Chapter 20

Lucas’s P.O.V:

“You’re unusually jumpy today.” Dylan noted as he took a sample of my blood.

It was mandatory for every wolf to do a health checkup every six months to make sure they were in top shape. As the Supreme Alpha, I had to be at my best at all times. Unfortunately, the test just had to be on the day that Trisha decided to kiss me.

“What do you mean?” I asked feigning innocence.

“Higher heart rate, unusually high metabolic activity and you’re even blushing!” Dylan grinned like a maniac. “Who’s the lucky girl?”

I shook my head and glared at the man. “A. I just did a treadmill test and B. I do not blush!”

“Oh come on!” Dylan whined. “Don’t be a spoilsport! Tell me already!”

“So that you can gossip your way into someone’s bed tonight? No way!” I wiped the sweat from my brows with the t-shirt I had been wearing prior to the test and swung it around my neck.

“It’s Trisha isn’t it?” Dylan said slyly. “You’ve been through all the women in this den and more in your two hundred years of existence but I’ve never seen you this flustered over even a single one of them. And ever since Little Miss Vamp walked it, you’ve turned into a six feet seven pile of mush!”

“I have not!” I growled at him, before adding a bit doubtfully. “Have I?”

Dylan burst out into a fit of laughter. “Dear God! Look at how the great have fallen!”

“Shut up!” I grumbled as I made my way to the door. “I need to take a shower and go check up on your ‘Little Miss Vamp’. I have no clue what Granny Dilliana gave her but I intend to find out.”

“You didn’t check the contents of the bag when you got here?” Dylan’s voice took on a sudden serious note. “How can you just hand over evidence like that without even checking? That’s just lousy, Lucas!”

“I did check, Dylan.” I told him over my shoulder. “It was a stack of papers. And I’m not gonna just hand over anything to her until I have it verified myself. Happy?”

“Oh, definitely.” Dylan smiled widely, back to his usual cheerful self.

“Alright.” I waved at him. “Send me the results on my laptop by tonight.”

“Be careful.”

Dylan’s sober voice stopped me in my tracks once again. “Why?” I asked over my shoulder.

“She’s been in Damien’s court right from the start. I wouldn’t trust her with my heart if I were you.” Dylan pointed out.

I turned to face him with a frown. “You think she has a thing with Damien?”

“It’s possible.” He shrugged.

“I asked her several times, Dylan.” I told him in frustration. “Every time her answer had been, no.” Till now, I’d only thought that whatever they had was probably one-sided. That Damien was the only one with feelings. Could it be that Trisha has feelings for him as well?

Dylan muttered something under his breath that was inaudible to me and when I asked he simply shook his head. “Fine. I’ll see you later.”

With that, I went out of the infirmary and headed straight for the shower. I decided to go talk to Trisha about our future right after my shower and this time I’ll have a definite answer. Because I was starting to ‘like’ this woman and I didn’t like sharing.

Trisha’s P.O.V:

I had gone through countless papers inside the bag Granny Dilliana had given me, but so far, all I found were old property papers and party invitations and dare I say, a few romantic poetry written by the devil himself. And there was still a pile left of unchecked papers.

I groaned in both exhaustion and frustration. My neck ached from all the reading I’ve done sitting in the same position and my eyes were starting to water. I hadn’t slept a wink last night because of my nervousness and it was starting to take a toll on me. Although vampires can go on for months without sleep, we were also people of habit, and I had never practiced to stay awake for days on end just to prove to myself that I can.

But aside for the thirst to find evidence, my mind was also filled with images of the kiss I had shared with Lucas. It had been different. I’d kissed many people in my two hundred years of life and had my fair share of lovers, but I’d always been with people who had reminded me of Damien or had something similar to him. Lucas on the other hand, was the complete opposite of Damien, and yet, I’d kissed him willingly…and I had liked it.

Had I been so obsessed with Damien that I hadn’t even bothered to find someone else? Could I find happiness with someone else?

If the Wipeout hadn’t occurred, I would be long dead by now, in a grave alongside my husband and son, never having known Damien or anything of the supernatural world. Hell, if father hadn’t turned me and just left me to die, I would’ve been torn between loyalty to my race and loyalty to a boy who looked just like my son.

