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I notice him swallow heavily. “Maybe.”
His words surprise me, but not as much as my own reaction. I feel a twinge of jealousy that I can’t entirely shake. I stare at him, and he doesn’t even need to tell me that something happened. I’m not sure exactly what, but they obviously shared amoment together. It stirs a bunch of emotions I wasn’t expecting nor am willing to discuss right now. I try to mask my feelings with forced nonchalance.
“Listen, Cal…” he suddenly starts, raking his fingers through his hair. “I don’t know why, but I went to see her.”
I lift my eyebrow at him. “That’s a lame excuse. You always know why you do something.”
“Not this time,” he corrects me. For some reason, I believe him. “I… I just wanted to go see if she would be alright. Then one thing led to another.”
As I look at him, a strange sense of calm washes over me. I know that the thought of making Elena his mate crossed his mind. I know, because it crossed my mind as well. The thing is just… she’s human. It’s not usually done that way, taking a human mate, but it’s been done before. It wouldn’t be the first time. However, Rock is our leader. How would the others see it? And me… I wonder where I fit in there as well, with those same thoughts.
“It’s been a while since we talked about mates,” I tell him.
“Yeah,” he nods, that simple answer carrying a hint of introspection.
“Sometimes, it gets lonely here, even with everyone around,” I tell him, and I’m sure he knows what I mean. “Having someone to share it with could make everything more meaningful.”
Rock nods in agreement, a thoughtful expression crossing his features. “That’s the trouble,” he reveals something I already know. “Finding the right person. Someone who understands this life.”
“Elena is human.” My words echo around us.
“I’m not saying she is that someone,” he retorts defensively.
“But she might be,” I correct him.
He shakes his head. “Too complicated.”
“Why?” I shrug. “You’re obviously drawn to her. You wouldn’t go back there otherwise.”
He doesn’t say anything to that. Instead, he tilts his head a little, as if to take a closer, better look at me. “You are, too.”
That is the unspoken truth we’ve come to share.
“We don’t know her at all,” I remind him.
“But you feel it, too, don’t you?”
“Feel what?” I pretend I don’t know what he’s referring to.
“You’re drawn to her as well and you don’t know why, when we’ve only just met her,” he explains, but instead of making things more clear, his explanation only convolutes everything even more.
“Yeah, she’s something, huh?” I smirk, realizing that there is now an unspoken competition over Elena that is hanging between us and neither of us really knows how to react.
“I advised her to go to the village again,” he tells me. “If we’re lucky, she will go back to where she came from very soon. She will be nothing but a memory and we’ll be able to focus on the real task at hand.”
I know what he means. There are more important things to take care of now, but then again, why are we focusing more on Elena than on that?
“Has anything happened?” I ask, determined not to talk about her.
“Not yet,” he replies. “But I’m afraid that the boundaries might start getting blurred. That’s how it happens, they will start encroaching on our territory,” he explains, his voice carrying a sense of urgency.
“We can’t let them compromise the safety of our people and the wildlife around here,” I assure him of something he already knows.
Rock thinks about it for a moment, his eyes narrowing in focus. “We should have a meeting tomorrow, the day after tomorrow… as soon as we have everyone here, at the village. We should strategize and figure out the best course of action. It is crucial that we defend our territories while avoiding unnecessary conflict.”
I shake my head at him. “Conflict can’t be avoided.”
He inhales deeply almost as if it pains him. “I’m afraid that’s true. I’m just saying that we need to be smart about this.” He pauses for a moment, then he pats me on the shoulder. “Can we pick this up tomorrow? It’s pretty late.”
