Freeing Luka: The Clecanian Series Book 2 Victoria Aveline (story read aloud TXT) 📖

that going to see the doctor before speaking to her would be the best course of action. Some females even found patience and aloofness attractive, so this may work out in his favor. He took an experimental step and choked. Maybe this wasn’t a good idea.

Just as he was starting to feel that a visit to the doctor was more urgent than the meeting, his enhanced senses picked up her scent. Like a slap across the face.

I have to see her, he thought desperately.

Holding his head high, he limped the few feet to the door and then willed a mask of indifference to overtake his features. Inhaling deeply, he opened the door and stepped through, evenly distributing his weight. Searing pain shot through his ankle with his movements. Nausea roiled within him, but he kept his face stoic and scanned the crowd, eager to spot an open chair but more eager to spot Alice.

When his eyes landed on her, he almost forgot the searing pain. She was so lovely, sitting there, smiling. All of his dreams of her had been accurate. His unconscious mind hadn’t played tricks on him by enhancing the beauty of her eyes or the wicked curves of her body. She was real and perfect. A true, unguarded smile flashed over her face, and she laughed at something the male next to her, Rhaego, said.

Wait. Rhaego? The hazy spell cast by her visage dissolved. She was talking and laughing with Rhaego.

He took a step toward her, his intentions dark, but halted, feeling as if someone had stabbed him in the ankle with a burning metal poker. The pain was worsening, and the cold sweat that broke out over his skin told him he needed to get off his bad leg soon, or he’d make a joke of himself by fainting in front of his mate.

This is a mistake. I have to get out of here. She hasn’t seen me yet.

Without warning, the room began to sink. His gaze whirled toward the control panel and found Metli. She picked at a spot on her floor-length navy vest, unaware of his lethal glare.

He scanned the room again, looking for a chair. All he could do now was wait it out. The free seat that was closest to him was on the opposite side of the table from Alice.

He walked slowly to the seat, trying to look nonchalant and casual but more likely looking insane. A bead of sweat trailed across his temple, and he promptly wiped it away. He clumsily plopped into the soft chair, drawing glances from the attendees nearest him.

She hasn’t even noticed I’ve arrived!

He ground his jaw when he realized his bold attempts to ignore his injury had been in vain. He could’ve crawled to his chair, and she would’ve still been engrossed in conversation with Rhaego and…Verakko!

Verakko, a green-skinned male from Swadaeth ancestry, spoke to her with a small grin pulling at his lips. In return, she smiled brightly back at him, laughing at whatever presumably inane thing he’d said. Luka crossed his arms over his chest and attempted to shoot mental daggers at the male with his eyes.

The Swadaeth Clecanians, from the arid western deserts, were a very solitary culture and had evolved in relative isolation from other Clecanians. They tended to prefer the privacy and simplicity of the desert oasis in which they lived.

Because of their self-imposed seclusion, most Swadaeth were known to be antisocial and uninterested in most personal interactions. There’d be no reason for Verakko to want to speak with Alice unless he found her attractive and was trying to charm her. Luka had spoken with the male a few times before and had never seen even the hint of a smile on his face.

So help the male if he is attempting to sway her. Glancing down to his marked wrists, Luka’s temper relaxed a fraction. Verakko knew she was someone’s mate. Even he would respect that.

Luka rested his crossed arms on the table in front of him, scowling in their direction. He needed to calm down. When she finally did notice his arrival, it would put her off to see him looking so angry.

He allowed his eyes to close briefly, inhaling through his nose to calm himself. Her scent hit him again like a bag of rocks. The sweet, feminine aroma called to him, making him want to rub his head in the crook of her neck.

Jealousy raged through him; he knew the two males near her were able to smell her divine scent as well. His gaze flashed back to where they sat at precisely the wrong moment. From the corner of her eye, she spotted him and did a double-take. The wide smile she’d been sporting only a moment ago faded as she took in his aggressive demeanor.

Way to fucking go, Luka.

As his heart climbed into his throat, another jab of sickening pain sliced through his ankle.

Chapter 12

There he is. Finally.

Alice was momentarily stunned into silence. The last time she’d seen him, he’d been dirty and wild-looking. Now, his bruises were healed, and his skin had changed from a pale, scratched mess to a healthy bronzed tan. His hair, now clean, hung around his ears in dark brown waves she wanted to run her fingers through. Roaming her gaze down his body, she marveled at the bulging muscles of his crossed arms. It shouldn’t have been possible, but since being rescued, he’d somehow filled out even more.

The vision before her was perfection, except for one small thing. He appeared to be seething. His beautiful pale-blue eyes glared at her, and it looked as though every muscle in his body was on high alert. The tension radiating off him was so palpable that the occupants of the chairs near him subtly leaned away.

Her initial heart-pounding joy at both seeing him and beholding his