I almost smiled. Almost.
"Why are you here, James?"
"At Frosthaven? Same reason as everyone else, I guess."
"No, I mean here. Sitting next to me. Following me around. Waiting outside my dorm."
He was quiet for a moment. The fire crackled between us, casting shadows across his face.
"You know why."
"I want to hear you say it."
"Because I can't stop thinking about you." His voice was low, rough. "Because when I saw you in that stairwell, something clicked into place that I didn't even know was missing. Because every time you walk away from me, I feel like I'm losing something important."
The words landed in my chest like stones.
"James—"
"I'm not asking for anything," he said quickly. "I know you don't want this. Whatever this is. I'm not trying to pressure youor make you uncomfortable. I just..." He exhaled. "I just want to be honest. About what's happening. Because ignoring it isn't making it go away."
He was right. Ignoring it wasn't working. The mate bond was still there, humming under my skin every time he got close, making my heart do stupid things whenever he smiled.
But I had a plan. I had Denali. I had a wolf in the snow who was waiting for me to be ready.
I didn't have room for this.
"I can't," I said softly.
"Can't what?"
"Any of it. I'm not here for..." I waved my hand vaguely between us. "This. I have something I need to do. Something important. And I can't let anything distract me from it."
"Climbing mountains."
I looked at him sharply. "What?"
"Ivy mentioned it. Said you're obsessed with mountain climbing." He held up his hands when my expression darkened.
I was going to kill Ivy.
"It's complicated," I said.
"I figured."
"And personal."
"I figured that too."
"And none of your business."
"Ouch." But he was almost smiling. "Fair enough."
We sat in silence for a moment. The fire had burned down to coals, glowing orange in the darkness. The stars were coming out overhead, more than I'd ever seen anywhere else. Up here, away from everything, the sky looked infinite.
"I'm not going to stop," James said quietly.
"Stop what?"
