Page 72 of A Trial of Two Worlds
“I believe they will help us, yes.”
Shaw nodded. “Good.”
“Who will oversee the pack in your absence while you complete the final trial?” Magnus asked. “You’ll need to select a sub-alpha.”
“I already have,” I replied, meeting his stare.
Magnus reached up to scratch his head. “Are you sure?”
“Are you questioning your alpha’s decisions already?” I teased, cocking my head to the side. “By all means, keep doing it. I mean, I’m new at this, and I’ll need your guidance. But I’m certain about placing you in charge while I’m gone. Our people need your experience to navigate the threat of the humans before I return with help.”
“Then you… and our pack shall have it,” Magnus answered with his ironclad loyalty to our people shining through to his core.
“Are you all right, Neera?” Shaw asked my cousin, kneeling at her side.
“I’ll… I’ll be all right,” Neera answered as she smiled sweetly. “Thanks for asking.”
“Are there any other mating bonds I need to be aware of?” Magnus asked, his eyes darting between Neera and Shaw.
“No,” Neera quickly answered, putting distance between them.
Shaw shook his head in agreement. “No, no, there’s not.”
“Okay, what’s going on?”I asked Rhea. “I know you know something about this.”
I opened the connection to include Talon, hoping he might also have some insight.
“I know lots of things… Can you be more specific?”
“Rhea,”I growled.
“Okay, fine. Don’t need to go all alpha on me. I’ll tell you what I know.”
“This is fun,”Talon teased as Rhea nipped at his tail.
“They’re kind of on a pause.”
“A pause?”I questioned.“All right, Talon, your turn. Elaborate, please.”
“Gladly.”Talon chuckled.“When you were preparing to challenge Gilen, Shaw spoke privately withNeera. I don’t know exactly what was said between them, but after that conversation, they’ve kept their distance.”
“It’s complicated,”Rhea added,“with the lack of a mate bond between them. They both care for each other, but we all know Neera’s thoughts about this. And Shaw, well…”
“He doesn’t talk about it as much, but I know he secretly longs for a true mate bond,”Talon said. “He’d swim against the currents of the crossing itself if it meant he could find his mate.”
I sighed. “I see.”
“See what?” Shaw asked as he moved to sit beside me. I couldn’t help glancing over at Talon and Rhea, and Shaw, being the observant person he was, one hundred percent noticed. “Ah, well, good. That saves me time and an awkward conversation with you later.”
I arched my brow. “Really? You think it does?”
“What’s going on?” Magnus demanded in a deep, thundering tone.
“Nothing.” My lips were sealed. “Shaw, Rhea, and Talon looked after Neera when you were gone, that’s all.”
Magnus’s stare turned to Shaw as he sniffed the air between them before shifting back toward his daughter. “That seems to be accurate.”
“Shaw and I are not together,” Neera admitted. “We’re friends. And he helped me when Mother passed, and you were lost.”
