Chapter 127

Cara’s POV

Eventually the car pulls up in front of a mansion. I’ve been here before, though it’s not one of the main ones that I’ve stayed at in the past.

Despite not being the main accommodations of the Alpha King, the mansion is still sizable.

The children are not new to big houses, basically being BloodyMoon royalty in their own right, but they are still excited to be somewhere new. Even Ethan is, though he’s trying to pretend like he isn’t.

“I called ahead and had three of the guest rooms made up for you,” Alaric says, following us inside. “The housekeeper had free range with my credit card, so I’m hoping that each room will be to your liking.”

It’s a nice gesture, even nicer when they see the rooms themselves. They are done up nicely, each one unique to each one of us. Ethan’s is filled with books and posters on science, planets, and dinosaurs. Mia has some of that, but also dollhouses. My room looks eerily similar to how it once was, back when I had been Beta of pack DuskWood.

I try not to think about it, especially because the kids seem to enjoy their rooms and the overall house pretty well. I imagine they will get stir-crazy again soon, but for the moment, they are still enjoying the newness of the space, which is a blessing.

I just wish they could have seen their friends before we had to leave town. Hopefully, Eamon and my other brothers will track down the assassin soon, so that it will be safe for me and the children to return and resume our normal lives.

When the kids settle in, playing in their individual rooms, I begin to wander myself, taking in some of the more adult excitement the house has to offer – like the kitchen, the den, and the gardens.

The kitchen, I imagine, is where I’ll be spending most of my time. While I’m certain Alaric has a chef, I still like to cook my own meals and those of the kids when I can help it. Mia in particular has so many allergies that I want to stay on top of them all on my own. At least until I’m more familiar with the chef.

The kitchen is elaborate, with granite counter tops and stark white cabinets. Yet it isn’t until I open the pantry that I am overcome with a rush of nostalgia.

A memory hits me hard, reminding me of one of the few times I had been in this place before.

Alaric had grabbed me around the waist and kissed me. We heard some of the servants coming, so we sneaked away together, hiding in this pantry where we kissed and touched each other until the servants had gone. Then, we’d raced up to Alaric’s bedroom and made love until the morning.

We probably didn’t need to hide. Alaric, as Alpha King, wasn’t going to be judged in his own home, and my status as Secret Luna wasn’t really all that secret in the grand scheme of things. The servants especially knew everything that’s going on.

Even so… the secret thrill of it all had been exhilarating. I remember being so nervous that we would be caught.

“Cara?” Alaric asks, suddenly behind me.

I startle, jumping so high that I nearly topple into the doors of the closet.

“Alaric,” I say quickly, my voice too high and too fast.

Alaric gives me a strange sort of look. “You alright? You seemed a bit lost there for a moment.”

“Oh, just reminiscing,” I say. “I remember this kitchen.”

Alaric glances at the door behind me, because that was where I had been staring. Not at the kitchen itself but at the pantry instead.

At first he seems puzzled, but then, the longer he looks, a flicker of his own recognition comes over him. In a moment, he looks at me with knowledge in his eyes. He’s not smiling but there is the barest hint of a smile on his lips.

“What were you remembering, Cara?” he asks me, his voice pitching lower ever-so-slightly, but enough for me to notice.

A blush rises up in my cheeks as my entire face feels hot.

He knows very well what I’m remembering. And right now, looking at me, his eyes darkening, I know he’s remembering it too.

He inches closer to me. Swallowing hard, I back up against the door. He boxes me in, and I don’t hate it.

My heart hammers quickly in my chest. This is such a terrible, horrible idea, yet I can’t think of a single reason why at the moment.

All I can think of is the past, where Alaric kissed me with such hot passion that I forgot everything else in the whole world for a while.

Our relationship, or whatever it was, had been riddled with problems. We didn’t communicate, and Alaric treated me so hot and cold. But this… the physical connection between the two of us… That has never been an issue between us. We’ve always snapped together so easily, again and again…

Though I can’t be certain, in this moment, I feel as if even our hearts are beating in tandem. He lowers his face down towards mine, close and closer.

His lips are so near mine, only a breath away.

If I would sway forward, our lips would meet, and we’d so easily fall back into old habits…

Every impulse inside of me is screaming for me to lean, to kiss Alaric, and forget about everything for a while.

But then, a voice.

“Mom?” Ethan.

Placing my hands on Alaric’s chest, I press lightly so that he takes a step backwards. He goes easily, just as surprised as I am by Ethan’s interruption.

I step out from around Alaric and find Ethan standing in the doorway to the kitchen, glancing at us with curious annoyance.

“Ethan. What is it, honey?” I ask him. “Do you need something?”

“Mia was looking for you,” Ethan says. “I think she’s still in her room.”

“I’ll go check,” I say. I don’t look back at Alaric, because now that there is distance between us, the shame is returning to me in full force.

Lowering my head I scurry from the room.

Yet, once I pass Ethan and realize he’s not coming with me, I stop. Looking back, he’s still in the doorway, glaring at Alaric.

“Ethan?” I ask. “You coming with me?”

“In a minute, Mom,” Ethan says. “I want to stay here a second.”

Strange. Ethan has never wanted to speak with Alaric before. For the entire trip, he held my hand while staring out the passenger window of the car. I didn’t think he wanted to spend any time at all with Alaric.

But, perhaps something about being here in the mansion changed things. Maybe Ethan wants to attempt to fix things.

I’m not sure, but I don’t want to keep Mia waiting if she needs me for something.

“Okay, honey. I’ll be upstairs with your sister if you need me.”

“Kay,” he says.

I still feel uneasy, but not sure what he’s up to, I turn and head to the stairs.