Souls Entwined

Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Three
Elle's POV

Kaden had insisted on us driving together while my protection detail followed in the car behind us. It was the only reason I finally convinced myself to blurt the words trapped in my throat for several days. 'I would prefer that you tell me about meetings when you find out if you intend to invite me to them.'

Kaden said nothing at my outburst, though a trick of the light made it look like his lips twitched into a slight smile. I knew it couldn't be a real smile because it was gone just as the light flickered away into the shadows. I watched him for a while longer until he swallowed, his chin bobbling up and down in a slight nod.

Since he had nothing to say, I filled the silence by babbling my reasoning. 'If I know about these things more than five minutes before I am expected to be part of them, then I would have time to prepare. Not only would I be able to have questions at the ready or stipulations to agreements, which realistically I'd have to talk to you about anyway before I could suggest it to someone else, but I'd be able to prepare mentally.' I sucked in a ragged breath soothing the burn that had taken over in my breathless monologue. 'I think I know why you do it,' I said after catching my breath. 'If you don't give me a chance to think about it, I don't have time to decide not to go. So waiting until we were nearly at Müller's place the other day really threw me.'

'I have a meeting with the Alpha and Luna of Lacus on Friday,' three days from now, though I was sensible enough to wait for an actual invitation and not mention his own schedule,  'Our Council meeting is on Monday. Rylan has been petitioning on our behalf to have you included in Council meetings from now on. He was approved during this week's meeting. You have been specially requested to attend the meeting with Peter from the Pecus pack on Tuesday, and I would appreciate it if you'd come to the final negotiation of the contract with the Spiritus pack. Since hearing you speak on the matter the other day, I think it would be good to have you there. There's more, but I'd have to check my calendar to know when they are.'

I gaped at him, something akin to panic growing in my chest. It was warm and made my heart beat a mile a minute, but the longer I sat with it, the more it felt like anticipation. Kaden didn't push me, letting me ruminate on my thoughts, and eventually, I decided that panic and anticipation swirled together to create the strange fluttering in my chest.

I hadn't meant for my voice to sound so small as I said, 'What's the topic of each meeting?' If Kaden was concerned with how unsure I sounded, he didn't mention it.

'I can show you in more detail once we get back,' Kaden sat taller, his eyes pointed straight ahead, staring at the road. 'But the Lacus meeting is only a welcoming for me, and I'm sure it will edge on the boundaries of an informal treaty meeting. We don't have any contracts with them, but they've been looking for something from my father for years. The Pecus pack, as you may know, began negotiations with us before we left, but we need to tie up a couple of things. My understanding is that the focus of the meeting will be on what our commitment is to aid them with the rogue problem and what they can offer us in return. He had some suggestions last time, but I asked him to let me think about it.' He didn't bother telling me about the Spiritus meeting, but I already understood that issue relatively well. 'I'm not sure about the Council meeting,' he admitted, looking slightly worried. 'Rylan has been covering those for me, and I'm not sure what is on the agenda for the other packs. We might wish to put the Umbra pack on there once we've decided.'

Kaden didn't say much else for the rest of the drive, and I was busy checking my phone anxiously every three minutes. I knew he was suspicious of me because he kept glancing my way whenever I flipped it over to see if there was a missed message. The times I'd had to respond were even worse, as a knot formed between his brows.