He was the son of the current alpha at the time, next in line to lead. His happy-go-lucky attitude was more suited for a lesser ranking wolf than the next alpha. Still, I had grown fond of him and his teasing ways. Finding his positive nature easily pulled me out of my brooding moods.
Our relationship had started out as a tentative friendship. Then, when we blood bonded, it became... more. Much more. Tate was like the other half of my heart and, without him, I didn’t know how I could survive.
For a long time, I thought he was the only person I ever needed. Until her.
“What are you doing here,mi lobo?” I inquired, sliding my gaze from the fire to the dark-skinned wolf. Almost a foot tallerthan me, he dwarfed the couch, his long legs sprawling out over the end of.
Tate’s tongue flicked over the hoop in his lip. “Looking for you, of course.”
I scoffed, turning back to the fire, not believing him for a moment. “Well, you found me.”
The weight of his stare pressed into my back. I knew what he wanted, and I didn’t want to hear it. It was taking everything I had to stay where I was and not go running back the academy... back to her.
“I can see that,” Tate drolled on. “You’re doing a bang-up job pretending to be a statue there. They should give you an award.”
I rolled my eyes, refusing to give into his teasing as my gaze shifted to where he lounged.
“Are you going to spend the entire semester hiding in this apartment?” Tate laced his fingers behind his head, his dark braids falling between his fingers.
“I’m not hiding,” I snapped, baring my fangs at him.
Not even slightly put off by my display, Tate chuckled. “Could have fooled me.”
I grunted in response then cleared my throat, forcing my voice to calm. “I’m simply keeping myself out of a hazardous position.”
The couch leather squeaked as he shoved off it. His long legs ate up the distance between us. His hand almost touched mine on the mantel.
“You spent so many years bitching about the Durands and what you’d do to their little brat, and now you’re hiding from her?” He cocked his head, peering down at me. “I didn’t realize you were such a coward.”
I sat my glass down hard before turning on him. I snarled and lashed my fist out at him.
Tate laughed and dodged me, locking his arm around mine, pulling me closer to his chest. “Admit it. You’re not mad at her, your ego is bruised. Just kiss and make up already.”
My fingers curled into his shirt, pulling his face down to mine. “She lied to me. She lied to us! The fact that you’re not pissed is remarkable.”
“Shocked? Yes.” His hand cupped the back of mine, pressing our foreheads together. “Upset? More so for you than anything.” His gaze turned soft. “But I love her, Kyren. And I know you love her, too.”
I opened my mouth to deny it, but Tate didn’t give me the chance. He smacked his lips against mine in a quick chaste kiss.
“Are you really going to let your hatred for her family get in the way? Is your need for revenge worth losing her?”
I shoved my hands against his chest with a growl. “Leave me alone. You don’t understand.”
“I’ll never just leave you alone,” Tate replied solemnly, then gave me a depreciating smile. “You’re stuck with me, remember?”
Guilt ate at me.
Our blood bond made it so that I could feel Tate’s emotions, and the despair mixed with his insecurity was hitting me like a freight train. It wasn’t Tate’s fault that Jaquelynn lied to us. That everything I thought I knew about her and myself had come into question. And yet he was an easy target to vent my frustrations on.
That wasn’t fair.
I softened my expression, letting my hands lift to cup his face. “Mi lobo,I’m sorry. You know you are everything to me. I’m... just...” I blew out a breath and shook my head. “I don’t know what I am. I need time. Space.”
Hurt punctuated through our bond.
“Not from you,” I added on quickly. “From her. From them.”
Tate nodded, clasping my hands with his larger ones. “I love you, Kyren. You know that. But I love her too, and I don’t want to lose her.”
