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The wolf closed the distance between them immediately, her palms connecting with the sides of his jaw. His five o’clock shadow was coarse on her delicate hands.
“Nothing of note. With so many pregnant women, our sovereigns and our healers are stretched thin. I barely got to talk to Zeke.”
“Your healer didn’t check what’s going on with the silver in your system?”
Remmus didn’t want to throw his healers under the bus, but he hated Ava’s worry. “I’ll be fine,” he lied. “Kaien said it’ll dissipate soon. Nosebleeds are just an annoying side effect.”
A pregnant pause before Ava’s eyes narrowed in concern. “Remmus, what’s the matter?”
My home didn’t feel like home anymore. The thought had melancholy trifling with his emotions again. Ava felt like home, but the situation with her was up in the air. What would happen when she discovered his past and what he’d done to his parents?
“Homesick, I suppose.” His customary grin had never felt more fake, the lie on his lips feeling bleaker than it’d ever felt before.
“Then let’s go. Show me where you live.”
“It’s on Raeth clan lands, Ava,” he apologized. “There will be Raeths everywhere. You’ll be surrounded.”
“I know why you’re hesitant, Remmus, but I’ll be okay.” Then, she smirked. “Besides, I know at least one Raeth who’s not too bad.”
“Not too bad, huh?”
“Yeah. You’re pretty okay for a Raeth.”
“What a glowing compliment,” he replied, smug but satisfied.
“You’re welcome.”
When she stepped into his body, her tangy citrus scent washed over him, and Remmus got a kick of energy. Her chest went flush against his, and her arms coiled around his waist, the woman unashamedly claiming him in the middle of the great hall.
A wolf whistle sounded from somewhere in the hall, but his attention was on her. “As you wish, Blondie.”
Chapter Nineteen
Momentary dizziness washed through her, and a touch of nausea followed in its wake. But as soon as her vision cleared, the churning of her stomach dissolved. Blinking, Ava inhaled deeply, allowing Remmus’ fresh spearmint scent to fill her lungs.
Though the walls were mostly empty, the leather recliners and plush blankets looked inviting. Scores of reading material littered bookshelves, and a massive television floated above a well-used hearth. Around a corner, a modern kitchen looked well stocked, and she could just see the edges of a deck and pool beyond sliding glass doors.
When she glanced over at him, there was hesitation in his gaze. Immediately, she softened and linked her fingers with his.
“Hey. I love it.”
Relief washed over him, the tension ebbing from his shoulders. “I’ll admit: it’s a bit of a bachelor pad. I only buy the essentials: food, movies, and blankets.”
“A bit of a bachelor pad might be an understatement.” Ava chuckled, running a hand over the plush fleece that was draped across the back of a recliner. “Oh, I do like this one. I’m going to keep it.”
Not to wrap around herself, Ava thought, but maybe to lay upon.
“Presumptuous of you to think you can claim a blanket without claiming the man.” Danger twinkled in his eyes, that smug, smoldering grin highlighting the wicked handsomeness of his face.
“Whoever said I wasn’t claiming you?”
Ava chose to ignore the sudden tendril of distress that rebounded through their mating bond following her words. Walking over to a bookcase, she plucked a leatherbound book off the shelves without reading the title. “Didn’t take you for a reader.”
“I wouldn’t classify The Tattooed Dude’s Compendium as a scholarly read.”
Ava’s attention snapped to the book in her hands. “Seriously? What kind of person has a tattoo book sitting on their shelf? And gets it leatherbound?”
“A nerd, probably.”
