The Wolf Lord's Mate

Chapter Ten

I could not look anyone in the eye at breakfast the next morning, as if they were all somehow aware of the inappropriate dreams I had been having about the Lord. I kept my head down, finishing as quickly as possible so that I could go upstairs to work.

My work room was a lovely safe haven, and I was able to lose myself in the careful details of my stitching, and push thoughts of Nathaniel away. When night came, I went to bed early, but only found myself faced with the same sorts of dreams.

His hard body pressed against mine.

His hands on my skin.

His breath on my neck.

His scent clouding my judgment.

Again, I woke up tired and thoroughly unsatisfied.

****

My week in the Lord's employ followed this familiar pattern.

I spent the days working on Nathaniel's new clothes, and my nights were spent getting to know my fellow employees. Patty was an excellent cook, and the six of us sat around the table each night, enjoying the meal or even a few games of cards if Samuel and Tom were up for it. Tom was older, but Samuel was closer in age to Isa and I, and was a human as well.

"You'll get on well with Marcus," Samuel said one night at dinner, putting away food like he was a man half-starved, "You're both handy–he'll like that."

As for Nathaniel, it seemed like he was taking every free moment he had to come peer over my shoulder or linger in the doorway, pestering me with questions about my work, or about myself, or even about the weather, if he had nothing else to say.

I was sure that he had much more important things to do, a fact I began to tell him myself as I grew more confident in his presence. His questions were not my only distraction, however, especially when he hovered too near, almost close enough to touch. In my dreams, he had no hesitations when it came to putting his hands on me, but the real Nathaniel still kept himself a few careful inches away.

One particular afternoon, he had been lingering for far longer than usual, pacing around the room with his arms threaded behind his back. It was becoming irritating, his heavy footfalls breaking my concentration. I had pricked myself three times already with my sewing needle, and I was going to stain the fabric if I wasn't careful.

I glanced over in his direction, setting my work down onto my lap. Nathaniel was looking out the window, his expression pensive. Something was bothering him, it was clear from the look on his face. His brow was furrowed, jaw tight, and shoulders tense.

"Anything interesting out there?" I raised a brow, and Nathaniel looked over at me, confused. "You've been staring out that window for ten minutes, I would have thought a parade was passing by."

Nathaniel offered me a small smile, shaking his head. It was odd how fast I had grown comfortable around him, but he had the ability to make me feel both flustered and completely at ease at the very same time.

"Caught up in my own thoughts," Nathaniel sighed, "My apologies."

"You have a captive audience, if you want to speak them out loud." I said, rethreading my needle, "I like to think I'm a rather good listener."

Nathaniel considered me for a moment before nodding. "We've been having some—issues, to say the least, with a group of Wolves living out in the North Cairn Forests. Only that land falls between the jurisdiction of my Lordship, and that of Lord Walton." Nathaniel's jaw cocked, the tendons pulling tight under his tanned skin. "Tell me, Mira, from your time in the Alleys, did you ever hear rumors about that area?"

"Rumors?" I shook my head, "No, not rumors."

The truth was that I had heard of the North Cairn Forests before, but only because I knew Forester's mills were close by—the same man who supposedly ran his Lordship's charitable work. I could practically hear Isa nagging at me to ask him about it, but a part of me was afraid of knowing the truth. Of knowing whether or not his Lordship actually cared about what was happening to the humans. Perhaps I was even more afraid to find out that he did care. That he could care about humans. About—me.

"What then, if not rumors?" Nathaniel turned his attention to me, his eyes always hungry to meet mine, his gaze always sharp and attentive.

"Only that it's not an area where humans are particularly welcome. Although," I looked away pointedly, "Not many places are."

"Walton's Lordship is one such place," Nathaniel's voice softened as he stepped away from the window, "His disdain for humans has caused him to overlook the actions of the Wolves in the North Cairn Forests, and his particular dislike for me has made it almost impossible to reason with him."

"Why does he dislike you?" Nathaniel sighed at my question, coming close enough to cast a shadow on my work as he leaned over me.

"Because I refuse to act like a beast, even if I am one. I would never force anything on anyone, no matter who they were—human, Wolf, it doesn't matter. Walton sees the world differently, and if he could, he would absorb my lands entirely."

A sick feeling pooled in my stomach at the thought of that. Things were certainly not easy as they were, but the thought of a Lord who openly despised humans was a nightmare I could not fully conceive.

"He can't take them from you, though, can he?" I said, more defensively that I intended, "Wouldn't the King have to agree to that?

"He can't take them without direct action —nothing that would provoke an intervention from his Royal Highness. But I know Walton, and he's enough of a weasel to try and work around it however he can. Walton would use anything against me," Nathaniel's gaze flicked away, "Or anyone. For now, I can only try and reason with him as best as I can, and keep him away from what's mine."

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