Chapter 28 Royal
ROYAL
HE CARES
“Kerrianne really loves this little guy, doesn’t she?” Leticia is in the tortoise enclosure, bending over and feeding Captain a piece of kale.
And I’m the pervert staring at the way my friend’s skirt hugs her ass. I’m going to hell for thinking thoughts like wanting to fuck her in the tortoise room.
No hell for wanting to fuck your mate. My wolf corrects me.
But as much as I feel a mate bond toward her, the logic of it all still stands.
I don’t know how she feels about me, if she likes me how I love her — Love?
When did we get to that? It feels right though, and that means we’re star-crossed lovers, and I don’t know a way not to draw a plague on both our houses.
Yet. My wolf is drooling over her. We don’t know how to keep her yet.
Concerning, but comforting.
Should we worry about how well she took us being a wolf? I avert my gaze back to the feeding chart and measure out the recommended amount of food so Captain doesn’t get overweight.
Our mate is smart. She believes what she sees. What more do you want from her? Screaming, crying, running for the city to get pitchforks would be a bad reaction. My wolf sighs and makes me look back at Leticia. She’s close, looking over my arm at the food chart.
“Wow. Did Kerrianne do all this?” Leticia tilts her head to read the text better.
“I mean, I helped her run the program to make the charts, but she’s the one who knows how to care for Captain best. She watched all sorts of videos about caring for these kinds of tortoises and gave Valor a complex about how much knowledge is too much for a kid to know about something.
” I laugh, remembering the way he panicked and ran to Mom and Dad because Kerrianne had hyperfixated on the new family pet.
“She’s so smart.” Leticia places her hand on my forearm.
I freeze, and my wolf fixates on that spot just as much as I do. Her skin is cool compared to mine, but her touch is so delicate. Gentle.
“Toni would know more about what is too much knowledge, so if she’s not concerned about Kerrianne, then I’d trust that everything’s just fine.
” Leticia shrugs and smiles up at me. “We’ve got a younger cousin who pretty much planned a whole family vacation when he was her age.
Like down to the best days of the week to do things. Sometimes kids are just extraordinary.”
“True.” I nod and have to clear my throat to talk. “I can adjust Captain’s lighting remotely, so we don’t have to hang out here since we’re leaving him enough food.”
“Sure.” Leticia gestures to the door. “Lead the way.”
I hate having her follow me down the hallway. I try to shore up my steps, but the wound in my leg is still fresh and tender. Shifting definitely didn’t help, and I can smell blood.
“Do you need to use the bathroom before we head back to my place for lunch?” I look over my shoulder at her.
“If you don’t mind.” She steps into the powder room by the garage.
I rush to the kitchen, where I know Valor keeps a box of first aid supplies.
Without much time, I grab a self-adhesive gauze pad and push my pants down.
Why didn’t this heal more while I shifted?
The wound has definitely reopened, and I seal it with the gauze pad.
It’ll be good enough until I can get home and re-wrap it.
I’m put back together and tucking the first aid supplies away when Leticia comes into the kitchen.
“So, this is awkward.” Leticia doesn’t look at me as she fiddles with the belt hugging her waist. “I’m out of tampons and just got my period.”
My brain slowly catches up with what’s happening. “Oh. I don’t know if Antonella would have any. Their bathroom is on the second floor. Want me to take you there? I mean, I assume she has some since she was human.”
“Toni uses the cup. So that’s out. I just need to stop by a gas station or something. They normally have some boxes.” Leticia looks uncomfortable, and it’s more than whatever embarrassment she’s trying to hide.
“That’s hardly an inconvenience.” I brush it off. “We’ll go back out to the shops and then home. We can even get lunch while we’re out if you’d like. There are fewer choices out here than in the city, but ninety percent of the options here have really good food.”
“I’m sorry.” Leticia pulls her hair over her shoulder and plays with the ends. “I feel so —”
“Don’t berate yourself over something your body does naturally. Mine turns into a wolf. A period is hardly abnormal.” I’m assuming, since I only remember like four things they taught us about human women’s periods in high school.
