Page 13 of Bonded Beyond Trickery

“He won’t reject us,”my wolf insists.

When Whitaker turns toward me, the pain in his eyes has me sucking in a sharp breath. I have no idea what he’s thinking, but I can see the touch of his wolf in his eyes.

I have no idea if that’s a good thing or not. I do know that the wolf side is much simpler than the human side. Wolves want their mate and are driven by instinct in a way we can only hope doesn’t end in violence and blood.

“I’ve always wanted my mate,” Whitaker begins and causes my heart to soar and plummet at the same time. How that’s even possible, I’ll never know. “I feel like you stole my mate from me even though I know you’re sitting in front of me right now.”

I nod slowly and try to keep my voice steady. “I stole time from us,” I admit, knowing exactly what he’s talking about. “Itwas always about my education and giving me something more. Far too often, females are seen as little more than a womb and a mother. Being a Luna, which I was always told would be my destiny, is the pack’s mother. I just,” I sigh and shake my head, “I had worked so hard already and couldn’t give up my dream of going to college and getting my degree. It was all I had that was mine,” there’s conviction in my words, passion woven through them.

Whitaker’s shoulders slump and he nods slowly. “I can understand that, but you didn’t even give me a chance to be the mate you needed me to be. You took away my choice,” he pounds his fist against his chest, and I can feel the impact of it reverberate through me. There’s pain in his voice, “How do you know I would have prevented you from getting your degree? You didn’t give me the chance to support you and your dreams.”

A tear slips past my lash line and down my cheek. His hurt magnifies mine and becomes a throbbing ache, more so than what I’ve had to endure over the last five years.

“I know,” I whisper. “I’m sorry.” I shake my head because it’s not enough. “They’re just words, I get that. By the time I had met you, I was already on my path. It hurt to meet you, to know what we are to each other, and not have you recognize me. It felt like it was too late to go back.”

“What did you expect to happen when I could magically,” he sneers the word, “smell you after you achieved your goal?”

“I wasn’t sure,” I whisper, the words broken and filled with guilt, “but I hoped we could move past it. I hoped our bond could be stronger because of it. I hoped you could understand and forgive me.”

He runs his fingers through his hair and my eyes snag on the strands. It looks so damn soft and my fingers itch to feel them myself. Everything in me screams to soothe him and the hurt I’ve caused.

“He will forgive us,”my wolf insists, trying to take the sting away.

Something shifts in Whitaker, and he sits up a little straighter. “I don’t’ know if I can forgive this,” the sincerity in his words that rip through me is a searing pain like I’ve never experienced before, “but I’ve always said the only she-wolf who would be my Luna is my Goddess given mate.”

“Okay,” the word is hesitant and filled with questions that I can’t even begin to ask.

Does that mean he waited for me? Will I be Luna in name only? Can we ever get past this and have a mate bond that fulfills us both?

“You can pack up your things at Golden Summit and come to Silver Howler whenever you’re ready,” Whitaker’s words are monotone, almost robotic.

I find myself looking at him, surprised at the lack of warmth, even though I shouldn’t be. His dark eyes sweep over me, longing burning in their depths.

Before I can say anything, before I can even think, he sweeps out of the room and all I can hear is the way his footsteps move farther and farther away from me.

My wolf whimpers, but determination fills her and flows into me even as his pine and thunder scent wanes. I take a deep breath while I still can, soaking up the scent I haven’t experienced in far too long.

“We knew it wouldn’t be easy, my human,”my wolf reminds me.“But we are his mate.”

Yes, we are, and he didn’t reject us. It might not be much, but it’ll have to be enough. For now.

CHAPTER 6

WHITAKER

My gritty eyes remind me just how little sleep I got last night. How could I sleep while I could still practically taste my mate’s scent on the tongue? Between her scent, leaving her behind at Blood Rising, and going over everything she admitted last night, it’s a miracle I was able to get even a little bit of rest.

It wasn’t enough considering the fatigue I can feel pulling at me.

“You left our mate,”my wolf admonishes me.

It’s not the first time he’s made me feel like shit for the way I left things with Tilly last night. His censure certainly didn’t help me sleep last night. My control was the only thing that kept me from shifting and going to track down my mate.

“She hid herself from us,”I remind my wolf.“We lost fiveyears with her. Five fucking years.”

“And what would have happened if we had found her at her first mating ball? She might have been 18, but she was still in high school. Would you have insisted that she move to our pack and finish school? Could you have been that far away from her while knowing who she was if she stayed at Golden Summit? What about her dream to go to college? Would you have let that happen?”

I scoff, my tone filled with fury,“Let? I would never have stopped her from going to college. She could have done that and been here at the pack.”

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