Our lead Alpha closes his eyes, and we all know he’s silently counting to ten, trying to calm himself down.
When he opens them again, he looks calmer.
“I would never leave you. You’re my pack. I know I’ve been … Checked out lately. That’s because it felt like I was going crazy. When I’m like that, I don’t want any of you to be exposed to it. That’s all. I’m sorry if I made you think …” He shakes his head. “I’m just sorry.”
“It’s okay,” Harper tells him. “We get it.”
It’s not okay, at least, not completely, but I nod anyway.
What I need to say to our lead Alpha can wait.
There’s at least one more important thing to talk about tonight.
“So, this new true mate we have,” I start. “She’s the woman you helped the alliance rescue?”
Harper sucks in a breath as Falcon nods.
“Well, where is she?” Harper asks, looking like he’s ready to jump up and go looking for her, as if they somehow smuggled her into the apartment without us noticing.
“Not here,” I murmur, as I take his hand in mine.
He gives me a confused glance before he looks back at our Alphas.
“She doesn’t know.” Falcon looks down.
“Falcon didn’t know until tonight, either,” Shayne adds.
“But … How is that even possible?” Harper shakes his head.
He doesn’t get it because he knew every time, on first glance, only to have his perfume confirm it. I was sure when I met my mates, too, but I know when Falcon and Shayne first met things weren’t quite as clear.
“A lot of different things can impact true mate bonds,” Shayne says. “It can be hard to identify a bond when there are other factors to consider. Look at me and Falcon. We knew each other for years before we saw what we were to each other. This woman… her name is Robin. She came from a bad situation. She’s doing well now, but she lives and works at the academy, and the woman who runs that place is protective of her, as she should be.”
It makes sense that they wouldn’t recognize each other as mates under those circumstances and considering how terrible Falcon is at expressing his emotions, I get why he couldn’t figure out why he was so wound up while he was trying to get the alliance to let him visit her.
“Robin’s a Beta, right?” I ask, remembering that detail because Falcon was so obsessed with getting the chance to see her.
“Yes,” Shayne answers, when Falcon is slow to nod.
“So, she doesn’t know Falcon is her mate?”
“She felt something when I met her, but if she recognized either of us as her true mates, she didn’t mention it.” Shayne shrugs. “It can go that way with Betas.”
“Damn. Looks like we have a problem.”
Shayne nods. “It’s not insurmountable, but we have to be careful about how we approach the situation with the academy.”
“Can’t we just tell them?” Harper asks. “Surely, they’ll understand. It’s what they do, or what they’re supposed to do at those academies, isn’t it? Matching up mates?”
It’s a fair question, but, somehow, I doubt there’s a fair answer.
“It’s a little complicated,” Shayne admits.
“We’re going to have to be honest about our intentions,” Falcon says, sighing softly.
“Which is a problem why?” I ask.
“Robin might not be ready for a pack to declare her as their true mate.” Shayne shrugs again. “After everything she’s been through, she might refuse to see us if she knows that’s the reason we want to visit.”
