Freeing Luka: The Clecanian Series Book 2 by Victoria Aveline (readict books TXT) 📕

downright gorgeous face was snuffed out. She inhaled shakily. All of her worst fears were being confirmed. He was angry with her. Probably hated her for what she’d done to him in that cell. She’d been stupid to think they might be able to have a relationship after all that. The fact his mating marks had appeared for her must drive him crazy.

She felt herself shrinking under his hard gaze and looked away. Turning to her left, she attempted to engage Verakko in conversation once again. Anything to distract herself from Luka’s accusatory stare. “What were you saying about the lake platforms?”

In any other circumstance, the muscular man speaking to her now should’ve captivated her. The skin near his forehead was a soothing shade of teal, but as it continued down toward his chin and neck, it faded into a vibrant green. His hair was cut short on either side and left long on top, allowing his pointed, pierced ears to be prominently displayed. Streaks of sea-green, aqua, and gray ran through his thick charcoal hair and matched the color of his heavy brows.

Verakko was gorgeous but deadly looking the way a snake might be. When they’d first started speaking, his dry sarcasm and pessimistic disposition had added to his serpentine aura.

She noted the quiet intelligence that radiated off him as he described the platforms in a deep, silky voice, the tone almost melodic. Alice wouldn’t have been surprised to learn Verakko’s ancestors used their unique timbre to lure prey. Yes, this man in front of her, who looked at her with glowing green eyes, should’ve been more than enough to keep her attention, but she couldn’t keep her gaze and thoughts from straying to the sour-looking man across the table.

“And… You’re not listening to me, are you?”

Oh, crap. He must’ve realized she wasn’t paying one lick of attention to his descriptions of the technology employed by The Pearl Temple.

“I’m so sorry. That was rude,” she said, forcing her gaze to remain locked on Verakko.

He looked between her and Luka and gave her a wry smile, exposing overly sharp canines. “So that’s your mate, huh? I’ve met Luka a few times, but he’s never appeared quite so…angry.”

Great, so it’s just me, then. “Yeah, I think he’s angry I’m his mate.”

Verakko snorted. “Then he’s an idiot.”

Alice shot him a sad smile. What would happen now? Were there any cases of mates becoming unmated? From everything she’d learned, it seemed like mating was for life, but that didn’t mean he had to like her.

“He’s right to hate me. I forced the marks to appear. I didn’t want to do what Helas said, but I didn’t have a choice, and now I’m Luka’s mate forever, and he hates me and…” Alice’s voice grew tight as she rambled on.

“Hey, uh, no need to be upset,” he said without conviction. Verakko’s gaze shifted around the room; he was clearly uncomfortable with her show of emotion. He leaned in, continuing in a lower tone. “Look, I don’t know what happened to you in that place, and I don’t know what Helas told you, but you can’t force mating marks to appear. They appear or they don’t, no matter the circumstances. They may show themselves at different times for different people, but there isn’t anything anybody can do to draw them out.”

Alice glanced at Luka again, her eyes stinging with unshed tears. Being consoled had always made her cry more, rather than less. Luka still looked furious, but now his hard stare was turned on Verakko. He began to stand but then sat back down quickly, his face paling.

“Look at me, Alice,” Verakko commanded. His tone was velvety, and she could feel his words ringing through her mind.

She shook her head to clear it and noticed Verakko’s eyes had darted away. Could he actually use his voice to entrance? She peered at him with raised brows.

He cleared his throat and mumbled a quick “sorry” before returning his gaze to hers. He continued without any further explanation. “You’re his mate. He isn’t yours. If he doesn’t have enough sense to see how lucky he is to have found you, that’s not your problem. He needs you. You don’t need him.” He shot a glare toward Luka, then leaned in to whisper, “You tell me if he acts like a pishot, and I’ll make sure to hack into his home’s programming and make his life a living hell.”

“Thanks.” Alice chuckled, wiping at her eyes with the sleeve of her sweater. “What’s a pishot?”

“No translation for that, huh? It’s what you call someone who’s acting like an idiot or is a very unlikeable person. How to describe the actual meaning…” He narrowed his eyes, squinting toward the ceiling, and ran the tip of his pointed tongue over his sharp canine. “I believe it originated in the mountains where the Pesque live. I think it means ‘One who spits into the wind.’”

She laughed again, drawing out a small smile from Verakko.

He has a point. If Luka wanted to be mad at her, then that was his right, but she needed to remember she didn’t really know him. Sure, they’d spent many weeks together, but that hadn’t been the real him.

In that place where she had nothing and no one, she’d at least had him. A strong male who’d tried to protect her as best he could. Alice realized she’d been clinging to that version of him, the protector, while forgetting he was also a real man. Scratch that. She’d kept forgetting he was an alien. One she didn’t know and might not want to know.

Verakko was also right about Luka needing her. It would hurt to cut ties with him, seeing as she’d grown so attached, but she’d be able to move on if she had to. She was infatuated and attracted, but she wasn’t in love, and