Page 84 of Fated to the Warrior Wolf

“So what now?” I asked, running my fingertips over a flowering bush we passed, seeking something tactile other than him, because if I grabbed him, I wasn’t going to let go. And I was determined to give myself time to process all the information he was giving me before jumping back into how things were.

“Now, we let our bond progress, and once we have marks, we’re free to have the full moon ceremony. I promise you it’s onthe up and up, but I can give you a copy of the treaty if you’d like to read it for yourself.”

“I would like that, actually.”

He nodded. “Consider it done as soon as we’re back to the castle.”

“Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me. I should have told you before. I’m still sorry that I didn’t. I had honestly just hoped you’d never have to know about any of it. If we’d bonded first, I could have sent the paperwork home, and I’d have been released from the treaty obligation, and I could have abdicated before any of this ever came up.”

“You don’t see a problem with that, though? You were just going to upend your entire life, your family’s legacy, your royal title, and never say a word to me? We’re supposed to be mates, Gael. Mates don’t make decisions that huge without talking to each other. You’ve told me a whole lot about the history of all this, but none of it aboutyouand why you chose to keep this from me. We spent all morning having sex. Did it ever occur to you during that time to tell me even a tiny bit about yourself?”

His scent was sour with regret. “No, it didn’t.”

The words were sharper than fangs, and my wolf didn’t like them any more than I did. “That’s not okay, Gael. If we’re going to be bonded, we need to be equals.Partners. You can’t run off and make life-altering decisions like that without even talking to me. That’s not… that’s not what being mates is about.”

“I’m so sorry, princess. I?—”

I flinched back at the nickname as sudden realization struck me.

Princess.

He’d been telling me all along, hadn’t he? Somehow, that made it so much worse.

“I think I’m ready to be done talking now,prince. I’m going to head back,” I said, keeping my chin lifted high.

“I’ll walk you,” he said, stepping forward, but I waved him off.

“I think I’d like some time alone to think. We’ve been moving really fast, but maybe we aren’t ready to move forward yet. A little time to process would be a good thing. For all three of us,” I added the last in a whisper, covering my belly with my hand. “You need to decide what you really want, Gael, and whether that’s just a mother for your child, or a real partner.”

His sorrow-laden scent was heavy in the air as I walked away, but I forced myself to keep going. I was done accepting less than I deserved, even if every single step I took away from him was killing me just a little bit more inside.

FORTY-ONE

Gael

As night fell on the following day, the time for the tribunal had arrived. But instead of being laser focused as I should have been as the pack’s second and Kane’s head enforcer, I was giving the preparations half my attention at best. I couldn’t stop playing over the shitstorm that had happened the day before, Leigh’s stiff posture as she’d walked away, leaving me behind. My wolf hadn’t liked it, not one bit.

But I let her go.

I still wasn’t sure whether that was the right move, and the last twenty-four hours had been torture for me and my wolf. But deep down, I respected her need for space, even as I hated every single second.

The gathering area was prepared, and I’d had Sergei triple-check it for me. Apparently, half focus was still sufficient, because he confirmed that all the necessary security measures were in place—over the topwere his exact words—and the natural amphitheater about a mile from the castle was as prepared as it could be. I cast one last glance around the large, natural bowl-shaped landscape. It was as if some great deity who’d formed the place had used the cup of their palm as ablueprint, which made for easy visibility as well as great acoustics.

Everyone present would hear about Alpha Varga and the Hungarian pack’s cowardice.

Attendees were already starting to filter in. I recognized at least two of the Alphas who’d pledged their packs’ loyalty to Kane this week, as well as quite a few of the locals who were lesser members of Pack Caelestis.

Someone is walking up behind me. I held stone still as I let my senses identify the other person.

“Lucien,” I drawled, not bothering to turn around as soon as I caught the other male’s scent.

“Damn, how do you do that? It’s freaky. Is that something they taught you in that warrior enclave you lived in?”

I snorted. Lucien was one of the few people who knew about my time there, and I mentally added that to the list of things to talk to Leigh about whenever she was ready to talk to me again.

I may have fucked up; I had plenty of times in my life. But I learned from my mistakes. She didn’t want me to leave anything out? She wanted to know my past? She better buckle up. I was going to tell her about every skinned knee, every boring state dinner, and even the awkward story about the night I lost my virginity.

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