CHAPTER 9

LUCA

Standing at the glass enclosure in the VIP lounge, I looked down at the crowd. My eyes settled on Anton and Hannah as they danced. They were totally absorbed in each other. This was as it should be, and I hated the feeling of jealousy that had crept up on me over the weeks since we’d found her. It wasn’t that I didn’t like Hannah because I did, and I was happy for them, but for so long, it had just been me and Anton against the world. Now that whole world had shifted, and I was wondering where my place was now.

“Talk to me, Luca,” Renee said, coming to stand next to me. I wrapped my arm around her shoulders, not knowing where to start. But I should have known my friend would have been able to read me. We’d known each other a long time, so it wasn’t a surprise when she started the conversation for me. “Anton looks so happy now that he’s found Hannah.”

I nodded and my eyes caught hers in the glass, “He is,” I answered.

She let out a soft hum of agreement and settled her head on my shoulder, “But you don’t know where you fit in now?”

I let out a chuff of laughter, “Are you sure you’re not psychic?”

Renee lifted her head and grinned at me, “No, I’m not psychic, but I’ve known you all my life. I KNOW you, Luca, and this will be hard for you. Until you find your mate, you’ll feel like a third wheel. You and Anton have always been close, closer than most siblings. Plus, I know the feeling. When Lottie and Kyle mated, I felt like I’d lost a limb, especially when the twins left not long after. We went from four adult women constantly in each other’s pockets on the farm to suddenly just me.”

I don’t think any of us had thought about how Lottie’s mating had affected Ren. I felt like an arsehole. My head snapped around to look at her, but she stopped me with a finger on my lips, “I’m fine, Luca. I keep myself busy on the farm, help here when I’m needed and as soon as all the babies are here it will be chaos for a while, so I’ll be even busier. But we weren’t talking about me, we were talking about you. What can we do to make this easier on you?”

Relaxing slightly at her chiding, I shrugged, “There’s nothing you can do, Ren. I’m a big boy, I’ll get over it and hopefully my mate won’t take her time finding me or me finding her.”

My attention was drawn back to the glass in front of me and I caught the eyes of Miah, who was watching us, his brow drawn into a frown.

‘Interesting,’ I thought. Going on instinct, I pressed a kiss to Renee’s temple, something I’d done a hundred times before, so she’d not think anything of it, but Miah wouldn’t know that. I wanted to see the reaction I got from him. The frown on his face deepened and his eyes narrowed on mine when he caught me watching him. Oh, yeah, the human wasn’t happy with me. My curiosity satisfied, I tried to gauge what Renee thought about relationships. As far as I knew, she’d never really been interested in anything long term.

“What about you?” I queried.

Tilting her head on my shoulder, Renee looked at me with puzzled eyes. “What do you mean? What about me?”

“Are you interested in anyone, or are you waiting for your mate?”

Renee gave a small laugh and shook her head, “Nope, I’m not looking for a relationship. I decided long ago I wasn’t going to get involved with anyone. Not with my family’s history. Instead, I’ll be the spinster aunt, happy to spoil all the nieces and nephews you guys are going to give me.”

My heart sank at her words. Her family’s history wasn’t good, but to completely dismiss the idea of ever having a mate, no, I couldn’t fathom it. Renee was one of the most mothering women I knew; she’d been both mum and sister to the twins, who were ten years younger than her.

I tightened my arm around her shoulders, clearing my throat before replying huskily, “That makes me sad, Ren. You deserve to have someone love you.”

Renee shrugged a little, she lifted her head off my shoulder and looked at me with sad eyes, “Most males want offspring, Luca, and with my family history that is not something that I can give them.”

“Ren, your history doesn’t mean you can’t have children. Look at Lottie.”

“It’s a lottery, though, Luca, and I’m not willing to put myself through the agony. I’ve made sure that I’ll never have to,” Renee said softly.

“Oh, Ren,” my heart breaking for her, I wrapped her tight in my arms in a hug. My jealousy forgotten as I was reminded that there were worse things in this world than not having your mate. It was in our nature to want to have young and for Renee to have made the decision to never have any would have been hard for her.

I loosened my grip when she pushed against my chest. Wiping her fingers under her eyes, she sniffed, pulled her shoulders back and lifted her head. Inhaling a deep breath, she asked, “How do I look?”

Knowing this was her way of saying this conversation was over, I held my tongue. Lifting a hand, I wiped at a bit of mascara that had run onto her cheek, replying, “Beautiful as always, babe.”

With a nod, she bent, picked up her glass of wine from the table next to us and took a big sip, pulling her pride around her like a cloak. Looking out over the crowd, I watched as Anton and Hannah walked towards the door to leave. As if he felt me watching, Anton looked back and caught my eye and waved his hand towards the exit. Nodding my head, I gave him a thumbs up that I understood they were leaving. In the glass, the image of Miah approaching caught my attention, his face held a deep scowl when he caught me watching him. Ignoring me, he turned his attention to Renee, and his face softened as he held out his hand to her asking, “Would you like to dance?”

Tilting her head a little as she studied him, whatever she saw must have put her mind at ease. Without saying a word, Renee took his hand and followed him as he tugged her towards the stairs.

Leaving them to it, I went back to the bar, where I found the wolves flirting with a couple of women. Lifting a finger to the barman, I ordered a whisky and settled back to enjoy what was left of the night. We’d be leaving tomorrow to head to Victoria Falls to show our new friends one of the seven wonders. It had been a while since I’d been to see the falls, so I was looking forward to it.