Deep Dark Secret (22 page)

Inside the door there was a coat check set up, and we split away from the rest of the group as they debated the safety of leaving their expensive furs with a twenty-something coat-check girl who was snapping her chewing gum.

At the top of the stairs was a huge atrium that served as the hub of the school. From where we stood, all the different annexes, stairwells and main lecture theaters were within easy access. In the center of the atrium was a bronze bust depicting Jeremiah Rain, and the plaque underneath read,
A man’s worth is not measured in money, but in the ability to earn what is his.—J. Rain.

Then, further proving the creepy qualities of our new mate bond, I felt Lucas’s presence from across the room. It was still strange to me to be without the cinnamon flavor in my mouth, but being able to sense another person without seeing them was entirely new. It was as though he was a light bulb and I was a moth. The lingering warmth of him pulled me through the growing crowd until I was on the opposite side of the atrium. Holden had waited at the stairs.

Lucas turned as the people closest to him moved aside, and we both stood stock-still about fifteen feet away from each other. He drank in my appearance, and I held my breath. I hadn’t known until right then how much I cared about what he thought of my outfit. When his cheeks flushed and his lips parted in a soundless sigh, the message was clear.

He said it anyway. “You look fucking amazing.”

An old lady nearby heard his curse and shot him a withering glare. He didn’t notice her. Instead he looped me in his arms and pulled me close. I’d expected a peck on the cheek, but instead he greeted me with an openmouthed, hungry kiss that turned my spine to a limp noodle and forced me to hold his forearms for balance when my ankles wobbled. He came up for air and noticed for the first time we’d attracted a bit of an audience.

He kissed my cheek for good measure before letting me go, then switched effortlessly into his public persona. A young man and a middle-aged woman stood closest to us, and Lucas angled me in their direction. The man was twenty if he was a day. He looked more likely to still be in his late teens. It was obvious his hair tended towards the curly side, but it had been cropped close to his head, giving him a messy bedhead look that defied control. The suit he wore was expensive, but he seemed uncomfortable in it.

The woman, on the other hand, appeared as if she’d been born with a broomstick surgically inserted up her rectum. Her posture was so perfect and her expression so sour, I wasn’t sure whether to laugh or apologize.

“Amelia, it’s my absolute pleasure to introduce you to my mate, Miss Secret McQueen.”

So these were Callum’s people. It was brave of Lucas to use a phrase like
mate
within earshot of a hundred humans, no matter how low his tone could get.

Amelia offered me her version of a smile, which was a less-frigid version of her frown. “Amelia Laurent,” she said, shaking my hand. “And this is Ben McQueen.”

The young man nodded brusquely, then shook my hand a little too hard. “Hi,” he barked.

So Callum had sent family up for this meeting? I couldn’t tell if that was a good sign or not. Ben must have been Callum’s son, or my aunt Savannah’s. I was taken aback, wondering how many relations I had down south who I didn’t even know existed. Ben looked equally mystified by me. Although he’d stopped staring at me once our handshake ended, I saw the less-than-subtle glances he kept sneaking in my direction.

“A pleasure to meet you both,” I said. “Lucas and I do so appreciate you making the long trip up here so we could…chat.”

Lucas rested his hand on my lower back, and I could feel the tension spark when I spoke. He was definitely worried about me saying the wrong thing. I couldn’t blame him. There was no filter between my mouth and my brain, and one wrong word to Amelia could inadvertently start a war.

I scanned the crowd as Lucas relieved me of conversational duties. Holden had moved to the bar and was chatting with a pretty Asian girl in a bright red dress. She thought he was hilarious, because she kept giggling and tossing her shiny black hair back, exposing her throat. I knew Holden, he wasn’t that funny.

Near the makeshift stage, Dominick was talking to another familiar-looking werewolf whose name I couldn’t recall off-hand, which meant he was from an outlying pack. Dom saw me looking and jerked his chin up in greeting. I smiled. The smile died shortly thereafter when my wandering gaze met a steely glare across the foyer. Morgan, wearing a green floor-length dress slit almost all the way up to her crotch, was scowling at me.

