I’d closed my eyes for an hour, maybe two, but every time I drifted off, it was like the bond dragged me back—pulled me toward her in that way it always did when we got too close and didn’t finish what we started.
I hadn’t even let her say goodbye.
I ended the call, memorizing how she looked, with her eyes wide, her lips parted, the blanket still clutched in her hand like it could protect her from me—from what we’d almost done.
I could still hear her. “You started this.” Damn right I had, and I’d left herwanting, and I hadn’t even touched her.
I sat at the edge of the bed, bare feet on the cold floor, the Hollow still silent in that just-before-dawn kind of way. Diesel was already gone, out hunting ghosts in the trees. And me? I was stuck here, alpha of a pack that didn’t know where its loyalty lay, with a mate I hadn’t claimed and a bond that burned like an unfinished war.
I leaned forward, elbows on my knees, fingers threading through my hair. I hadn’t meant to go that far. It was supposed to be a call. A check-in. Just something simple. Practical. Get herused to the idea of video calling. But she’d answered with her braid half-loose and her voice low and tired, and Goddess help me, I couldn’t breathe right as I devoured the sight of her.
She’d looked at me like she didn’t know whether to kiss me or hang up.
When she said that the pillows smelled like me, I nearly lost it. Seeing her propped up in my bed last night made me ache to be closer.
Not because of the want, because that was always there. Because of the restraint it took not to say her name the way I felt it.Luna, she had too much hold over me.
I stood and rolled my neck. The muscle was tight, my body aching for more than sleep. No relief. No shift. No mate. Just the memory of her voice and that look in her eyes when I told her to take off the blanket.
That flicker of uncertainty before she closed her eyes and submitted. I wanted her submission. Icravedit. I wanted her on her knees, her head tilted up and looking at me just before I laid claim to every inch of her.
I growled as I paced into the bathroom, knowing that FaceTiming her would probably be my downfall. Because she was less guarded on the calls, her eyes showed me something she rarely did when she was here beside me.
She wanted me too.
And for Rowen, wanting me was almost worse than giving in.
I took a quick shower and then headed to the pack hall to find some coffee. I needed a lot of coffee. The pack wasn’t saying it to me, but they weren’t exactly happy that I sent their princess away. They thought they were being subtle, but the side glances, the frowns, and the less-than-subtle harrumphs whenever a woman approached me and I interacted with her gave them away.
They knew I was married and mated to Rowen, but still, they watched me as if I was one wrong move away from ending up in the wrong bed. I knew it was because I hadn’t sealed the bond with my mate, but still…their doubt in my fidelity irritated me.
I would never. Even if she wasn’t my true mate, I’d sworn my wedding vows, I’d committed only to Rowen. It would probably be my downfall, I thought to myself as I crossed the clearing and entered the pack hall.
I spoke to the pack that prepped and cooked the meals; they were missing Rowen. While they were perfectly competent, Rowen handled supply runs, ordering, and menus, all of it. In contrast, at Stonefang, every day saw each shifter rotated on the schedule, no matter who you were or what your cooking capability was. Kitchen duty was shared.
In Blueridge Hollow, the kitchen was practically staffed like a human kitchen in a hotel or restaurant; they just lacked the executive chef. I quickly learned that I was not a substitute for Rowen when I told them to cook what they wanted, and it took almost an hour to restore the kitchen to calmness.
It had been over a week, and if I got venison stew tonight for dinner, I was sure I’d have a whole other revolt in the Hollow to deal with. Thankfully, I saw rows of chickens laid out on the counters, and sent a prayer of thanks to the Goddess as I headed to my office with a mug of coffee.
One disaster avoided, I settled behind the desk, mentally prepared for whatever the next one may be.
I was halfway through a report when I heard the knock.
Three short raps. Intentional. Urgent. Brand’s code.
The door opened before I spoke. He stepped in, dragging a younger male behind him by the collar. Dirt on his boots. Blood on his sleeve. The boy—Aren—looked like he’d been dragged through half the forest.
I put down the report and leaned back in my chair slowly. “Brand?”
Brand dropped the youth to his knees in front of the desk and folded his arms. “Found him near the boundary, south ridge,” he said. “Carrying a note. Think he was waiting to pass it to a runner.”
I looked down at Aren, his head bowed, but I’d already seen the drying blood around his mouth. “Look at me.”
He looked up, one eye already swelling shut. “What have you done?”
He shook his head. “I—I wasn’t—Alpha, I wasn’t?—”
“Don’t lie to me,” I said. “You picked a bad day for betrayal.”
