LUCIAN’S POV
I stood in the hallway, watching Nora walk away with my mother, and I could not tear my eyes away from her.
She moved stiffly, with her shoulders tense, and her head held high like she was trying to hold herself together, and I noticed the way she glanced back at me for just a second before she turned away again, with fear and longing in her eyes.
I thought about everything she had said to me in the hallway, the walls she had thrown up between us, her age, her weight, her daughter, her friendship with my mother, and I realized that every single one of those things was a barrier she had built to protect herself from being hurt again.
She had been broken by someone who did not deserve her, and now she was pushing me away before I could get close enough to break her again.
But beneath these walls, I could still feel the attraction between us, the pull that had been there from the very first moment our eyes met in tbat crowded club.
She felt it too, even if she would not admit it.
I had seen it in her eyes when she looked at me across the dinner table, I had felt it in her touch when she pushed me away, amd I had heard it in her voice when she said it was a mistake.
She wanted me too.
She was just scared to admit it.
So I made a decision right there and then, I would break down these walls one my one, and I would make her see that none of her reasons mattered.
I would push harder, because I knew what was underneath them was worth fighting for.
Then I turned and walked back to my private chambers, with my mind still on Nora, andni found Jace already there, waiting for me with a knowing grin on his face.
“So,” he said, raising an eyebrow, “did you talk to her?”
“Yes,” I said, pouring myself a glass of water.
“She tried to run.”
Jace chuckled.
“Has your liking been extinguished after seeing her properly in daylight?
Knowing very much that she carries so much baggage?”
I laughed heartily and replied, “She is in fact more beautiful under sunlight than the lights in the club.”
Jace shook his head, still chuckling and said, “Men with their strange desires.
That is how Lucas told me he fancies extremely short women, and that dude is tall.
I even said petite?
He laughed and said no, shoft, there is a difference.
While Marcus said he prefers his women dark skinned.
I mean you men surprise me everyday with your choices.”
I smiled and leaned back in my chair.
“What can I say?
The heart wants what it wants.”
Jace raised an eyebrow and asked, “So you are telling me that after all these years of turning down every she wolf that threw herself at you, you finally fall for a woman who doesn’t want you?”
Jace laughed out loud mockingly and asked, “And you are sure about that?
She looks at you like she is ready to bolt any second.”
“She looks at me like she is scared of what she feels,” I corrected him.
“There is a difference.”
Jace shook his head, still grinning from ear to ear.
“I have never seen you like this, Lucian.
You are obsessed and it is almost scary.”
I smiled, in a slow possessive manner and shrugged.
“I know.
But I can’t help it.”
Then Jace leaned forward with a curious expression on his face.
“So what is it about her?
She does not look bad, but she is thick, and it is not the typical beauty standard.
You have more beautiful women throwing themselves at you for years and you never looked at them twice.
What makes her different?
Tne thrill of the chase?
Or the fact that she is someone you shouldn’t want?”
I was quiet for a moment, thinking about his question.
Then I spoke, my voice low and sounding honest.
“It is not the chase, and it is not because she is forbidden.
It is because when I look at her, I see someone real.
She does not pretend to be something she is not.
She doesn’t bow and scrape like everyone else.
She looks at me like I am just a man, not an Alpha.
She tell me I am too young for her, that I don’t know what I want.
And the way she looks at me, like she is terrified of letting herself feel anything….it makes me want to prove her wrong.”
Jace was quiet for a moment.
Then he said breathlessly, “you have got it bad, man.”
“Terrible,” I agreed, laughing heartily.
“It is terrible.”
Then suddenly, Jace’s expression turned serious.
“What are you going to do now? The source of this chapter is g.com.
And Lucian, her fear is very valid.
She is not just any woman.
She is your mother’s friend.
You need to be very careful.”
I nodded slowly.
“When we get to that bridge, we will cross it.
But first, I have to win her over.
Because she is mine, and she is the only one I want.”
Jace opened his mouth to respond, but before he could, we heard a knock on the door and my mother entered, carrying a tray of food, and Jace immediately stood and excused himself, bowing respectfully as he left the room.
My mother sat on a seat across from me with a warm smile on her face and said, “I noticed you didn’t have breakfast earlier, so I brought you your favorites.”
I smiled and thanked her, genuinely touched by her thoughtfulness.
She watched me eat for a few moment, then she spoke again.
“I am asking for your opinion about an issue,” she said.
I looked up, curious, and asked, “What is it?”
She hesitated for a moment, then said, “It is about my friend, Nora.”
My heart skipped a beat, but I kept my face calm.
“What about her?”
My mother sighed softly.
“She has been divorced and alone for three years now.
Her ex mate hurt her emotionally, and I feel for her.
Now that she is here, I am considering introducing her to one of the lords in your court.”
My hand shook slightly as I reached for my glass, but I steadied myself and smiled at my mother.
“To my knowledge,” I said carefully, “all the lords in my court already have ladies of their own.”
My mother shook her head and smiled.
“I thought so too, but I discussed it with Lady Elara, and she said it was a good idea.
Lord Christian and Lord Harry are single.
They lost their mates some years back and have since been devoted to their duties instead of women, so they will be perfect candidates.”
I smiled at my mother and nodded along, but my mind was already racing.
She wanted to give Nora to another man.
Over my dead body.
Because she was mine, and soon, I would make sure everyone knew it.