“We are—”
“I don't care!” Willow bellows as she spins around, her back rising and falling with uncontrollable breaths. “I don't care that we're fated mates. It makes no difference. I'm not sleeping with you.”
Sighing heavily, I know I have to choose my words carefully, as if I'm walking on eggshells.
“Willow, I'm not trying to sleep with you,” I assure her, my voice as gentle as it can be. “I want to be there for you. I know you've been through a lot in your life, and—”
Willow cuts me off again when she spins around, glaring at me with fire burning in her blue eyes.
“You havenoidea what life has been like for me, Thane!” she snaps, throwing her hands up and allowing the left side of her dress to slip off her shoulder, revealing half of one clothed breast, the dents of her ribcage protruding through her creamy flesh. She doesn’t seem to care she’s exposed like this, breaths coming heavily, her nostrils flaring as she continues her verbal assault. “The mating ceremony doesn't fix anything! It doesn't make up for the past five years! You don't know what it was like out there in Blood Claw!” she continues to yell as she takes a few steps forward. “Iam the wolfless omega, while you're the esteemed sub-alpha of this pack! You've had life easy, so don't act compassionate toward me! I'm not buying it!”
When she exhales and glares at me, I see a glint of passion flashing through her blue eyes, her irises ignited by a fire I've never seen before.
She'd been hiding this part of her, this fiery side that attests to the powers lying dormant inside her.
I'm left speechless, in awe of what I've just witnessed, and for a moment, all I can do is stare.
Willow stands there like a storm ready to be unleashed, wild, vulnerable as her body trembles, her nostrils flaring furiously as her eyes become radiant. Her chest rises and falls sharply, and I know I should look away, give her the space she's demanding, but I just can't.
Because underneath the anger she just displayed, I know there’s pain.
And beneath that pain is something deeper, something she's trying so hard to hide from me.
Fear.
“I never said it was easy,” I murmur softly, my voice low and raw. “And I never claimed to understand what you went through. But I’m trying, Willow. I’m trying to make this right. I'm trying to make it all right.”
Willow scoffs, rolling her eyes as she turns away from me again, crossing her arms, but not in a defiant way. It's purely to hug herself. “You can’t fix five years of damage with a ceremony.”
“I’m not trying to fix it,” I whisper, stepping closer and tentatively reaching out toward her, but not fully. “I just want to start over again.”
She doesn’t move, doesn’t even flinch when I take another cautious step forward. The distance between us is stretched with a tension that fills the air as if it's palpable, its sharp ridges touching my flesh, a magnetic electric current already stirring beneath my skin without touching her.
When I do finally reach her, I lift my hand slowly, being careful not to startle her, and let my fingers loosely settle on her shoulder. She still doesn't flinch, allowing me to gently turn her to face me. The moment becomes charged with the unspoken, the unspeakable, just the unwavering intensity of our mate bond as it flows from the touch.
To my surprise, and my relief, Willow doesn't try to deflect my touch, as if the fight has left her once again. Instead, she looks at me through the veils of heavenly golden lashes, blue eyes softening as my hand slides up to cradle her cheek.
Her left cheek, where my thumb traces the edge of her scar, prompting her to stop breathing as she goes utterly still beneath my touch.
“Don’t,” she breathes, voice trembling when my fingers cradle her cheek, her restraint evident on her face when itcontorts. She's trying not to fall into the comfort my touch brings, but when she doesn't pull away, her actions betray her words.
“I should’ve protected you,” I whisper earnestly, the words flowing out from the sincerest place deep within my chest. “I should have believed in you instead of hurting you….”
Willow's lips part slightly, her breath catching as her eyes flick up to meet mine. For a heartbeat, it’s as if the entire world goes still and time freezes until it's just her and me and the charged space between us.
The air grows dense with the silence, something dangerous and sacred brewing between us all at once. I recognize it for what it was, what it should have been five years ago, and I'm reminded of my guilt once again. My thumb lingers on her skin, tracing the faint curve of her cheekbone with the pad of my thumb as I cup her cheek. Her eyes glimmer with an array of emotions all at once, and for the first time in what feels like forever, I catch a faint whiff of her scent.
Jasmine.
The sweet scent was something I'd often catch back when she used to be in Girdwood, and we'd become friends. I always thought it was present because of the blooms in the greenhouse she nursed, but right now, inside my house, the scent is stronger than ever.
I should have realized it a long time ago and saved us both the trouble instead of rejecting her. What does it matter that she's wolfless, anyway?
It's only Willow who has this much power over me.
Slowly leaning in, I want to act on this silence, use it as a tool to apologize for the past. Just when I think she might let me in, she blinks hard, breaking whatever spell had settled over us.
“Don’t,” she whispers again, firmer this time, and takes a step back, removing herself from my touch. Then another that removes her from my space.
