Page 91 of The CEO Alpha’s Substitute Mate

I watch them leave, my stomach in knots.

“Let’s go home.” My voice is hoarse, my appetite long gone. “I want to go home, Callum.”

He doesn’t say a word, just wrapping his hand in mind and pulling me out of the restaurant. The sun is setting as we exit the city, the silence between us long and drawn out. Once we leave the city behind, I find my voice. “How did they get that video?”

“We have a leak in the house. I still haven’t been able to find it.”

I wet my lips. “Callum, is Luca going to be okay? I know I lied to them, but his having the disease, why is it a problem with your pack elders?”

Callum’s fingers flex against the steering while. “Because of the mortality rate of this disease. Not every child survives. So far, Luca’s symptoms have been different and more controlled. He might shift earlier than other children, but as long as we can maintain his seizures till his wolf is fully mature, we have hope. However, the pack elders don’t see it that way. To them, he is the next alpha, and if he is defective, they want another one.”

I hiss under my breath. “Then that girl, Corinne. Can they really force her to be your wife?”

I wait with bated breath for his answer, and he takes his sweet time. “I’m not marrying Corinne. The pack elders will push for it, but they cannot make me bed a woman against my will.”

He seems fairly confident, and that relieves me, although I try to act nonchalant. “Okay. I was just asking. She seemed a bit young for you anyway.”

I can feel him glance at me, and when I look toward him, the corner of his mouth is turned upward. “I don’t like them young and pretty.”

My eyes narrow. “Wait, what? Are you calling me ugly then?”

“Striking,” he corrects me. “Corinne is a child. You are a woman.” When he looks at me, there is a hunger in his eyes that robs me of my breath. “I’m very particular about my taste in a woman.”

“Really?” I swallow, trying not to be too affected. “Considering you’ve only ever had one mate, how could you be so particular? What do you look for?”

His laugh is quiet, such a rare sound that my heart trembles when I hear it. “She has to smell like you, look like you, be a dancer like you.” His eyes meet mine, and my fingers dig into my lap.

“Are you flirting with me, Callum?”

He shrugs. “You asked me what I wanted in a woman. I told you.”

Then he looks back at the road and changes lanes. Not a romantic, my ass. This man can have me shaking in my shoes with just a few words. When we reach the estate, though, Callum returns to the alpha he is, and Damien is summoned to his office. I go to find Luca, and to my surprise, he is not alone.

Isabella is in his room.

She looks up when I enter, and for a moment, I’m reminded that the pack elders are going to be looking for a wife for Callum. If not Corinne, wouldn’t Isabella be the perfect mate for him? She already wants to help raise Luca.

I know Callum isn’t interested in her, but as I see her with Luca, both of them putting a puzzle together, I feel a wave of uncertainty. “What are you doing here?”

Isabella looks up. “I came by to seek Callum and found Luca here.” Her eyes fall to my leg. “You look better. I got you something.”

I blink, and she gestures with her head toward the armchair by the mantel. There’s a fruit basket on it. I stare down at it. “Why?”

She shrugs. “I heard if humans get sick, you should get them fruit. So I got every kind I could get my hands on. They even decorated the basket.”

“Oh.” I give her an awkward look. “Thanks.”

She just nods at me before getting to her feet. “Okay, Luca. I gotta go. We’ll finish the rest of the puzzle later. Don’t do it without me.”

Luca nods vigorously, and Isabella wiggles her fingers at him before walking out. I hesitate and then follow after her. “Isabella.”

She stops and turns to look at me. “What is it?”

I study her. “What are you trying to do, spending time with Luca?”

She blinks. “I’m not trying to do anything.”

Stepping closer, I say sharply, “I know you don’t approve of me raising Luca. But if you’re trying to turn him against me—”