Chapter 135


    LEAH


    My hands shake as I pull the pendant back on. It hangs between my breasts and draws attention to my


    cleavage, which I suppose is good, although I


    didn’t expect Aaron to get so annoyed


    about me forgetting to wear it.


    This is all new to me.


    My stomach is a bit knotted and I reach


    for some bread.


    Belongs to (N)?vel/Drama.Org.


    It. Is. Delicious.


    If this is just the carb course, I’m pretty


    sure the rest of this meal is going to be


    orgasmic. I blush. Well, no. Nothing is


    going topare to that.


    “What are you thinking about?” Aaron


    asks.


    I blush harder.


    He chuckles.


    I’m going to miss this. Seeing him


    It’s easy to forget that I’m dying as I focus on the day-to-day dealings of my


    role as Alpha and working to save Pack


    Roberts.


    But when I’m with Aaron…


    I want to savor. I want every second to extend into infinity. I want these good feelings tost. Knowing


    they won’t, that’s just another reminder of the ticking clock that has be my life.


    “What happened?” he whispers.


    3


    2


    4 +


    I blink back the tears that are blurring my vision.


    2


    “I’m just happy,” I tell him. And I am.


    I’m only sad because I’ll miss him.


    The first round of foodes and I’m


    spared from having to say more.


    C


    Time passes slowly. We eat and


    talk. Aaron shares stories of his own


    childhood-details I’ve never heard


    before or even thought to ask.


    We talk about good times, before the war resurged and ripped our lives apart.


    Before the main courses, I notice a


    I can’t say I’m surprised when Liam


    barrels toward the wolves positioned at the door. James stops him with a hand to Liam’s chest. “Not


    one step more,” James


    warns.


    “Back off, Beta.”


    “No.”


    “That’s my sister,” he growls as if daring


    Aaron’s men to stop him.


    “Let him through,” Aaron says.


    But he’s not alone.


    Aaron bristles as two other wolves follow


    behind Liam.


    The first is a darkly bearded man with


    eyes


    that are almost translucent. The


    stark contrast between his light eyes


    and dark skin and hair is unnerving. The


    second man is blond and makes me think


    of Vikings or warriors from the Steppe.


    He’s really tall and wide with brown eyes


    that take in every detail.


    Both are heavily tattooed and they look, I


    don’t know, forck of a better word,


    dangerous.


    “Hello Alpha,” the Viking-looking wolf


    says.


    “Michail.” Aaron nods.


    The man scoffs. “I was addressing her.”


    Aaron bristles.


    There are undercurrents of tension here and Aaron might outwardly appear


    calm, but his one hand has curled into


    a fist and the other lingers close to the


    steak knife beside his dish.


    “Leah, this is Michail, and the other Alpha is Ryker.” Liam handles the


    introductions.


    They make my skin crawl so I can’t really


    say ‘it’s nice to meet you. I settle for a


    Aaron angles his body to see past them. “I don’t see Dorian. Has he departed already?”


    The guy with the dark beard smiles a


    little creepily. “You know Dorian,” he says.


    “Always up to something.”


    To the two wolves Liam says, “Alright,


    you’ve met my sister. Let’s head out.” My brotheres and drops a kiss on my forehead and says to


    me, “Enjoy your evening, Leah. Save room for dessert. The Zabaglione is delicious.”


    I watch them leave. The wolf called


    Michail lingers. His gaze traces over me in a way that has Aaron growling.


    “See you soon,” he tells Aaron.


    And that’s not some pleasant farewell, it


    sounds ominous.


    When they’re gone, I ask Aaron, “Should


    we be concerned?”


    Between Tobin and now seeing my


    brother with these two wolves I can’t


    shake the feeling that he is in over his


    head.


    “Your brother has shi tty taste in friends,”


    Aaron tells me.


    My brother very convincingly let the world think my Pack was mismanaged


    and a bu nch of reprobates while he and my fatherunched a secret division


    of Roberts Corp for multi-billion dor military contracts.


    I won’t make any assumptions. And when I see my brother tonight or tomorrow, I’ll


    ask him about it.


    “I’m sure there is a reason for it, Aaron.


    “Yes. And that’s what concerns me…