Page 68 of Final Shift
“Something like that, I suppose.”
Soren was serious. My heart hurt for him in that moment. What must it be like to grow up without experiencing kindness in your life?
“I’m afraid you won’t like this answer. My kindness wasn’t for any of you. I had no motivation to show you kindness, because doing so is my first instinct. I could have tried to kill you all, but why? None of you like me. All of you thought I was a threat. I repeatedly tried to show you who I was, and yet, here I am, sitting with you, Soren, explaining my kindness wasn’t an act. It’s who I am.”
“I like you,” he said after a long silence.
If he’d said those words to me a few months ago, there would have been a flirty twist or maybe a lusty wink added at the end. But tonight, we were alone. I was mated, and Soren knew he had zero chance with me. The poor Lord, for all his beauty and success, looked tired.
“Are you shitting me?”
Soren let out a small laugh. “You are quite likable, Evie. Even when you’re dangling one of our kind by his ankle.”
We grinned at each other. Ethan had been a real shit that day, and I’d repaid his shitheadness by throwing him around with some vines. To be honest, it was kind of awesome.
“You didn’t ask me to sit to tell me I was likable. What’s really on your mind?”
Soren looked out over his land. “I’m wondering if I’ve made too many mistakes. How do I know when it’s time to cut my losses and do something else?”
I tossed my water off the porch and reached for the wine bottle. Soren’s soft laugh made me chuckle. “You’re wading in deep, philosophical waters now, and I’m not qualified to give you a good answer.”
“I’m not looking for a good answer. What would you do?”
“Starting over isn’t so bad,” I admitted. “Gotta say, it worked out pretty well for me.”
“Indeed,” Soren said. “You found yourself a mate and a new territory.”
“Can you quit being a Lord? Is that what you want? Do you have to give Ethan two weeks’ notice?”
At his smile, I threw my hands up. “No idea how any of this works. I can’t just stop being a Chimera. It’s in my blood.”
“The Lord power will never leave me,” he admitted. “I don’t like where I am and would like to have the chance to rule over another territory. Or at least experience once. Our kind are not so welcoming to each other sometimes.” He snorted. “Rowan and Caelan being the exceptions, though Caelan preferred using his lands to ensure he stayed close to you.”
Of course he did.
“Where would you want to go?”
“Somewhere cooler,” Soren said dryly. “I’m not from these lands.”
“Oh? Inquiring minds want to know.”
Soren sipped his wine. “I’m from Alaska, actually.”
“Oh my gosh. Really?” I frowned. “Wait. Who’s the Lord over there?”
He glanced at me in surprise. “You always were bad at asking questions. Rowan rules over Alaska.”
I frowned. “Right. I’d forgotten.” Our territory stretched over Washington, Oregon, some parts of Idaho, and even into Canada, but Alaska was included in there. Donovan’s old territory was the Great Plains, so we ruled over that, too.
“You have so much land you’ve forgotten what you control?” Soren teased.
I waved a hand at him. “If you were to go somewhere else, who would take this portion?”
Soren’s derisive snort made me wince. “Anyone besides Ben and Rowan, I think. They’d all jump at the chance to take another’s territory.”
“What about Garrett?”
Soren slowly turned and eyed me. “You notice it too?”
