Forbidden

Chapter 15

15

 

“It’s okay, I can leave if you want,” he said, turning to head right out of the garden.

“NO!” I yell and then realized that that was a pretty bad idea. “I mean… you can stay if you want.”

He looked at me dubiously. “Are you sure?”

“Completely,” I smile welcomingly, looking down at my bag as he took the bench behind the fountain and opens a book.

I surveyed how Liam looked under the sunlight, how the rays caught the sheen of his dark hair, and the glint of hidden mystery in his eyes. He had his legs splayed across the entire bench, and was completely immersed in his book.

For a second there, he didn’t look dangerous at all.

And just like every other time I saw him, I couldn’t seem to control the erratic beat of my heart overreacting in my ribcage. It was completely and totally irrational and unexplainable, but I didn’t mind. I hated to admit it, but I liked the sensation, oddly enough.

I gazed upon his long frame, taking in every delicious morsel of his body, from his silver eyes to his smooth, light skin. I noticed how sinews of light muscle rippled under such skin as he turned each page. He was tall, that was true, but he wasn’t one of those huge boys that made your knees wobble in fear, he was built right, and my eyes seemed to love looking at him.

Suddenly he looked up from his book, his gorgeous silver eyes caught my own knowingly, and I struggled not to blush as I looked down at my sandwich.

“Why aren’t you eating lunch with your Pack?” I asked conversationally, as he was still staring at me, trying to figure me out it seemed.

“Because girls will be girls. And Monica will be Monica,” he frowned, shaking his head.

My brow furrowed and my voice came out a little more snippy and spiteful than I wanted it to be at his cryptic remark. “What does that mean?”

I vaguely wondered to myself why I found myself disliking Monica more and more, when I barely even knew her. Yeah she tried to overpower me in the bathroom, but that was basic Shadow Pack instinct. You couldn’t blame her for her society.

“She wants to know if she’s the lucky girl who gets to become the new Alpha’s Mate. Being my girlfriend and all, she thinks she’s entitled.” He shrugged and I noticed that his shoulders tensed a little before dropping down.

“Wait, you get to choose?” I asked, raising my eyebrows in shock.

“Of course we do,” Liam replied, looking directly at me and entrancing me in his eyes. “Wow…” I heard myself saying, in absolute awe.

He looked at me a bit quizzically. “Don’t they do that in your Pack?”

“No actually,” I shook my head and my curls brushed against my chin; I pulled my knit cap down on my ears and began to twirl a tendril around my index finger. “I’m a female Alpha, and I’m not Mated, which means my parents get to choose whoever they think is great to be an alternative Mate for me and a great leader for the Pack. And Randel happens to be that person…” I couldn’t hide the underlying note of disdain in my voice. “It’s just how the Leaf Pack does things,”

It looked like Liam noticed it too because he snorted. “Figures.”

I frowned at him. “What are you talking about?”

He looked at me once again and I felt his silver irises burning deep into me, burrowing through my skin and bones and into my very soul.

“Don’t take this the wrong way, but… of course the Leaf Pack would make you marry someone like Randel who’s approved of because you aren’t Mated to anyone.”