“Do you agree, Miss McQueen?” Amelia’s Southern accent cut through my staring contest with the petty little bitch across the room.

I had no idea what was being discussed. Turning to Lucas, he smiled at me and offered the slightest nod.

“Oh, absolutely,” I replied, pretending I wasn’t lost.

“Yes. As a pack we are stronger than ever since I found Secret.”

Like I was a lost sock. Amelia’s smile mirrored mine: forced and humorless. “Callum will be delighted to know it. Certainly, though, you might want to spread the word of your pack’s strength and unity to the pack itself.” She cocked her head to the side, practically daring Lucas to react to her words. “I mean, if your pack was really so strong, we wouldn’t be having this conversation, would we?”

To his credit, Lucas forced a smile. I would have slapped her. Lucas’s smile didn’t falter as he said, “Perhaps, Ms. Laurent, it would be advisable to let me run my kingdom as I see fit. I’m sure Callum didn’t send you here to make suggestions on his behalf.”

Amelia didn’t have a response, but Ben’s faint smirk told me he was enjoying seeing her put in her place. I bet she was a real peach to travel with.

“If you’ll excuse me, ladies.” He nodded to Ben. “And gentleman. It’s time for me to make a short speech. But I think you’ll all enjoy it.” Lucas kissed my hair and squeezed my arm. “Don’t run away.”

What he was really saying was, “Don’t say anything stupid while I’m gone.”

As soon as Lucas left, Dominick came to stand between me and the new arrivals, buffering me from their chilly demeanor.

“Hey, kid,” he said, elbowing my ribs.

“Hey yourself.” He earned my first unguarded smile of the night.

Lucas took the stage, standing behind a glass podium. In his black Brooks Brothers suit and a blue silk tie that made his eyes impossibly bright, he looked so handsome it stole my breath. He also looked like he was about to announce his candidacy for president. He smoothed out his suit, straightened his tie, then smiled.

That one smile was all it took for a hush to fan out across the room. All eyes were focused on the wolf king.

“Good evening, everyone. I want to thank you all for coming tonight. As many of you know, Columbia was both mine and my father’s alma mater. This school is special to the entire Rain family.” A smattering of applause. “When Dean Portsmouth came to me with the idea of a new business school, some of my financial advisors warned against it. They said I was a fool to make a no-return investment.” He paused dramatically, smiling at the rapt crowd. “So I fired them.”

Hoots and cheers and much more enthusiastic clapping were the response. He had them hooked now. “An investment in education will always reap returns. My father believed the greatest gift someone could give themselves was the gift of an open mind.” I saw pain flicker in Lucas’s eyes, but his smile remained fixed. “Anyone lucky enough to have known my father, and there are many of you here, know this school would have meant the world to him. It was a labor of love, designed by a family-owned firm, and built by one of our contracting companies. This school is Rain through and through. And I hope new generations of businessmen and women will come into the workplace from these halls. I just hope none of them are after my job.”

More laughter.

“On a personal note, I wanted to express to you all how much it means to me to have you here with me tonight, and not only because we’re opening this new school.” He sucked in a breath and took a half step away from the podium. I could feel a sudden spike of anxiety from him that made my own heart rate pick up.

Resting my hand on Dominick’s arm, I whispered, “Something’s wrong.”

“Shh,” he said, then rubbed my back in small circles.

The whole room, myself included, held our collective breaths.

“Since losing my father, it’s been a difficult transition for me. Moving from a carefree youth to suddenly being responsible for billions of dollars and thousands of jobs is enough to test the strongest man. I wouldn’t have been able to do any of it without a strong network of support.” His hand hovered over his heart. “In particular, there is someone here who has changed the entire course of my life. Before I met her I was a ship without sails. Since she came into my life, I know what it means to be complete.”

There was a soft
aww
and several dreamy sighs from the audience. I still hadn’t remembered to catch my breath. Lucas stood behind the podium, hand over his heart, and he was staring right at me. I thought I might throw up from the swell of anxious energy building in my chest.

“Secret McQueen,” he said, in case I’d forgotten my name, which I had. “Before you, I had a life without meaning. I was a man without drive. You’ve given me something worth fighting for.”

