Chapter 23

Harper’s POV

Lucas stares down at me, his eyebrows pulled together in confusion. It gives me a chance to pull away.

“What do you mean by that?” He asks, looking around for Sierra. “What lies has Sierra told?”

I laugh and shake my head, “The better question would be, what hasn’t Sierra lied about? Seriously, you should keep a better eye on your mate. No wonder you haven’t caught onto her two-faced, lying—"

Lucas grabs me by the waist, taking my hand again. I gasp, grab his arm, and do my best not to fall as he spins me and dips me. The sudden movement makes me dig my nails into his forearm to keep from falling.

“Enlighten me, Healer,” he murmurs when he pulls me back up and begins slowly dancing again. I want to hit him, shout at him, or do something, but then I pause. He’s giving me a chance to tell him about Sierra’s vile personality, which is something my father wouldn’t even listen to.

Yet, this man, Sierra’s mate, is willing to listen.

“Earlier, while you were talking with pack members, she went to the drink table,” I start, putting as much confidence and sincerity in my voice because I don’t want him to think I’m lying. “I was at the food table and just happened to look around. I saw her put something into a drink, and when I confronted her, I found out it was a drug that has aphrodisiac properties.”

His brows pull down, and he asks, “She was going to drug someone?”

While I want Sierra to be punished for what she’s done, to me and almost to him, I don’t know how he’ll react to his mate being sneaky. So, I don’t mention that it was his drink.

Drugging her own mate is odd enough, and it makes me wonder why Sierra would even need to. Mates are naturally attracted to each other, so something like an aphrodisiac shouldn’t be needed.

Unless there’s something wrong with their bond.

The idea has me looking up at Lucas. His face is pinched in annoyance, a frown pulling at his lips and sharp lines creasing his forehead. He’s not looking at me; instead, his eyes are scanning the room. A second later, his eyes find mine again.

Are they having trouble with their mate bond?

The question bounces around my mind, and I can’t chase it away.

After all, he is here, dancing with me, instead of with his mate. Lucas seems more interested in me, at the moment, than his mate, so maybe they are having issues.

“How is your relationship with Sierra?” I ask. “Are you two having relationship troubles?”

Lucas’s POV

Harper’s question makes me stop dead in my tracks. I clench my jaw to keep myself from immediately answering with the truth, when, in truth, I’m not sure.

My bond with Sierra is like a band of elastic. Sometimes it’s loose and flexible, relaxed. Other times, it’s tight and tense, stretched thin. I’m not sure about other mated couples, but there’s something between Sierra and I, something like a whisper, that keeps me from fully falling into the bond.

With Harper close, the bond seems smaller, but with Sierra close, the bond spreads through me. It’s been worse lately, only becoming strained like this since Harper showed up, but I can’t tell her that. I can’t tell anyone that.

If people find out my bond with my mate is weak, they could find out that my bond with my wolf has also weakened. It would put me and the entire pack in jeopardy. We’re already dealing with attacks from rogues, and it wouldn’t be good for news of any weaknesses to get out.

“Sierra and I have a good bond that is growing,” I answer vaguely, not wanting to give her any fuel to snap back at me like she’s been doing tonight. “Like you said, my relationship with my mate is no one else’s business but ours.”

Harper laughs humorlessly and shakes her head.

The sound sends a wave of irritation through me, and again, I wonder why she elicits any type of response in me. We’re not bonded, so she shouldn’t be able to make me feel anything.

Yet, here we are.

While she stares up at me, those pretty green eyes study my face, and my confusion grows. The longer I think about it, the worse my constant headache gets. Sometimes the headaches and the pain in my chest grow to a point where I can’t focus on work. No medicine gets rid of it and I have to suffer through.

Except, when I’m with Harper, the pain becomes dull and nearly nonexistent. It fades, allowing me to think clearly, each time she’s near me for more than a few minutes. I found the change interesting, so I looked into it and found a book on healers written years ago. I read up on people who have healing abilities.

The book stated that people with natural healing magic have an aura around them that sometimes works without the healer being intentional. The book made it sound like, if the healer is powerful enough, the healing ability can’t be contained.

I still don’t know how much healing power Harper has, but it makes sense that if she’s strong enough, it would spill out like the book said.

This reason has to be why I feel better when she’s around. It’s one of the reasons I took Logan’s number for the dance.

“She was unapologetic when I confronted her about the drug,” Harper says, bringing my attention back to our present conversation. She’s looking up at me with a defiant expression, and I realize she wants me to respond.

“Let’s go see what’s going on,” I tell her, looking around the room until I find Sierra over by the drink table with none other than Harper’s mate, Logan.

It seems that Harper sees him as well, and a look of confusion crosses her face briefly before it disappears.

Taking her by the arm, I lead her through the crowd, and I notice how Sierra narrows her eyes on Harper when we get close. The silent anger that pours from my mate irritates me, but I lock the feeling down. It wouldn’t do anyone good for me to get angry at Sierra.

“Lucas, what’s going on here?” Sierra asks when Harper and I stop in front of her.

“I’ve been informed that you were in possession of a prohibited drug, and that you attempted to use this drug on one of your pack mates,” I say, trying to be impartial. I hope Harper is wrong, but she doesn’t exactly have a reason to lie. “Is this true?”

Sierra’s eyes immediately jump to Harper, and I have my answer.

“I’m sorry, Lucas—”

“You cannot act so inappropriately, Sierra,” I growl, trying to tamp down the anger. “If you’re going to be the Luna of this pack, but if behavior like this continues, I will not hesitate to take that title from you. I will not have a Luna who harms my pack.”

Sierra gasps and the people around us pause, and all eyes turn to us.

Silence falls across the room as my mate stares wide eyed at me, shocked and appalled.