“I would like to speak to my mate.” I kept my voice neutral with long-practiced control. You didn’t get to be pack second if you were a hothead who couldn’t be civil.
Her lips twisted like she’d just sucked a lemon. “My partnerneeds some time. Your sister stirred up shit she didn’t have any business in this morning, or did you not know that? Elodie had to report to the head priestess, and she’s upset.”
That took all the piss and vinegar right out of me. “I came to apologize for my sister. Is Elodie okay? I kept my word. I have no intention of pressing her.”
Galyna’s mouth flattened into a hard line as she studied me, and I had to admire the way she protected her own.
Were I in her shoes, I’d be no different.
“I’ll ask if she wants to speak to you out of respect for her. If she says no, I expect you to get lost without a word.”
“I understand.”
She slipped back through the door, and I couldn’t miss thesnickof the lock clicking into place behind her. It was a warning, but there was no lock on this earth that could keep an alpha from his mate, and we both knew it.
The minutes dragged on, and I could barely pick up hints of female voices in conversation through the sturdy wooden door.
When it cracked open again, I held my breath, preparing for the “shove off” I knew was coming.
But when Elodie peeked around it, her face red and tearstained, my heart nearly snapped in two.
My mate, hurt because of me. My sister.
Fuck.
“We probably shouldn’t talk right now. It’s… a bad day. And I’ve got to get to my duties soon.”
Her voice was shaky, and I knew she had to have been crying hard to be this out of sorts.
“I won’t keep you. I just came to apologize. My sister told me what happened, and I knew I couldn’t let what she said stand.” I ran a hand over my beard, closing my eyes for a second in frustration. I wasn’t good with words. I didn’t know how to smooth things like this over. “I’m a man of my word. I told you I wouldn’t push for anything you didn’t want, and I meant it. I’ve spoken to Savannah, and it won’t happen again.”
Elodie shrugged. “She’s protective of you, which is understandable.”
That stopped me in my tracks. “You’re not angry? I just assumed since you’d been crying…” Assumed. Instead of letting her speak.
I had a lot to learn as a mate.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, pouring all my care and worry for her into the question.
Her face crumpled, and I closed the distance between us, bracing my hands on the doorframe to avoid touching her unless she asked. My wolf howled for me to wrap her up in my arms, take her back to our den, where nothing could hurt or upset her again.
“Please, talk to me. I’m dying to hold you, but if I can’t do that, I need to know what’s wrong. I’ll fix it, whatever it is, I promise.” My desperation was unbecoming of an alpha, but fuck all if I cared.
Elodie shook her head, biting her delectable bottom lip and refusing to meet my gaze. “You can’t fix it. That’s the thing. I told the head priestess about our connection.” She shuddered, wrapping her arms around herself. It was the first time I’d ever seen my spitfire matevulnerable, and I hated it.
“What did she say?” I asked, trying to learn from my mistakes instead of rushing to conclusions, even as my heart hung on the ledge.
“I’m not out. I have to choose—you or the enclave. If I formally reject our bond, I can stay a maiden.”
The words struck fear into my heart like I’d never known. I’d been operating under the assumption that eventually, our bond would win out because it was the Goddess’s will. But if she rejected me as her mate… It was a future too awful to consider.
“I see.”
“Do you? Because this is my life. This is everything I’ve worked for, all I’ve ever known. I’m never going to be a housewife, Valens. I am a fighter. I have people I love to protect, apurpose.”
“So do I. It’s possible to protect the ones you love without cloistering yourself away from the world.”
She finally met my eyes, staring into the depths of me in that way only she could. I hoped she saw it all, all that I wasn’t sure how to say, how to show her yet.