Thankfully the internet exists. My wolf, for once, sees the merit of the online world for more than just stalking.
“Can I get you anything else before we leave? Hot water bottle? Chocolate? Water? Soda?” I’m listing off random things I generally like with the hope something sticks.
“Uh, water would be good. I want to take some pills to help with the coming cramps.” She shuffles slightly.
Pain. My wolf deduces from the movement. How much pain? Ask, he demands.
“I’m out of my depth. Wolves don’t have periods.
I’m kinda at a loss as to what is happening.
So I’m just going to hover and be like one hundred percent the most overthinking best friend in the entire world until I’m satisfied you’re being cared for the way you need to be.
” I warn her instead of asking invasive questions.
“Oh, best friend?” Leticia cants her head and follows me to the cupboard where Valor keeps the drinking glasses. “When did you get a promotion?”
“Self-appointed.” I grin at her with a full smile.
“Oh, well, in that case, I want to be the Grand Poobah of friends.” She smiles back, and my heart flutters.
This could have gone so much worse. So much worse.
“Uh, Royal?” Leticia murmurs while looking at her phone in the passenger seat.
She’s quiet and tense, much like when she saw me in wolf form.
“Uh, Leticia?” I parrot back. “Everything okay?”
“My dad just texted me. It’s the middle of the night in Italy, but he wants to know what information I learned today from hanging out with you.” She tilts the phone toward me, but I only spare it a glance before continuing down Valor’s driveway.
Her breathing picks up, and I focus, trying to listen for her heartbeat, but I can’t hear over the road noise and through her thick coat. But she’s practically hyperventilating.
“The truth is obviously out of the question.”
“Tell him you found out that Valor and Antonella are honeymooning for a little bit this week and that you fed Kerrianne’s pet tortoise.” I give honest facts mixed with just a dash of fiction. Make it easier for her to lie to her dad.
“Okay.” Leticia nods and starts typing on her phone, her fingers shaking. “Shit,” she mumbles.
“Just take it easy.” I try to coax her off the ledge she seems to be standing on. “Don’t worry about it too much.”
“He’ll know I’m lying. He’s going to push for more information. I don’t know how to do this. I don’t know how to lie that well.” Her voice holds a whine of discomfort that pulls at my soul, and I want to soothe her worries for her.
Help her. My wolf whines.
“He’s not going to know you’re lying. When he pushes for information, you’ll tell him that all we did was talk about boring stuff — the tortoise, Valor’s mansion, and the original builder from the eighteen hundreds and that it looks like it needs a gargoyle on the roof.”
Leticia huffs a laugh. “I definitely expected gargoyles when I first saw the place.” She tries to draw a steadying breath. “Okay. He might buy that.” But it doesn’t work because she’s back on the verge of hyperventilating.
Rather than continuing to drive down the road, I pull over, leaving a little room for someone else if they want to pass to get to the house.
“Will you look at this before I send it? I don’t want anyone to worry that I’m doing something wrong.”
“Yeah, I can look. My phone is going to ask to approve the message sent out anyway.” I feel a little guilty about that. Like I shouldn’t be monitoring her this way, not when she’s being so forthcoming with wanting to keep our secret.
But I didn’t think of Neil as a threat, and look what happened.
I trust Leticia not to say anything under normal circumstances. I’m not one-hundred-percent sure that I can trust her under pressure. Not yet.
Our mate will prove herself. You’ll see. My wolf is still swooning over her actually being with us.
“You’re a wolf shifter,” Leticia breathes out. “A wolf. You turned into a wolf.”
“Yeah, I did.” It feels like she’s having a whole other revelation about what happened. “I can do it again if you want to see it one more time to be sure it’s real.”
“No. I believe it happened.” Leticia tries to explain as she runs her fingers through her hair. “I don’t believe it happened, but I don’t need to see it again.”
I let her work through the emotions, but what I wouldn’t give to actually be knowledgeable enough about her to fix this, to help her.
Leticia presses send on her phone, and mine vibrates less than half a second later. I pull it out of the mount on the dash and take a look.
