Alpha King’s Wolfless Mate by Scarlett Higgins

Chapter 61

**Nora POV

Graham was standing outside of the packhouse waiting to greet us as the car pulled up. He was dressed more formally than the last time we saw him. If not for his presence, the house would look abandoned. It was so strange how eerie I found the place. If I didn’t know better, I’d say it was haunted.

P’ak e got out of the car and held his hand out to e. I kept my grip on his hand as he shut the door behind me and we made our way up the stone path.

I’d chosen a simple, but flattering purple dress for the evening. It was too chilly for it and I was eager to get into the house where it would be a little warmer.

Eager probably wasn’t the right word. I just wanted this awkward evening to be over. Graham smiled brightly and held his hand out as we reached him. Blake took his hand and shook it firmly.

“I’m so glad you came,” Graham greeted.

Blake made a noise of acknowledgement, but didn’t speak.

“Thank you for the invitation,”I said softly.

Graham seemed genuinely excited. Was he really so naive that he didn’t realize how unhappy Blake was about all of this, or did he just not care?

Graham nodded, then turned and opened the door. He motioned us inside.“Dinner isn’t quite ready,”he began.“So we have a little time to chat.”

Blake looked less than impressed, and linked hisarm with mine as we made our way into the house. Graham entered just at my heels and shut the door behind us. He was so close that I could feel his b*dy heat.

Before I could do anything, Blake pulled me away from him and raised his eyebrow questioningly at Graham.

“We can talk in the sitting room,” Graham noted. Heled us down the hall and into the room.

I expected Kelly and maybe their uncle to be waiting inside, but there was no sign of them. Graham followed close behind me as we entered the room. Blake sat on the settee and pulled me down beside him. He put his arm around me and glared at Graham.

Graham sat across from us and shifted awkwardly under Blake’s gaze.

“Where’s Kelly?”I asked, just to fill the silence.

Graham’s smile widened in amusement as he looked at me. There was something oddly intense in his gaze.

“She’ll be joining us later,”Graham replied.“Uncleas well. He had some business to attend to today.”

I felt Blake’s muscles tense at the words. Whatever business his uncle was handling probably wasn’t good.

“Don’t you think it’s a bit rude for your Beta andLuna to be absent when you’re receiving important guests?” Blake asked pointedly.

Graham’s smile faltered.“I apologize,”he responded.“Etiquette isn’t my strong point. I was raised in war, not high society.”Blake’s look darkened at the insult. Graham was bold, but equally stupid.

I cleared my throat and drew their attention to me. “I need to use the restroom,”I said softly.

“Of course,” Graham smiled.“If you go down thehall we just took then turn left, the restroom is the last door on the right. Would you like me to take you?”

“No,”I answered quickly.“I’m sure I can find it,thank you.”

Blake looked concerned as I pulled out of his grip and stood. I smiled reassuringly at him, then walked back out the door we had entered through.

Blake and Graham needed a chance to speak one on one. Besides, I was uncomfortable with the way Graham kept looking at me. I followed his instructions and made my way into the restroom.

I turned on the cold tap and dabbed water on my face. There was a weird feeling in this place that I just couldn’t shake. It felt like I was being observed, even when I was alone. The sooner this dinner was over the better. I just wanted to go home.

I looked into the mirror and sighed. My makeup was still in place and my hair looked fine. There was nothing for me to do to kill more time. I needed to head back to the sitting room. Besides, Blake would be anxious with me gone.

I shut off the light and headed back down the hall. I heard a shuffling sound as I reached the end of the corridor and paused. I looked around, but didn’t see anyone. I frowned and looked in the direction the sound had come from. There was a half opened door down the other hallway.My curiosity got the better of me and I slowly approached the door. I entered the room to find a disused office. There were large, white sheets covering the furniture that were covered in a thin layer of dust.

The only bit of furniture that wasn’t covered was a tall, wooden bookshelf. The books it held were mostly about politics and the geography of the area. It was clear to me that this must have been Alpha Phill*p’s office.

Perched on the top shelf was a framed photo of three men. I recognized one of them as a younger version of Blake’s uncle, and another of the men as Phill*p. The man in the middle was unfamiliar to me, but his eyes and chiseled jaw were remarkably similar to Blake’s.

Only then, did I realize that I was looking at a photo of his father.

“Did you get a little lost?”

I turned to find Graham staring at me from the doorway. I blushed at being caught snooping, but I didn’t try to make an excuse for my presence here.

Graham stepped into the room and approached me.

“This was my father’s office. I couldn’t bring myselfto use it, so I’m having an old guest room renovated to use as my own office. I don’t know what I’m going to do with this space, yet.”He stopped just a step away from me.“I don’t want to be like him, you know?”

I could feel his warmth and the scent of cinnamon and citrus flooded my senses. It was a pleasant scent.

“Using the same office wouldn’t make you like him,”I noted quietly. It was a silly comment. I understood fully why Graham would feel strange about using his father’s space.

“No,” Graham said with a wry smile.“I know that.The physical distance helps me though. I want to be a better leader, a more supportive and loving leader.”

His eyes were locked with mine as he spoke. I felt pinned to the spot by his stare.

I wasn’t sure what to say to that. I wanted to move away from him, but the bookshelf was at my back and there was nowhere to go. Graham looked over my shoulder suddenly and smiled.“Blake looks just like his father, doesn’t he?”

“The resemblance is strong,”I answered.“You look alot like your father too,”I added after a moment of awkward silence.

The shar p eyes that had stared out of the photo of Phill*p were the only stark difference between them. Graham’s eyes were warmer and held a certain innocence when he spoke.

Graham turned his smile to ward me and leaned a little closer.“Do you know that no man in my family has found their fated mate in at least three generations?” he asked suddenly.“Blake’s a lucky man.”

My heart jumped into my throat at his words. Did he know what he was saying to me? Surely Kelly had told him that Blake wasn’t my mate. Was this some kind of a game to him? Maybe he wasn’t as genuine and innocent as he seemed at first. Blake’s suspicions might be justified after all.

His proximit y made me feel uncomfortable in away that I didn’t want to think too hard about. I sidestepped him quickly and hurried toward the door.

“We should get back,”I said breathlessly.

Graham chuckled in response.“There’s no need to rush. Blake isn’t going anywhere without you.”

Something in his tone seemed strange and I quickened my pace in response.

I could feel Graham following behind me as I rushed down the hall back to Blake. What was wrong with me? And what was Graham trying to pull?

Whatever it was, I didn’t want to find out. I just wanted to find Blake and go home as soon as this dinner was over.