense, and I’ll answer every single question until you run out of them. ”
“You’re making a lot of promises,” Leticia says like a warning, looking over at me. “You’re sure you can keep all of them?”
“I’ll never lie to you.” I stop myself from saying ‘I promise,’ but I’ll keep every one I can. I mean it wholeheartedly.
Finally we get to Valor’s front gate.
“Oh, we’re going to Valor and Toni’s?” She peers through the windshield.
“Yeah, Kerrianne is with my mom and dad. It’ll be quieter here.” I don’t elaborate that it’s because no one is here and that the guards know not to let her out if I’m not with her.
I roll down the window when we approach the guard shack. The guard is one of Valor’s most trusted, and he looks at Leticia and me for almost a whole minute before nodding and letting us through the gate. Probably committing her scent to memory if something goes sideways.
Nothing bad will happen. My wolf sighs and rolls his eyes. You’re so dramatic.