Chapter 73

Violet

Dahlia looked like she was going to blow a gasket. Kincaid was flushed and huffing with fury. I could see how hard it was to restrain himself. He edged himself back.

“You don’t get to decide how I feel about it.”

Kincaid snarled. “Then tell me!”

His words seemed to ring through the air like a gong, shaking the air and making Dahlia go stiff.

“I can’t read your damn mind – yet.”

“Like hell you will.”

He snarled and Theodore stepped between them, blocking Kincaid’s view of Dahlia, yet I wasn’t sure who he was actually trying to protect from who. I smiled.

“You two are arguing about… each other?”

“We’re arguing about what is proper for the situation.” Dahlia didn’t miss a beat. “Kincaid thinks it’s perfectly acceptable to bulldoze his way into something this important without proper consideration. I had never thought that he had a reckless streak from all the stories about him.”

I tilted my head at her tone, and Kincaid must have heard it, too, because he drew in a deep breath but didn’t say anything. Theodore looked at Dahlia. Her face was stern, but her cheeks were filled with color.

“There’s not a reckless bone in his body, Dahlia.” She looked at me. Her eyes wide and haunted. She looked so young and lost. Freaking out at best. “And for what it’s worth, he really does mean it.”

She glanced nervously toward Kincaid. I crossed the room, placing a hand on Kincaid’s shoulder. He was burning up; his muscles were tense like he was about to leap at her.

Maybe he was, and maybe that was part of the problem.

Theodore chuckled lightly, before walking toward Dahlia and placing a hand on her shoulder.

“Dahlia,” he said. “I’m sure we can get to a resolution without the shouting? I’ve never seen you so worked up.”

She scowled at him. “Shut up.”

I shook my head. “How long have you known, Kincaid?”

“Since we met at Midnight Park,” Kincaid grumbled. “I… I was trying to find a way to talk to her about it, but she just kept running—”

She snarled. “I don’t run from anything!”

Kincaid darted toward her and she all but squeaked and hid behind Theodore who started laughing, holding up his hand to stop Kincaid.

“Alright, I think you’ve proved your point.”

“I didn’t–” Dahlia growled, jabbing Theodore in the back. “You speak a word of this to anyone, and I swear, Theodore.”

“Forgive Dahlia,” Theodore said, his tone oddly formal. “She really… Well, I think it’s best for her to tell you the details, but she’s not being difficult on purpose.”

Theodore clapped a hand on Kincaid’s shoulder, his grin widening. “Best of luck to you in the future, though. Maybe don’t chase her around the house though. The forest would be—”

“I am not going on a run with him!” Dahlia declared, darting out from behind Theodore. Then, she was beside me. “That just— It wouldn’t be proper!”

Kincaid worked his jaw, drew in a deep breath, and stood his full height.

“If you would just… stop running from me and listen, I could tell you that I just want to talk.” He cleared his throat. “I’m… My family is a vassal to a noble family, Dahlia, you have nothing to fear from me.”

Dahlia’s eyes narrowed, but it wasn’t suspicion in his gaze. Wariness, fear, sure. I could only imagine what was going through her mind.

“Why don’t you two… go on a date?” I asked, looking between them.

Dahlia shook her head. “There’s no time for that—”

“Fate waits for no one,” I said, taking her by the arm and tugging her toward Kincaid. He stayed perfectly still and I kept my grip on her until she was barely an arm’s length away. That seemed to calm him.

“A date, in public, nowhere secluded,” I said, the idea taking form. “Take some of the guards with you.”

Dahlia seemed to relax a little and Kincaid just kept watching her. I assumed that she was from a very conservative pack, if not at least a very traditional one. Kincaid would have a fucking field day getting to be as chivalrous and traditional as he could be. The courting traditions that Dahlia had probably been taught about were probably nothing compared to the traditions of Kincaid’s family.

