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)
Except right now he felt like an idiot for not noticing it sooner.
“It” being the fact that his little brother had something of a crush on the Duke of Westcliff. At least Liam hoped it was just a crush. He didn’t want Jules to get hurt.
There was something else that had completely blindsided him: until now, he hadn’t realized that the duke treated Jules completely differently from the way he treated him, Liam.
It wasn’t that Westcliff had ever treated him badly; no. He was perfectly charming and polite, and he was never as presumptuous and pushy as some other alphas—he never scent-marked Liam without his permission—and Liam had appreciated that, thinking that Westcliff was just one of a rare breed of polite, civilized alphas. But he had just seen Westcliff scent-mark Jules, scent-mark him without asking him. Apparently Westcliff’s civilized manners didn’t extend to Liam’s baby brother. Liam would have been offended on Jules’s behalf, except Westcliff’s behavior clearly didn’t bother Jules—quite the opposite.
It made Liam feel… a little bereft. As if he were the outsider in the room.
He told himself it was stupid to feel that way. But he couldn’t help but compare Jules’s relationship with Westcliff to his own. Westcliff’s every gesture toward Liam seemed carefully planned and courteous while the way he behaved with Jules seemed instinctive: the way the duke had scent-marked Jules certainly didn’t seem to be something conscious. And then Jules had taken Westcliff’s hand. Just like that. As if it were nothing.
Liam couldn’t imagine taking Westcliff’s hand. The duke was so very… very. He was kind of intimidating. It wasn’t Westcliff’s looks or the title. Liam was vain enough to admit that he knew how he looked and knew how to use his looks. Alphas rarely intimidated him, no matter how powerful or handsome they were.
But something about Westcliff had unsettled him from their first meeting. Those charming smiles of his were incredibly attractive, but Liam couldn’t get a read on the man at all. Sometimes he thought that charm was just a mask, and he wasn’t sure what kind of man Westcliff really was. On the rare occasion Westcliff forgot to be charming, he seemed too cold and unapproachable, bordering on rude. He wasn’t at all like Liam had imagined him before meeting him. Before the start of the season, Liam had been a little bit in love with the idea of marrying the Duke of Westcliff, of them instantly falling in love with each other, but the reality was so different from his expectations. The idea of marrying Westcliff had just made him nervous lately. How could he marry a man he didn’t know at all? Who seemed distant and cold when he wasn’t being charming and polite?
Except he had just seen a completely different side to Westcliff—with his own little brother. Westcliff had never acted this way with Liam. He was never this… honest. He had never looked at Liam with such intensity—as if he were the most interesting thing in the room. He looked at Jules that way. It likely wasn’t intentional on Westcliff’s part—Liam doubted Westcliff would be courting him if he were interested in Jules that way, but it showed how unaffectionate and superficial their courtship was.
They had to talk about it.
They needed to. Because Westcliff’s behavior could be easily misinterpreted and misunderstood, and it likely only fed Jules’s little crush.
Poor Jules.
Liam’s heart ached for his brother. Ever since the beginning of the season, Liam had been so disappointed and annoyed with how shallow society alphas were: all they wanted in an omega was conventional beauty and an attractive scent. Jules’s subtle appearance and nonexistent scent made him pretty much invisible to everyone, and it hurt Liam to watch his brother put on a smile and pretend that he didn’t care that no one invited him to dance while Liam was always surrounded by a crowd of alphas.
And now this. Although Liam was certain it was just a puppy crush, nothing serious, he still needed to speak to Westcliff and warn him that he should tone it down. He didn’t want his brother to get hurt.
Liam cleared his throat once Julian disappeared upstairs.
Westcliff finally looked at him, and after a moment, smiled—the charming, polite smile Liam was beginning to hate.
“I wanted to talk to you, Your Grace,” Liam said.
Westcliff just gave a nod.
Liam suddenly wondered why he had no issue with Liam “Your Grace-ing” him.
“I’ve wanted to tell you that while your attention is flattering, I’ve realized that it isn’t enough,” Liam said. “I know we have had an… understanding for a while, but I’d like to take a step back and reevaluate whether we suit each other.”
Westcliff shot him a look that seemed vaguely impatient. “I don’t understand what there is to reevaluate, Liam,” he said, somewhat distractedly, glancing upstairs. “Your brother should see a doctor. A heat after the recent death of his mate could have been very dangerous to his health.”