Total pages in book: 70
Estimated words: 66672 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 333(@200wpm)___ 267(@250wpm)___ 222(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 66672 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 333(@200wpm)___ 267(@250wpm)___ 222(@300wpm)
“No, but I think he’s going to propose tonight,” Liam said. “It’s only logical. Yesterday I overheard his phone conversation with someone—some PR person, I think. Westcliff said the king was going to make the announcement in a few days—about Prince Haydn, I mean. Westcliff would want to announce our engagement around that time, too. It makes sense.”
Jules studied his brother carefully.
Liam’s lovely face was difficult to read, but his eyes weren’t exactly shining with happiness.
“You don’t have to say yes,” Jules said, feeling painfully uncomfortable. He was so damn torn about the subject he didn’t know what advice to give. He didn’t want Liam to marry an alpha he didn’t love for the sake of their family, but… He was scared that if he told Liam not to marry Westcliff, it would be selfish advice.
To make things more confusing, there was a small, horrible part of him that did want Westcliff as the alpha of their family. That part of him would be content with the smallest crumbs of his attention. If Westcliff married Liam, he would be Jules’s alpha too, and Jules would see him all the time and—
Wincing, Jules quashed the pathetic thought. He refused to be this pathetic. Refused.
“Of course I have to, don’t be silly,” Liam said with a rueful smile. “He’s the best catch of the season. Every omega and beta wants to be me.”
“But you don’t love him,” Jules said.
“I don’t know him,” Liam corrected him. “I’m sure I’ll come to love him after we marry.”
“You don’t exactly look very sure.”
Pursing his lips, Liam drew his knees to his chest and wrapped his arms around them. He looked painfully young right now, so very far from the elegant, impeccable society darling people knew him as. “I just don’t know him,” he repeated. “I’ve barely talked to him alone. We always have a chaperone.”
“Sorry,” Jules muttered, dropping his gaze.
“No, it’s fine,” Liam said, pulling a face. “I’m not sure I want to be alone with him. He’s so intimidating.”
“Intimidating?” Jules repeated, his forehead wrinkling in confusion. He would call Westcliff many things, but intimidating wasn’t one of them. He was very easy to talk to. Too easy, in fact. Jules hadn’t met a person he felt so comfortable speaking his mind with.
Liam shrugged. “It’s hard to explain. It’s probably his scent.”
“His scent?”
“I mean, I knew that Xeus alphas had very strong, aggressive scents, but I don’t like that his scent makes me want to timidly agree with anything he says. It’s really unsettling.” Liam smiled crookedly. “Westcliff probably thinks I’m very docile and empty-headed.”
Jules frowned. Westcliff just smelled good to him, not intimidating. But maybe he would feel differently if he wasn’t still partially on suppressants.
“Has he…” he started, unsure if he wanted to know. “Has he scent-marked you yet?”
Liam gave an uncomfortable smile. “Yeah. I allowed him to scent-mark me—with his fingers, obviously.”
Jules’s stomach clenched. “Yeah? Did you like it?”
“It was… weird,” Liam said, his gaze far away. “Until the duke, Mother was the only alpha who scent-marked me. Well, I vaguely remember Anthony doing it, too, but it’s been so long since he left that…” Liam trailed off, and they both fell silent for a moment. “Having a strange alpha scent-mark me was definitely weird,” Liam said, clearing his throat a little. “But it wasn’t disgusting or anything. I can get used to it.”
Wasn’t disgusting?
Jules stared at his brother in bewilderment. He couldn’t wrap his mind around the concept of Liam not enjoying Westcliff’s scent-marking.
But then again, maybe it was Jules’s broken bond making him needier and more receptive to alpha pheromones.
Jules was still mulling it over when their butler announced the duke’s arrival.
His heart jumped and started beating faster.
Licking his dry lips, Jules forced himself into a seated position. He grabbed his tablet and pretended to be engrossed in it. He didn’t lift his head at the sound of footsteps.
“Liam,” Westcliff murmured. “Good evening.”
“Your Grace,” Liam said.
Now that Liam had told him about his difficulty talking to the duke, Jules did notice how uncharacteristically docile Liam sounded.
“You look beautiful tonight,” Westcliff said without much inflection. He sounded… distracted?
“Just tonight?” Jules murmured snidely, knowing that Westcliff would hear him. But as soon as he said that, he regretted it. What happened to his resolution to ignore Westcliff? Though to be fair, he wasn’t talking to him, was he? It was none of anyone’s business what Jules was muttering under his breath.
Liam said something in response, but Jules could barely hear it. All his senses seemed to attune to the alpha in the room. He didn’t know if it was the aftereffect of his recent heat, but he could smell things better. He could smell Westcliff despite the distance between them, and the scent made him a little lightheaded. Jules scowled when he caught himself inhaling deeper and deeper, trying to take in more of that musky, heady alpha scent.