Chapter 40
Zenovia
Stupid. I was stupid.
Chapter 40
Why had I asked him that? Callahan’s lips turned into a smirk as he looked at me, his face shining with amusement. “I mean..since we just had the ball and everything. I added and realized that it made me sound even more stupid. Callahan’s smirk widened into a grin as he kept looking at me, hoping I would blabber some more.
Thankfully, I realized I was digging my own grave and decided to shut my mouth. Callahan was still close to me and I tried to look away from his mesmerizing face, but his eyes held me in a sort of trance, not allowing me to look elsewhere.
“Ah, the mate ball…”
He mused and then inched away, giving me room to breathe. My chest was heaving, but I forced myself to focus on the words and not the way his voice sounded.
“Yeah, I figured you met a lot of potential candidates…”
I pretended to sound as if I was all neutral, but deep down I wanted to know what kind of girl did he really like.
In the two weeks or months that I had been here, I had only seen him focus on work and ignore everything else.
That man was literally sculpted to perfection by the Moon Goddess, yet he could not have a mate. That meant every girl saw it as an opportunity to throw herself at him and hope that he chose her.
And despite the ball yesterday, I did not hear any kind of announcement or servants whispering among themselves that he had picked someone.
My chances were not even in the minus, so I wanted my stupid mind to really hear his words and understand he was off limits.
Callahan scratched his chin and replied, “Hmm, I never gave it much of a thought. But, since you are such an expert at reading people, maybe you can answer on my behalf.”
He spoke in a leisurely voice, his finger trailing the edge of the chair he usually sat on.
“Uh, well, since you are the King, you would obviously want a girl who is fit to be a Queen.”
He folded his hands on the chair’s edge and propped his head on it, his chin resting on his folded hands as he seemed to listen to me intently.
The way he looked at me made him look so dreamy and cute.
I shook my head and reached for a pen to give my hands to do something.
“Go on.” He urged me and I played with the pen, trying to hide my nervousness as I continued,
“So, you obviously need the girl to be drop dead gorgeous but also someone who is empathetic, lovable, and makes the subjects feel as if they are cared for.”
“Empathetic and lovable?” Callahan asked with a raised eyebrow, “I am not known to be either of those, so I don’t think anybody expects me to choose such a girl”
I picked a pen to give my fingers something to do and tapped it against my chin a few times. “Isn’t that all the more reason to find such a girl? She will balance your flaws and enhance your good traits. Together, you guys will be a force to reckon with.”
I finished, wanting to not think about it anymore.
“Hmm…I have not really met such a girl in my life so far. Have you met someone like that?”
He asked, and 1 shuffled in my seat. Was the Lycan king really asking for my opinion about the girl he needed to choose as a
mate?
I buried the small spark of jealousy shooting up my heart and quashed it mercilessly.
“Eh, Drusilla? She is charming and sweet. Plus, you have known her for a long time.”
I asked, partly because I wanted to know if they ever were more than friends and if Callahan had any interest in her, which was weird because I should be hating this guy.
“Dru? You have to be kidding me.”
He chuckled and the way he replied was a small indicator that my assumptions were baseless. But I still did not know if they had a thing going on or not.
“Yes, she is gorgeous and nice to everybody.”
Callahan nodded, “That she is. But, Dru is my best friend. I…I don’t think she ever felt that way for me, either.”
Chapter 40
He shrugged, smiling whimsically at that idea.
Though, how about this? You have given me a nice idea.” Callahan said, straightening his back and slipping his hands on his shoulders.
“You met them all at the ball, right? So, you can tell me which one of them fits the bill?”
Callahan proposed, and I felt increasingly uncomfortable. He wanted me to find girls for him? What was P? A matchmaker?
“…I am not sure,” I said, and he asked, “What do you think about Cynthia?”
A flare of jealousy shot up inside me at that thought. I had just seen her offer herself to me and worried if he would claim her the way he had claimed me.
There was no hint of awkwardness in his voice or behavior. It was as if the night had never happened.
I decided to follow suit and behave the same way.
“She…she is an alpha’s daughter, so has alpha blood and has loyal followers already”
I mumbled, recalling the way her friends had ganged up against me.
“Hmm, and?” He probed, and I got irritated by the fact that he was asking me about his future bride so casually.
Instead of answering his question, I blurted out another one.
“Why are you asking me this? I am not your friend, your pack member…”
Callahan raised an eyebrow at that. “Do I need to remind you that you are mine now?”
He asked, and the sudden change in his voice made my heart skip a beat.
He had marked me so technically I was his property and his pack member. I looked down when I could not bear to look into his eyes and hide the heat rising up my cheeks.
Callahan drummed his fingers on the chair and thought about it some more. “Well, I can also remind you of the simple facts. if you do not want to make that public right away.”
Make public? That I had let him touch me and fuck me with his mouth? How insensitive of him.
I squinted my eyebrows at that and he added, “I mean, your family did offer to me as a gift. You can tell everybody that you are my breeder.”
My mouth fell open at that. “I am NOT y
your
breeder.”
His eyes darkened at that, and I realized I had shouted at him. So, I spoke a bit softly this time.
“I mean, I am not sure what I am to you.”
Callahan answered honestly. “For now, you should know that you belong to me. And if you are so afraid of letting others. know that you failed to transform in your first shift, I got you covered. Except El, Matt, and Dru, not many know of what happened in the forest.”
My eyes went wide at that. He had realized I was ashamed of my incomplete shift and had ordered his loyal warriors to keep it a secret already.
The question must be apparent in my expression, because he nodded his head. “Yeah, you are not really good at hiding your true emotions. Plus, we were a bit away from the others and in the forest. El and Matt were the first ones to come over.”
I recalled the way he had torn my clothes and put his coat over me.
“Then….then what do the others think? I am sure, they…they saw you taking me inside.”
Callahan was really enjoying this. That playful smile was back again on his face.
“They did….and you were only wearing my coat. Pretty easy to guess what must have happened for them.”
I gulped nervously again.
“B–But…nothing happened.”
“That night, yes….nothing happened.”
He said, and the way he said it told me he was definitely referring to last night.
This was getting awkward. I was suddenly aware of being alone with him in the office and the way his body had felt on mine.
I had to remind myself my life was not a fairytale and get out of the office before I stupidly asked him to touch me again.
I did not want to look like a wanton.
Then, after I sat in silence, he proclaimed, “Breeder it is. That will hide your identity from the others. Nobody would ask who your family is or what pack you lived in before.”
Chapter 40
I could not think of anything else to do that. He was not my mate. fated or chosen, and he had done me a favor by marking
- me.
He was not some alpha but the King of all the werewolves, so getting marked by him was a big thing.
I let out a defeated sigh. “Okay,” I said in a small voice, and he seemed pleased with the idea.
“That will be enough of a reason to not kill you, right?” Callahan smirked, and I wanted to throw the paperweight on his face to wipe that smirk off.
1 let out a breath and got up from the chair. “I hope so”
I said and stepped out of the office before he could ramble on and on about his chosen mate.
I had barely stepped out of the room when I heard his voice. “Zenovia?”
I peeked through the open door at him. “Yes?”
And added after a split second, “… your majesty”
Callahan replied, “You owe me a cup of coffee for spoiling my desk and papers.”
“Sure, I will bring it to you first thing tomorrow, your highness. You have had enough for a day.”
There was a cheeky grin plastered on my face when I walked away. He had definitely not asked me for a date, but why did it sound like one?