I swayed, but Dominick held me steady. The whole room had turned to look at me.

“I don’t want to risk letting you get away,” Lucas whispered, but the microphone amplified it through the atrium. He reached into the pocket of his suit and pulled out a robin’s egg blue box tied with a blue ribbon. Tiffany blue. He set the box on the podium, and a few women nearby squealed.

“Oh God,” I choked, trying to catch my breath but unable to fill my lungs. The room was stifling. “Oh my God.”

“Secret…” He smiled at me, and I braced myself against Dominick. “Will you marry me?”

There was only the clouded, static-filled silence of shock. My ears felt packed with cotton, like I was coming down after a long flight. I knew people were talking amongst themselves, and Dominick’s mouth was moving, but I all I could hear was the pounding of my heart.

I’m dreaming. I’m dreaming. It’s the only explanation. Any minute now someone is going to burst into flame, or something totally surreal will happen to prove me right.

But it didn’t get much more surreal than having a billionaire propose to you in front of two hundred witnesses.

I opened my mouth, but my tongue felt dry and swollen. Lucas was smiling hopefully, and the rest of the room was wide-eyed and eager. Like sharks circling in blood-filled water. Scanning their excited faces, I saw two who didn’t match the general exuberance of the rest of the room.

Morgan looked horrified. And at the bar—the Asian girl long forgotten—Holden was staring at Lucas with his mouth slack and his eyes brimming with murderous intent. I’d known it was a bad idea to bring him. I hadn’t known
how
bad until that instant.

A photographer stepped in front of me, and I was blinded by a flash.

As the dots of light swam in my vision, my brain started to function again, shifting from full stop into high gear. Lucas
had
proposed. This wasn’t a dream, and there were real people here waiting to hear my answer. Two of those people were dead set on proving Lucas’s pack wasn’t strong enough to withstand an invasion. And his relationship with me was essential in proving them wrong.

If I said no, Lucas’s authority as king would be decimated. He would be publicly humiliated.

He cleared his throat and stuffed his hands into his pockets, looking downright sheepish. I didn’t need a mate bond with him to know he was nervous.

“Yes,” I whispered.

People in the crowd began to mutter, asking each other, “What did she say?”

I swallowed hard, clearing away the lump in my throat, and forced a smile for everyone, but especially for Amelia and Ben. “Yes,” I repeated, louder this time. “Yes, I will marry you.”

The crowd erupted in a deafening cheer. Lucas jumped off the stage and cleared the room in a heartbeat. He swept me up in a lung-crushing hug and kissed me as the photographer started clicking again, flashes blotting out the rest of the room.

“Thank you,” he said into my ear.

“We need to talk about this,” I whispered into his.

I pulled Lucas into a pristine, never-used student lounge and locked the door behind us. He opened his mouth, about to say something that would no doubt make me feel he had no choice but to put me on the spot. Or how he’d believed the gesture was genuinely romantic. I could hear the excuses and explanations rattling around in his brain as clearly as if they were my own.

Apparently anger did wonders to make the mate bond stronger. Marriages everywhere would thrive if they had this kind of connection.

“What the
hell
were you thinking?”

Of the reactions I could have had, this wasn’t the one Lucas had been expecting. He took two steps back and blinked at me as if I’d slapped him. “I thought—”

“
Did
you think?” I threw myself down on one of the new leather couches and rested my head against the plush back.

“I needed to show them you and I were a team. That our relationship wasn’t a passing fancy, or we were faking the soul-bond. They could see our mate bond. This was the easiest way to show them you belonged to me.” There they were, the rationales and excuses I’d foreseen.

“I know why you think you did it, Lucas, but none of those are the real reason. You could have proposed months ago if you’d wanted to.”

“You wouldn’t have accepted months ago. You’re only now realizing what’s at stake here.”

“Are you sure this isn’t about Desmond?”

Lucas crouched in front of me, taking my hands in his and waiting until I looked at him before letting them go. “I’d be lying if I told you I wasn’t jealous of the emotional connection you two share. But this isn’t about a competition. This is about our survival.”