Page 92 of The Alpha's Unclaimed Mate
“It’s fine. You don’t have to do that.”
“I don’t want her to think it was deliberate, Lucas. I never meant any—”
“She knows that.” I shake my head. “Don’t worry about it.”
I look at Lydia for a moment.
This is the woman who has run my household for six years. The one who organized my father’s funeral when I could not get out of bed. She knew my mother’s tea order by heart and still serves it on the anniversary of her death. Whatever else has lived between us, our friendship is real, and the work she does for this house is real. I am not going to weigh down her morning any more than I already have.
“There is something else I need your help with. The breakfast announcement. I would like your support, if you can offer it. Standing with the senior staff at the back of the room. Nothing more than your presence. You know what it would do for the household to see you there. If that is too much to ask of you, I understand entirely, and you do not need to give me a reason.”
The corners of her mouth lift again. A real smile this time, not the polite one. “I will be there.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’m your friend. Where else would I be when you formally acknowledge your mate?”
My throat tightens. “Lydia…”
“Don’t, Lucas. I have been preparing for this since the moment you broke off our engagement. Better to be useful today than hidden. Let me be useful.”
“Thank you.”
“Of course.”
We stand there, looking at each other across the desk. Twenty years of friendship moves between us in the silence, and underneath the soreness from what has happened this week, there is this older, steadier connection that has held us together for so long. She is not going to be the luna I never wanted her to be. What she will be is the same friend she has always been.
“I wish you the best, Lucas,” she murmurs. “I mean it. I have your back.”
“Thank you for everything you do for me.”
A small, dry breath leaves her. “Always.”
I watch her turn and walk toward the door. She pauses with her hand on the knob.
“What time should I have the staff assembled?”
“Quarter past seven. Sienna and I will come down together.”
She nods. “I will see you in the dining room.”
The door closes behind her.
I stand at the window for a while after she is gone. The sun is fully up. Below, outside the kitchen, two of the gardeners are working their way along the herb beds, one bent over rosemary, the other moving with a basket. The estate is awake.
I cross to the desk. Pick up my jacket from the back of the chair. Slide my arms into it. Adjust the cuffs. The man in the small mirror by the door looks tired. He also looks calmer than he has in months.
Time to go get my mate.
I take the back stairs up to our suite two at a time. The corridor is quiet. Outside the door, I pause for a second with my hand on the wood, listening. The bond tells me she is awake.
I open the door.
“Sienna,” I murmur. “It’s time.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Sienna
