How did he even know where she lived?
And then she saw Max. He, too, stopped by the staircase, and gave her an almost reassuring smile. Vivienne frowned. Max, the man who’d turned blue, was trying to reassure her? She briefly remembered her mother mentioning something…that the two of them were on their way to her, but…Why were they here?
I told you already, Vivienne. You are my mate and—
Stop saying that! All this talk of mates and werewolves and witches and vampires. Couldn’t they just give it a rest for a few minutes?
“Vivienne, won’t you come downstairs?” Evelyn asked gently, and then sensing Vivienne’s reluctance, smiled and added, “Whenever you’re ready. We’ll be in the living room.” The smile faded as she looked to Max and Conall. “Follow me.”
***
They entered a spacious living room equipped with a massive fireplace and comfortable-looking sofas and couches. Evelyn sat down on one of the couches. Conall watched her intently, wondering why she seemed so calm, so relaxed, given the situation. He had no doubt this woman knew of his connection to Vivienne. Max sat next, leaning forward slightly in his seat as if anticipating an intense conversation.
“Are you afraid of an old lady in an old house?” Evelyn asked, lifting her brow slightly.
A reluctant smile tugged at the corners of Conall’s lips. She was not old. In fact, she was more likely than not younger than he. Vivienne’s mother was goading him.
As soon as he sat down, she delved into the topics.
“You mated my daughter.” It wasn’t a question, so he didn’t give an answer. “Without my permission and I’m sure without the blessing of your Elders.”
Conall dipped his head and acknowledged the wrong. “Forgive me for not following protocol but I thought Vivienne was human.”
“Even if you’d known she wasn’t, you wouldn’t have asked permission,” Evelyn stated.
“No.” He was not going to lie. The only thing that would have stopped him from making Vivienne his own would have been death. Nothing short of a sharp, pointed object through his heart, or the removal of his head, would have done the trick.
Evelyn nodded once. Was that respect he saw in her eyes?
“What will you do if your Elders refuse you their blessings?”
“She is my mate. They will give their blessings,” Conall replied with a conviction he didn’t quite feel. He was the alpha, and he’d remained alpha over the past years through brute strength and keen intellect, but the Elders were the oldest wolves in the pack. While they’d hardly disagreed with him in the past years, they’d never experienced a situation like this before.
“You’ve marked her, but she is not yet your mate. Not in the true sense of the word.”
Conall barely suppressed the growl threatening to rise from him. He reminded the beast that Evelyn was not challenging his right to Vivienne. She was just being protective, as mothers usually were. “Vivienne is my mate in all senses of the word—”
“You don’t intend to complete the ceremony?” Evelyn’s voice was sharp, and full of reproach.
It wasn’t uncommon for a witch to know this much about the werewolf community but instinct told him that Evelyn was more familiar with it than normal. “There will be a ceremony, but I will keep my human form.” He referred to the mating ceremony, in which the entire pack would gather to witness the joining of their alphas.
“So that you won’t hurt her?” Evelyn asked, her brows lifting slightly as she leaned forward.
Conall nodded. He’d lost control in his human form the first time he’d lain with Vivienne. With his animal loose, he didn’t even want to think of what the beast might do to her. She might be a witch, but compared to his beast, she was still fragile. And there was that matter of her mortality.
Evelyn laughed lightly. With a frown, he glanced at Max, who was staring at the woman in confusion.
The laughter stopped almost as quickly as it had begun and Evelyn straightened herself. Her golden eyes locked onto Conall’s as she said, “Listen to me, Conall Athelwulf of the Cedar Creek Wolf Pack. Your mate is much stronger than you think.”
It didn’t surprise him she knew of his status or his pack. What did interest him was what she’d said about Vivienne.
“What do you mean?”
Evelyn’s head swiveled and she glared at Max, who’d been previously silent. A haughty eyebrow lifted. “I would have thought that Maximilian Cronin would have told you that already. Perhaps you would like to shed some light on the situation, Maximilian?”