“You sure you don’t want to leave it on the edge of my bed? Or better yet, slide it under my door so there’s no chance of running into me at all. You don’t want to risk me accidentally falling on your dick. Tell me, Caleb, why go face to face when you’re such a master of the written word?”
His jaw ticked as he clenched against whatever retort was on his lips. Then he looked away from me, his whole body tight. “Tonight at moonrise, the headmistress will be lifting the magic ban on Kingston. So he can shift and heal.”
My heart leapt. “She is? That’s fantastic.”
“Don’t get excited. It’s going straight back on him as soon as he’s done.”
“Maybe she shouldn’t be so hasty. Clearly this plan of hers isn’t working as well as she’d hoped.”
“That’s not for us to decide.”
I wiggled my way past him and tried to get free, into the beam of morning sunlight where he couldn’t continue to break my heart with his proximity. Part of me wanted to confide in him about my dreams, about the fears I had of my origins, who I might be. What I might be doing. Instead, I shut down and closed off that part of myself he’d once held in the palm of his hand. I trusted him to keep my heart safe once, and he’d thrown it right back in my face. I wouldn’t give him the chance to do it again.
Before he could say anything else, I gave him a sarcastic little salute. “Thanks for the news, Father. Next time, send me a text. Or better yet, anyone else.”
I’d only just fought my tears back by the time I reached Kingston’s door. Letting myself in, I spied Chad sitting on the couch in the living room, his phone in his beefy hand, a scowl on his face.
I simply headed for the door to Kingston’s room, needing to get inside and see my mate, but the guard I’d assumed wasn’t paying attention stopped me.
“You can’t go in there.”
I scowled. “What? I’m his mate. Of course I can.”
“No. I’m his guard, and I say you can’t.”
“Listen, Chad. You can try to stop me, but Kingston will be very unhappy with you if you do.”
“Doubt that. He’s the one who said no visitors.”
“He didn’t mean me.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure. He doesn’t sleep when you’re around. He’s too busy trying to impress you by playing the Alpha, but he can’t heal without his wolf, and he’s in pain when he’s not asleep. Some mate you are, making him suffer like that.”
“What?” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Kingston hadn’t said a word.
“The doctor has been in three times trying to do something about the infection. If he doesn’t heal soon, he might make a turn for the worse. So, little wolf girl, let. Him. Sleep.”
“Can you at least tell him I stopped by?”
Chad smirked. “Sure will. Now get out of here before he wakes up and smells you. You reek of pheromones and... Viking.”
I blinked at the beta. It was about the only thing he could have said to me that would have made me walk away without seeing Kingston. But thanks to my run-in with the Mr. Darcy of priests, I knew Kingston would be able to shift tonight. I could wait. I’d see him later. He’d get better, and we’d put all of this behind us.
I made my way to my floor, laughing a little as I wondered if Noah might pop out of the elevator and make my mate run in a full sweep. But he didn’t.
Probably for the best, I was still sweaty from my run with Alek. I opened the door to find Moira still in bed. She lifted her eye mask with one hand as she groaned and flailed dramatically.
“Wake up, sleepyhead, the sun is shining and the birdies are singing.”
“Oh, look, another lovely morning. It makes me sick.”