Lorien POV
“Lorien, right?” she chirped, her brown eyes glittering with a brightness that felt anything but genuine as she thrust her hand toward me.
For a heartbeat, I stared at it, wondering what game she was playing, before forcing myself to slip my hand into hers. Her fingers clamped down a little too tightly, and I fought the urge to flinch at the unspoken challenge hidden in her grip.
“That’s right,” I managed, keeping my tone even. My mind scrambled, running through every mated pair I’d ever observed, searching for the proper way to act. Auren and I had never discussed boundaries or how this arrangement was supposed to look to his pack. One wrong move could irritate him further, and that was a risk I couldn’t afford to take.
I still didn’t fully understand what he’d meant when h