And then there was Lucas. I didn’t know what his exact purpose was other than the fact that he wanted me to get Damien to ‘talk’ to him. But the fact that he helped me when my own people and my King turned their backs against me, forcing me to run.

There was something about Lucas that had attracted me to him right from the start. Maybe it was his personality or how he had won Neema over within minutes? Or maybe it was the pent up tension I felt for the last few months? Not to forget all the pent up sexual tension between me and Damien. But during the time I had come to know him, Damien hadn’t been this nice or attentive towards me. He had never magically appeared in my room to whisk me away on a date and neither had he ever, in my lifetime, given me his blood to heal.

And then he tells me that he did all this to find out who Lucas’s spies are? I don’t think it’s ever that simple with Damien. His ulterior motives had ulterior motives. So what did he really want this time? Hadn’t he played with my heart enough? Why was I so stupid as to expect that something might happen between us someday?

What I felt for Lucas was miniscule in comparison to what I felt for Damien…but there was a spark between us; something that I wanted to explore. Because one thing I was sure of, Damien had almost run out of chances and I wanted to give Lucas and I a chance because I had a feeling we could become something real.

As if reading my thoughts, I felt the slight tint of masculine, spicy cologne in the air that announced Lucas’s presence even before he knocked on the door.

“Come in.” I told him, although there was no need to raise my voice. It was a habit I never quite grew out of.

“Hey.” Lucas greeted as he shut the door behind him. Instantly, the room seemed to shrink in size. Lucas was so big that anywhere he went; he seemed to devour all space. It was a common thing with werewolves however, which is why the tree houses have been designed to provide as much space as possible.

“Hi.” I greeted him, showing him the letter I had in my hand.

“You’ve gone through more than half of that pile, I see.” Lucas pointed towards the mess on my bed with a tilt of his head. “Where’s Neema?”

“I sent him over to play with Aiden. Mark said he had to go check out some other pack house nearby so Aiden would be alone.” I said. “Both of them have grown quite fond of Neema.”

“Yeah, they have.” He smiled. “Since they can’t have children of their own, they love all the kids in the den, even the most notorious ones.”

“I’ve never seen the rest of your den before. Are all the other houses like this?” I asked curiously.

“Well, this part of the den was supposed to be for me and my guests and a few special guards.” Lucas explained. “There are four stories in this house. The hallways wind around the trunk of the forest giants and rooms are located on the branches. This is however, one of the smaller trees. We have a huge banyan tree a few minutes from here where the rest of the pack lives. Do you want a tour?”

“Thank you,” I smiled at his offer, humbled by his trust. “But maybe next time? Right now my mind is full of all these letters.”

I placed the letters on the bed and stretched my arms up above my head. The process raised my shirt rise up my body so that the skin on my waist was visible. Instantly, I felt Lucas’s eyes travel my body, lingering too long on the exposed skin.

“Lucas?” I asked unsurely as I watched his eyes turn a brilliant shade of topaz.

“What does Damien mean to you?” He asked instead.

“What?” I frowned.

“Just answer the question, Trisha.” The hard edge in his voice indicated that his wolf was very much a part of this conversation. And I wasn’t sure where this conversation was headed, even though he had warned me about his attraction towards me.

“Damien Vandolff is the Vampire King. So naturally, he’s my King.” I answered truthfully.

“How long have you known him for?” He asked next.

“Nearly two hundred years. Why?” I asked as Lucas took several steps forward till he was standing right next to my bed.

“And in this near two hundred years of knowing each other, has he ever claimed you?” He asked making me frown harder.

“If you mean, if he’s ever slept with me, then no. Damien doesn’t sleep with his Inner Circle members. He doesn’t like mixing business with pleasure.” My voice was harder than intended but I didn’t care. He was asking way too many personal and insulting questions.

Right then, Lucas leaned forward with his knee placed on the bed and his hands on either side of me, trapping me in between. His face was so close that his breath fanned my cheeks. I looked into his beautiful, bright eyes as he whispered in a husky voice that poured over my skin like liquid silk. “So he wouldn’t care if I decide to take a bite out of you?”

I gulped, my throat suddenly parched. What did I just get myself into?