Chapter Twenty-Three
The Ferrari was fast enough to complete the practice course in record time. Cricket and Radley had gotten to the point where no matter how Danny arranged the map, they were able to fly around it without a single scratch. Working as a team had gotten easier and easier with every single pass, until it was second nature to work back and forth, to trust the other, to accept that they both knew something that could help. The true test would be in the Race Games, but Cricket had the utmost confidence that there wouldn’t be a difference once on the new track. There would be riskier and more dangerous traps, and enemies of course, but with the car they had and their own strengths, they would make it.
Cricket refused to accept anything less.
It was after a long day of practice that Cricket and Radley found themselves sitting out at the koi pond again, their toes kicking gently in the water. The koi fish swirled around their feet in an intricate dance that was nearly as beautiful as the stars overhead. Of course, neither could compare to the wolf with a chiseled jaw beside her.
Cricket glanced over at Radley as he sat leaning back on his hands, his head tilted back to watch the stars. It was more difficult to see them in Manhattan with the light pollution but with his advanced eyesight, it probably didn’t make as much difference to Radley. Cricket was willing to bet the stars were even more beautiful when he was back in his Clan.
“So,” Cricket began, breaking the comfortable silence between them. After their moment in the garage, after getting a taste of the alpha who made her blood boil, Cricket couldn’t stop thinking about him and wondering about his past. While he knew much about her, he still hadn’t spoken too much about his own self. Perhaps, he just wanted to keep his secrets, or maybe he just needed someone to ask the questions. Cricket figured she could at least attempt to bridge the gap after they’d been so intimate the day before. “Why doesn’t the big bad alpha have a mate?” she asked, watching his expression. “I thought you lot pumped out pups faster than rabbits.”
Radley snorted and met her eyes. “Hardly. Couples have pups when they’re ready and most tend to only have a few.” He shrugged. “There’s been a boom in the Clan recently, however, which is where your money will go toward. They need better homes for their larger families.”
Cricket smiled. “But none of that answers why you’ve never mated. I thought it was this big honor to wolves?”
“It is,” Radley nodded. “Finding your mate is a blessing, but it doesn’t work like the rumors say. You can mate with anyone. It’s a commitment, same as marriage, but there’s a higher expectation with matings, so most wait until they know without a doubt that they’ve found the one.” Sighing, he ran a hand through his hair and looking back at the stars. “I’ve never mated because I’m too busy. There’s always too much to do. My mother keeps asking me for grand pups but I’ve just never met the one, I guess. That is, if I haven’t already missed her.”
Tilting her head sideways to study the wolf closer, Cricket realized there was a sadness there. The alpha genuinely worried he’d already missed his chance at love, and she realized that would be far sadder than not having met the one yet. “The Clan doesn’t pressure you to mate? Since you’re the alpha?”
Radley shrugged. “No. I’m not so power hungry, I think I need an heir to carry on my name. Besides, alphas in the Clan work differently. The mantle is passed on to the most fit, not the heir. It’s a democracy, not a monarchy.”
“That’s a nice thought,” Cricket murmured, smiling gently. And it did sound nice. There were expectations in wolf clans, but everyone was free to take on their responsibilities, free to marry, free to procreate. It was so unlike the fae. Duties were accepted by wolves. Fae were born with them.
Looking away from the stars to meet her eyes, Radley seemed to think his words through before saying them out loud. “You’ve never thought of settling down?”
“Clearly not,” Cricket deadpanned, gesturing around them. “Or else we wouldn’t be in this situation.”
“Touché.”
Sighing, Cricket splashed her feet in the water. “Sure, one day it might be nice, but I hope I’ll find someone who doesn’t expect me to just pump out babies and not work. Unfortunately, with a name like mine, that seems to be the only option.”
Radley’s eyes lit up with that fire. It made his eyes appear bright, like amber with light behind it. He was glorious. The look they shared was strong, the connection there one that should have been impossible, and yet Cricket was confident she wasn’t the only one that felt it. Something had changed between them, and it wasn’t just because they’d had sex.
“There’s always other options, Cricket,” he murmured.
There was weight behind his words, and for a moment, Cricket dared to hope he meant he was one of those options, but that was a silly thought. A fae and a wolf? It wasn’t done, and certainly not by a Snapdragon, but somewhere deep in her mind, Cricket wished it was possible. Though they’d started off as enemies, something had shifted, and she suddenly couldn’t imagine life without him in it, no matter how that happened.
“When this is all done,” she whispered. “Will you disappear?”
“What do you mean?” he asked, frowning.
“When the race is done, whether we win or lose, will you go back to the Clan and forget I ever existed? Like a bad memory you’d rather not remember?”
He froze. For a moment, she wasn’t sure if she’d said something foolish or if she’d offended him. Shifting uncomfortably, Cricket looked down at the water, away from his penetrating eyes, afraid of what she’d see there. They were sitting close, not quite touching with an inch of space between them, but close enough that Radley hardly needed to move. His fingers cupped her chin and turned her gaze back to his, forcing her to meet those scorching eyes.
“No matter what happens, no matter the outcome,” he rasped. “I could never forget you, sugar plum. Not the way you sparkle. Not the way you look at me. Not the way you care so much. There’s no forgetting you existed, and if you’d like me to stay in your life, in whatever capacity, I will.”
Moisture at the corner of her eyes had Cricket panicking that she was going to cry. No one had ever looked at her like that. No one had ever said such pretty words. What did one even reply to something like that? Cricket surely didn’t know.
Clearing her throat, Cricket looked away from his eyes first, unsure how to process all the emotions circulating through her. Foolish hope kept dancing across her mind and she couldn’t afford to embrace it. Even if she won the race, even if her father kept his promise, he’d never allow her to continue a relationship with a wolf, no matter his status as an alpha.
“Right,” Cricket said, changing the subject. “Well, I should probably go stretch my wings. I’m not flying as much as I usually do, and I don’t want them to get weak.”
Radley, following her lead, allowed the conversation to change but not without one last caress of her arm as he dropped his hand. “I should shift and stretch my legs, too.”
Cricket glanced at him in curiosity. “I’ve never seen a wolf shift before.”
The grin that split Radley’s face would put the sun to shame. He was an attractive man without expression. With a smile, he was beautiful, a masterpiece painted with the wild bristles of nature and the solitary howl of a wolf. How anyone could ever look at him and not see it, Cricket didn’t know, but she appreciated him none-the-less.
“You’re in for a real treat then,” he teased. “You wanna race?”
Cricket raised her brow. “Race? As in me flying and you running?” When he nodded, she grinned, her wings flaring wide in excitement. “You’re on, pup. Wanna make a wager?”
“Loser washes the car naked?” he offered with a roll of this shoulder. He bared his teeth, and though it was slightly threatening, it only made him sexier.
“Winner gets oral,” she added with a wink.