[IRIS POV]
We walked hand-in-hand in silence. I was too surprised to speak. I couldn't believe the first man to hold my hand properly wasn't Caius, my actual fated mate, but Alpha Gareth, the man I assumed would eagerly chop my hand off to feed it to the dogs.
Well. That option wasn't completely off the table. The lie I had uttered sat uncomfortably in my gut, and I willed myself to pretend that I was perfectly fine.
"Your hand is getting sweaty," Alpha Gareth pointed out mercilessly. "Why?"
"I don't know? Maybe your hand is too warm," I shot back.
He scoffed and stared down at me, his eyes seemingly boring into my soul.
"You are lying. I can tell." He pronounced it with so much certainty that I almost thought he read my mind.
