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“Because I keep you safe,” he hissed at me. “And you have an amazing ability to make that very, very fucking difficult!”
“I…” I floundered. “I’m sorry.”
He sighed as he rubbed his face. “It’s not your fault.” He glanced at me. “Not all the time.” He smiled, and the shaman chuckled.
“This has been the weirdest night,” I said to no one.
Kris sighed. “Yeah.” He sat down tiredly. “What do we do?” he asked the shaman.
Looking between them, I heard no answers to all the questions I had unanswered in my head. “You could try to tell me what the fuck is going on?”
Kris yawned but shook his head. “It’s so much, too much, and honestly, we”—he gestured to the shaman—“we don’t have it figured out either.” Kris leaned forward, resting his arms on his knees, but his head turned to look at me. “Cannon?” He was already shaking his head. “Luna, I do not need that.”
I grunted in agreement, but my head was reeling. “It’s why he’s called pack leader and not Alpha Bale.” I realized. “If Bale isn’t the alpha, does that mean you are?” I asked quietly.
“No,” Kris scoffed. “This is his pack.” The shaman harrumphed, and Kris grimaced. “Some of it is his,” Kris amended. “It’s difficult to explain. The pack is divided…it’s complicated.”
“I’m not stupid. I can keep up,” I told him. The sharpness of my tone caused my brother to turn his full attention to me.
“This is not the time or the place,” he admonished me. “Have they left?” he asked the shaman.
The shaman held still for a moment before nodding once. “They shifted and have run straight west.”
“He’ll come back,” Kris muttered. Rolling his neck, he stood. “Is it a true bond?” he asked the shaman. “Can we break it?”
“It is true. And it can be broken only if it wants to be broken,” he answered.
They both turned to me, and I looked at them with wide eyes. “What?” I asked in a panic. “It wants to be broken.” I pushed away the whisper of liar that echoed in my brain, as my mind immediately conjured up the image of Cannon crouched at my feet as he looked up at me. Did I want to be his mate? Luna, no. Not at all.
Liar.
“I didn’t know it was possible to reject the mating bond,” I said as I looked at the shaman.
“It is difficult. Both need to want it, really want it.” His whole attention was on me. “Distance will help,” the shaman spoke quietly, his expression thoughtful.
“Why are you helping Kris and not telling Bale everything?” I blurted, flinching back from my brother’s incredulous stare. “I mean, you’re Bale’s shaman. I didn’t think you would be…divided?”
“I am the pack’s shaman. I serve the good of the pack,” he answered simply. “The alpha or pack leader, it means nothing. A shaman is loyal only to the pack.”
“You could tell Bale everything,” I said, unable to shake the feeling of alarm as I got to my feet. “Kris!”
“I am loyal to a pack, and I am true to the leader,” the shaman’s voice was crisper, sterner.
Which meant he thought Kris was the leader. “Oh. Well…good.”
Kris was watching me tiredly. “Distance, you say?” he added with a smirk, earning a grin from the shaman. “And the people hunting her?”
“She handled them,” he answered easily. “Keep your head low, your nose out of trouble,” the shaman spoke only to me. “And for the love of the Goddess, keep your temper, pup.”
“I have to leave again,” I spoke, looking down at my hands. “Really?”
“You are too volatile,” Kris told me brusquely. “The work I am doing here, it needs…subtlety. Bale knows a little and suspects a lot more. It’s too close for comfort with you here and Cannon on the other mountain.”
“He will not expect you to send her away,” the shaman mused. “Protecting your sister, to him, would be to keep her close. It is a bold move.” I watched the shaman rub his chin in thought. “I can give you something to stop the heat and mask your scent.”
“I want to stay,” I protested weakly. “You are my pack.”
“I cannot risk you,” Kris answered quietly. “Too much is happening, Kezia…too much and too fast. This Landon thing is a complete shitshow,” he added grumpily. “Why is he such an idiot?” Kris looked between us both, and when no one answered, he sighed. “He’s definitely not the mate?”