It was heartwarming to think that he might find love the way that he really needed and wanted it. Even more heartwarming to think that I’d get to see it.

Dahlia muttered something under her breath, but she didn’t argue.

Kincaid offered his arm. Her eyes went as wide as saucers.

He inclined his head. “It would be my honor.”

She turned bright red, staring at him as if she didn’t know what to make of him.

“There’s… Well… Midnight isn’t at all like Darkmoon, we don’t even— I mean, where would we even— it’s not that—”

“A walk,” he said. She shut her mouth with a click. “We’ll… take a pair of guards with us and go for a walk.”

Dahlia bit her lip but she didn’t back away. She slipped her arm tentatively into his, and he tucked her arm close before ushering her to the door. Dahlia looked back at us with a wide-eyed, worried look.

“I promise to tell your brothers only after the third date.”

She scowled and turned back around.

As soon as they were gone, Theodore turned to me, his expression one of pure amusement.

“That is going to be the funniest call ever.”

“You’re really enjoying this, aren’t you?”

“I am,” he admitted, grinning. “It’s not every day I can hold something over Dahlia’s head. She’s tough as nails three times over. I’m telling this story at their mating ceremony.”

I snorted. “You’re terrible. Spare the woman some dignity… She’s from a pretty conservative pack, isn’t she?”

He nodded. “A very conservative, very traditional family. Can’t tell you what it took to get her as my beta… though her position here, other than a damn good idea, is a matter of allegiance.”

I cocked an eyebrow at him. “She has brothers? I want to hear the story.”

“She has eight brothers, at least twelve uncles, and a merry band of female relatives who would kiss me just as soon as castrate me in very painful ways.” He sighed and sat on a step. “I got every lecture possible when the deal was signed.”

I smiled. “They worried for her virtue.”

He shrugged. “True, but they also put a lot of weight in finding their fated mates.”

Most traditional packs did, though they also had a high rate of unmated pack members. I pushed that thought aside as it would only spoil the mood. I’d have plenty of time to think about the injustices that made up our society later.

“Who would have thought that our betas would end up together?”

He shook his head. “Not me. How the hell had they hidden it all this time?”

I tilted my head. “Kincaid’s from a vassal family that really holds to the traditional way of things. He would have never approached her outside of a proper setting had things been different.”

I sank onto the step beside him, leaning against him with a chuckle.

“I mean, I can only guess that this argument actually started at the reception.”

He scoffed. “There’s no way they’ve kept a part for that long.”

I nudged him. “Just because you wouldn’t have, doesn’t mean they wouldn’t have.” I smiled. “She’s lucky. Kincaid has more honor in an eyelash than most have in their whole bodies… If she’s got hoops for him to jump through, courting things she wants, he’ll do them, gladly.”

“They’ll make quite the pair… Though it’s to his advantage that Midnight is set up the way it’s set up.”

“Meaning?”

“Well, if they were in Darkmoon, it would be a bit harder to… manage all of the courting things. The walks, the talks, the slow, gentle nature of it. It’s easier when there aren’t fifty restaurants to choose from, cars everywhere, and noise.”

Theodore scoffed. “Another jab at Midnight’s under-development?”

I rolled my eyes. “If Dahlia is from a similar territory, it’s a good thing, so she won’t be so overwhelmed. Neither of them will be. I don’t think Kincaid’s ever been on a date.”

Theodore winced. “He’s… a novice at dating?”

“Aren’t you?”

His lips twitched. “Fair point.”

I shook my head. “Though, we’re definitely going to have to work on the pathways between Midnight and Darkmoon. Kincaid’s going to want to see her frequently and vis versa. Let alone us.”

He tilted his head, giving me a curious look. “What do you mean?”

The question caught me off guard. For a moment, I stared at him. “You know how long it takes to get from Darkmoon to Midnight, don’t you?”

“What does that have to do with anything. You’re living here.”

I blinked at him, realizing that he expected me to just live with him year-round.