King of My Heart

TWENTY-SEVEN

I slowly make my way over to Liam's office. The thought of asking him to let me into the pack makes me a little nervous. If he wanted me to join his pack, wouldn't he have asked me himself? What if he says no? Do I even want to be in a pack? I know Jade wants to join it. I can already feel her excitement. It is understandable that, as a wolf, she would enjoy the company of more like her. It has always been unusual how she has been okay with me living by myself but ever since meeting Liam, I can feel her getting stronger. She has more energy and even her emotions are overwhelming sometimes.

Joining a pack is a really big decision and I stop for a moment to actually think about it. What if things don't work out between me and Liam? I don't want to add more to Jade's pain by making her leave her mate and her pack. On the other hand, if I don't take a chance, I am basically setting this relationship up for failure before it has even started. I like Liam and there is no denying the fact that I am attracted to him. Being with him makes me feel like I actually belong here, which is something I'm not used to. I have always had to hide a part of myself in the human world. Granted, it wasn't hard thanks to Jade, but I didn't enjoy doing it either. I just want to make sure that the chemistry Liam and I might have is real and not just an illusion created by the mate bond. And I guess, to do that I will have to take a leap of faith.

I realise I've been so lost in thoughts that I have been staring at Liam's door. I straighten myself and gently knock at the door.

"Come in," a voice calls out which I immediately recognise as Liam's.

I slowly open the door and walk in. There are two men sitting on the chairs in front of his desk. Liam seems to be engrossed in writing something down. His jaw is clenched and he is focused on his work. I can't help but bite my lip when I notice his muscles flex through his shirt as he writes. His scent intoxicates me as I fight the growing desire to touch him. Butterflies dance in my stomach followed by a tingling that runs all the way to my core. Suddenly, Liam snaps his head towards me, replacing my dirty thoughts with a feeling of embarrassment. I immediately turn my eyes away from him. It hits me that I have been staring at him without saying a word ever since I walked in.

"I, uh, wanted to talk to you about something," I stutter, still unable to meet his gaze.

He quickly hands over some papers to one of the men and dismisses them. They get up, bow their heads slightly at Liam and walk out, shutting the door behind them. I turn my head around as I watch them leave. Before I can turn back to face Liam, he is already in front of me and pinning me against the wall. He lowers his head into my neck while his hand wraps around my waist, pulling me close to him.

"Liam, what are you doing," I gasp, faintly. His lips are lightly grazing my skin, sending shivers all through me.

"I can smell your arousal, April," he whispers, sending hot breaths over my neck.

"Excuse me, sir. What the fuck?" I exclaim as I feel my face heat up from shame.

He doesn't move but I can feel him smirk against my neck.

"Wait," I exclaim and put my hands on his shoulders, pushing him back. A low growl escapes his chest but he moves away.

"Does this mean those men could also tell.." I trail off and hide my face in my palms.

Liam chuckles before saying, "Relax, only your mate can do that since your scent is already stronger to them."

I sigh in relief and make my way over to the couch.

"So what did you want to talk about," he asks sitting down next to me.

"Oh, yeah. I was thinking of maybe working at the hospital. So, um, I wanted to ask you if I could join the pack," I stammer.

"I see," he responds. "I just thought you could do that when you become Luna. You know, two birds, one stone."

"Liam, I just don't want to rush anything," I say.

"What do you mean?" He looks confused with my statement.

"Look, I really want to see where this mate thing goes, but I also think we should take things slowly," I explain.

"You want to see where this goes?" he questions, raising his voice a little this time.

"Yeah, I mean, I just want to make sure that what we have is real before we do something drastic, like make me Luna."

"Fine," he says curtly and gets up.

"I'll think about it," he adds and walks back to his chair behind the desk.

He gets back to reading something on his desk without giving me another look. I wonder what got into him to start being rude all of a sudden, but I'm going to leave while I'm ahead.

"Okay, thanks," I mumble and walk out of his office.

I decide to go downstairs and look for Lucas so I can ask him about his training. Luckily, I bump into him on my way downstairs.

"Ah, just the person I was looking for," I say.

"Are you sure you have the right Kingston," he raises an amused eyebrow at me.

"Yes," I say with an eye roll. "Where are you off to?"

"I was just on my way to see Liam," he answers. "You should join me," he adds with a smirk.

"I'm actually coming from his office. He does not seem to be in a good mood," I say.

"What's new?" He chuckles. "Come on, let's go downstairs. I'll talk to him later," he offers.

I nod and we both find our way to the lounge. We sit down on the couch in front of the TV.

"So I was hoping I could join you for your training at the hospital," I inform.

"That's actually a great idea. But won't you be busy with Luna duties," he wonders.

"What Luna duties," I ask, concerned.

"You know like helping Liam out and being in charge of the pack and stuff."

"I don't think Liam needs my help. Besides I'm not the Luna," I say brushing him off.

"Yet," he adds.

I don't want to talk to Lucas about the reason why I'm so hesitant about being the Luna.

"Doesn't matter. I didn't get so far to waste my degree. You, of all people, should get that," I say.

"You're right, you're right. Of course, you can join me," he exclaims. "I'm going to start with Dr. Williams next week."

"I should probably go talk to her, then," I add.

"I don't think she can really stop you since you outrank her," Lucas chuckles.

"But still. It'll be rude to just show up without asking."

"Fair enough. But she will probably be busy so let me save you the trouble and ask her," he offers, pointing a finger towards his head, indicating that he is mind-linking her.
He speaks again after a few seconds. "There, all done."

"Well, what did she say," I ask after he doesn't provide any further explanation.

"She is very excited to work with you," he says with a smile.

"Really?" I yelp.

"Yes."

"Could you also ask Amy to meet me here? I really need to get her number so I can text her," I say, rolling my eyes.

"Sure," he laughs.

Lucas gives me company until Amy shows up and I spend the rest of the day with her. We have dinner at the pack house but there is no sign of Liam in the dining hall. I return back to the house and find him sitting in front of the TV.

"Hey," I greet.

"Hi," he replies, not taking his eyes off the screen.

"Where have you been? You weren't at dinner," I prod.

"Been busy," he replies coldly, still not looking at me.

"Okay," I say.

He seems to be pissed off for some reason and I am in no mood to deal with his sporadic outbursts so I let him be and head for my room.