Chapter 61

“What the actual hell was that all about?” I asked under my breath.

I was utterly puzzled. One moment everything was going perfectly fine and the next I was being told to basically pack up my things and leave.

“Perhaps the Lycan Luna was just having an off day,” Lorenzo suggested passively.

‘Off day, my ass,’ I thought bitterly.

I turned my head to shoot him a doubtful glare. He and I both know that wasn’t the case. It was like some kind of invincible switch went off in the room the second the prince came in. He’d taken one long look at those pictures I’d taken and fell completely into a daze.

I’d admit, that sort of work was not for the faint of heart. There was a very likely chance that the prince was just taken by surprise, having seen such gorey and unsettling photos.

Lorenzo and I made our way back to the car while a strange sensation filled my chest. My head ached from the odd interaction I’d just witnessed back in the palace.

Once we were seated in the back of the car, Lorenzo rattled off some unknown address I’d never heard of and soon we were off. Out of the corner of my eye, I could tell that Lorenzo had fallen deep into thought with himself.

“Alright,” I said pointedly. “So are you finally going to bring me in on your thought process you have going on with yourself? Clearly, something’s been puzzling you too about all this.”

Lorenzo shifted in his seat, getting a better angle to face me.

There was already a predetermined look in his eyes as he went on to speak. “The idea may have occurred to me that the Lycan Luna as well as the prince may be hiding something,” he said hesitantly.

My brows raised before pinching together. The both of them? I could understand the prince, but the Luna?

Just as I was about to very likely toss out a whole slew of questions at him, Lorenzo quickly intervened with a mere raise of his hand.

“How about you and I take a small break from our work?” he asked with a hint of hope in his voice. “I think, given all that’s happened, you and I deserve a bit of time to ourselves, don’t you think?”

Oh, wow. I hadn’t realized it at first. But, Lorenzo was right. He and I have both become so busy with everything that’s been going on, I couldn’t even recall the last time we had some basic time for ourselves.

“Well, Mr. Sinclair,” I said with a smile. “What did you have in mind?”

It turned out that the address Lorenzo had previously said to our driver led us to one of the most exclusive restaurants in the area. I should have known the man would have gone all out even for a spur-of-the-moment occasion.

As soon as we entered the establishment, I felt immediately insecure. There was no way I was dressed appropriately for such a formal place. He placed a calm hand around my waist and led me to our private table.

“Relax, sweetheart,” he whispered.

“How can I when I'm not even dressed appropriately?” I hissed back.

Lorenzo smirked. “Trust me, you look beautiful as you are.”

Aside from requesting a few waters, he told the waiter to bring over one of their finer bottles of wine. Once we placed our orders, I slowly sipped at my glass of wine, while quietly wondering what provoked Lorenzo to piece together such an elegant and perfect moment.

Suddenly it hit me.

“Lorenzo...Is this a date?”

There was a slight tint of pink that touched his cheeks. “Would it be too foolish to say that it was?” he asked plainly. “Ever since the festival, neither of us has had any real time to spend with one another that doesn’t revolve around work. Believe me, I know that all the work and effort you’ve been putting into this case is important, but—”

I shook my head. “No, Lorenzo. I know where you’re going with this conversation, and you’re absolutely right. Yes, the work for this case is important, but what’s also important is us.” I reached out to grab his hands. “You’ve done so much to help me get to where I am now. You’ve protected me and shielded me from ongoing threats that I know I will never be able to repay you for.”

His features gradually fell. “I don’t want repayment—”

“Please, let me finish. I know that this ‘arrangement’ started out as just a cover to get me away from Blue Moon, you and your pack have been nothing but accommodating for me. For the first time in what feels like forever, I finally feel like I have a semblance of control in my life. It’s because of you that I have it,” I confessed. Small specs of tears threatened to dot the corners of my eyes. “And I don’t ever want it to end.”

Lorenzo squeezed my hands, never once breaking my gaze. “Then don’t,” he said firmly. “Stay with me.”

His voice filled with a new untapped sense of emotion that I hadn’t heard in a long time. Lorenzo leaned over the table, trying to close what space between us he could.

“You and I both know that it’s always been you, Eleanor. You’re the one that I’m meant to be with.”

[Lorenzo’s Pov]

He didn’t care if sounded as though he were begging. Lorenzo was desperate to let Eleanor know exactly how he felt about her. She needed to know just how much he adored, cared for, and loved her.

After all that wasted time they’d spent living in their own separate worlds, his heart had always belonged solely to her. He wanted to bring up the topic of the mating ceremony. He was determined to make everything between them official.

“Eleanor—”

Buzz. Buzz...Buzz. Buzz.

Lorenzo cursed under his breath as he went to reach for his phone. God, save the person who’s just interrupted what would have been the most important conversation of his life.

“Hello?” he muttered.

“Alpha Sinclair, you’re gonna wanna come out here,” the guard said stiffly. “We’ve just uncovered another body.”