Leticia:
There’s not much to say. We went to Valor and Toni’s house, they’re out of town for a few days on a honeymoon trip. We fed their pet tortoise, who is cute and named Captain. He didn’t talk about any work. He just wanted to know about my finals and how school was going.
“Good touch with what I asked about.” I approve the message. “See, you’re way better at this than you thought you were. I didn’t think to address the conversation that way.”
Comfort her. My wolf urges.
I’m trying. I argue back.
But I know what he really wants me to do. He wants me to physically reassure her that she’s not alone because she isn’t, but she probably feels it. There’s a whole species difference from the driver’s seat to the passenger seat, and that’s probably really alienating for her.
I move slowly, like I’ll spook her, and reach over the center console, resting my hand on her mid-thigh.
Big mistake on my part. My cock twitches when I feel the softness of her skin under the control of my touch.
Leticia moves her hand to cover mine, and for a brief moment, I wonder if she’ll push me away. Instead, she rests her hand on top of mine.
Her phone buzzes, and Leticia jumps.
“It’s okay. I’m here.” I offer my hand out to her. “Do you want me to read it?”
“N —” She pauses. “Yeah, could you?”
I open her phone, which doesn’t have a security lock on it, and read the message aloud.
“Your dad says: What days are you spending Christmas out there? The invitation said for the twenty-third, but it seems you and Royal are close. Maybe you can find a way to spend more time with him. We need to know as much as you can gather. Who their business partners are, things like that.”
Not respecting the truce? My wolf and I are both suspicious about this demand for information gathering. What could they need information for?
“How does this sound: I’m spending the twenty-third, but have been invited to spend all of winter break now that they know I’m staying home alone while you’re all in Italy. I didn’t think you’d approve of it,” I say.
She’s silent, and I look over at her.
Eyes wide, she’s looking at me. “Did you just invite me to spend time at your house? Like, spend the night?”
“Well, you can stay at Valor’s if you’d rather, but his house is kinda creepy at night if you’re all alone.” I encourage her to choose to stay with us. It’s not necessarily staying with me, but it’s closer.
“Send the message.” Leticia squeezes my hand.
Our mate wants us. My wolf pushes forward, and I forget to hold him back.
Leticia gasps. “Your eyes, they just changed from one color to another.”
I blink and push the wolf back. “Sorry, my wolf really likes you.”
Understatement of the century. My wolf huffs and settles back in.
“I mean, what’s not to like?” Leticia giggles, and it’s good to see her less panicked than before.
Tearing my eyes away from her, I look back at the phone, double-checking the message before hitting send.
“How are you doing, really?” I look at her, trying to get a read on what’s going through her head.
Her eyes are a little sunken, and she doesn’t seem as energetic as usual.
“I’m exhausted,” she admits, shoulders dropping. “I need to go home and pack in case he says yes, and my uterus hurts.”
I force myself not to deflate because, more than anything, I want to spend time with her. But I nod. “Let’s get you a tampon, and I’ll take you back to the city.”
“Just one tampon? I don’t think they sell them individually outside of a bathroom vending machine, and I can’t even tell you the last time I saw one of those.” Leticia still finds the energy to make a joke.
“Alright, well, then at least a box, but we should have some on hand at the house for human visitors, so maybe you can show me what you need as a start. Then I’ll take you back to the city, and maybe we’ll have an answer.
” I stop myself from spewing a whole plan about helping her pack and getting to see her room in person.
Take her home and never let her leave. My wolf amps up the inner rampaging thoughts of how we’ll do everything we can to keep Leticia forever.
“I’d like that.” She squeezes my hand again. “Thank you for not freaking out about my dad. It means a lot that you trust me. I promise I’m keeping the secret no matter what.”
“I believe in you,” I answer because I know she means that.
I know she means that she’ll try, and even if I don’t believe she’d make it through a round of serious questioning and interrogation, that doesn’t change how I feel about her.
I believe she intends to keep wolf shifters a secret.
I believe she doesn’t want to tell her dad anything about our family business.
But more than that, I don’t expect Gregorio D’Medici to truly push his daughter hard enough to come close to breaking her.
What the Italians don’t see in Leticia is exactly what makes me love her.