21

Grayson dropped his arm and grabbed my hand. He linked our fingers together and held them tight. He alternately looked at our hands and into my eyes. Whoever was holding whose hand, I couldn't help but smile to myself in embarrassment.

Grayson was standing in front of me. Two meters that have never said much to me before. He's been acting more than weird since the experiment. That day was the first time he'd shown anything like feelings, like tonight.

"I'll come with you, let's talk." I took a quick look around, this wasn't a place to talk. Grayson's face lit up and his otherwise serious features softened until they ended in a smile.

He gave me a small kiss on the forehead and led me skillfully out of the crowd, through a few empty corridors, into the biology wing and its large conservatory.

I was rarely here, if at all, and I was surprised that he even knew him. In the end, nothing about him should surprise me anymore. Grayson was a huge mystery.

"Sit down." He pointed to some benches that stood between the plants. I never consciously came here, only when my goal led me past here and I could count that on one hand.

It was actually quite nice here. Above us was a large glass dome through which the stars shone, countless plants and trees filled the space. Everything was a bit unreal, since the university was in an area where nothing grew but lots of icicles.

"Boyle blackmailed you? With Caspian?" I asked straight out as I sat down.

"So to speak." Grayson rubbed his forehead and leaned against a tree. He folded his arms across his chest as usual and watched me. He followed my every move carefully, as if I was about to run away from what he was about to tell me.

"So what? Caspian is gone. She should tell everyone. Nobody would have believed her," I snorted.

"Anyone would have believed her, Tara. Nobody spreads such a rumor who is not aware of the consequences. Everyone is afraid of Caspian, everyone except you."

"Why should I be afraid of him?" I asked bored. I didn't want to talk about Caspian, much less Grayson. I had different feelings for Caspian than for him. Feelings that weren't real created by Luna.

"He's not letting you feel it, is he?" Grayson probed.

"What do you mean? He also mentioned something like that." Grayson rubbed his face with both hands. Several times until he clenched them.

"What do you think about him? How do you feel when you are with him?" He didn't actually ask me that. Those feelings weren't real. They were Luna's scheming, her personal fun, her little game that she played with us.

"I'm attracted to him," I replied bluntly. I wish he would have asked for mine for him.

"I mean how you perceive him, Tara," Grayson gritted his teeth. Talking and asking questions seemed to be difficult for him.

"Like everyone else here. Why do you ask?" What was he expecting as an answer, he couldn't be more precise with his questions and I didn't feel like explaining every detail to him.

"Well, that's not how I see him, nobody does that here, at any time." I just shrugged. It didn't change my opinion of him just because Grayson just told me he wasn't manipulating me.

"What are we going to do with Boyle? I don't think she's going to shut up. If it's that important, maybe we should do something. If it's that important that nobody finds out I'm Caspian's Erasthai?"

"I think that settles Esme for shutting up. It's important because you could be queen one day if you want that."

"Not interested," I snorted. That was definitely not my goal. On the contrary, it only strengthened my decision to turn him down.

"Others have a strong interest in it. As long as you live, you pose a threat to anyone who wants to become one. You would be like the sword of Damocles hanging over their heads to lose the title again. Caspian and you could at any time decide differently."

"And you know all this, why?" I asked him. I was even more interested in why he cared at all. That he did it had become more than clear today.

"We were sent here by Caspian's closest friend and advisor to protect you."

"And in front of whom?"

"Elisane. She's the one who wants Caspian to be his queen. I'm sure you already know that."

"Then I'll tell her tomorrow not to worry about me." I really didn't understand where the big problem was.

"Pebble," Grayson suddenly knelt in front of me. He sat on his heels and grabbed my hands. He rubbed them between his palms for a while before looking back at me.

"It's what doesn't know for sure. She suspects you're his Erasthai. There's no way you're going to say anything to her. As far as I know, Caspian wants to appoint his queen in the next few weeks or he might lose his crown to his brother and no one wants that."

Well, nobody wanted that. I had overheard a few conversations between my brother and my father, so I knew what Prince Casimir was capable of. I did, however, know that the Alaisters were deeply involved in Prince Casimir's machinations.

"Well, wouldn't that be good for you Alaisters?" I asked bluntly. Grayson smirked and placed my hands together before taking one in each of his. His large hands pulled me down so I leaned slightly towards him.

"There's a lot more to that pretty head than I thought. That's father's business, if you want to know, not mine. My brother Wyatt will sort it out." His brother, the next alpha, but I had never heard good things about him.

"So Pebble, are you coming over to my house tomorrow?" Grayson looked at me questioningly. He kept talking about me coming with him. I thought about his room and his bed. My cheeks ran hot.

It would still be a good opportunity to see my brother's mate, find out why she didn't come or couldn't. We'd have plenty of time to talk if he didn't suddenly go mute and stubborn again.

"I'll think about it," I murmured. I would have liked to accept him immediately, but there was something that prevented me. My mate in his pack. Grayson sighed, released my hands and stood up.

The sounds of music drowned out the silence between us. Grayson just stood motionless, facing us in the direction the music was coming from.

"I'd like to dance a little more." I got up and grabbed his hand and wrapped it around my waist. He didn't let himself be asked and his hand slowly pulled me towards him.

Everything repeated. He put my hand on his shoulder. I leaned my head against his chest and he rested his cheek on my head. Maybe we should just dance instead of talking. We could definitely do better.

"We'll be picked up at ten. I know you haven't been to the secretariat to plan your own trip. If you'd rather stay here, then I will too." I pulled myself a little closer to him. Even though he said he never fell, he managed to surprise me.

"You're exaggerating a little," I murmured against his chest.

"Not enough, I think. We shouldn't even be here now that Caspian is gone. I alone won't be able to protect you." Grayson pulled me tighter as if to emphasize his words. I, on the other hand, was just afraid that he would let go of me all too soon.