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She stared at him for a long moment, as still and imposing as an ancient statue of a goddess while her hair swirled in the breeze, almost seeming to glow as the sun burst through the clouds, and Robb knew that she was waiting for him to say something to stop her from going. Anything.

Robb opened his mouth… but what could he say? He couldn’t exactly order her not to go, or tell her he forbade it and she was coming with him whether she liked it or not.

Why did I have to have a mate with a shifter type that can fly? he thought, a little despairingly, before thinking that even his inner monologue was missing the point a little – if Tahnee hadn’t been a brolga who could just fly off into the sky where he couldn’t follow, would that have made a difference? Was it only the knowledge that she could physically escape him that stopped him from insisting she come with him?

The thought stopped him cold, his blood turning to ice in his veins.

That’s not the kind of man I want to be. Not the kind of mate I want to be.

And yet, his fear for her safety crowded his mind.

The thought of finding out what those shifters were up to burrowed away at the edges of his mind, an itch that he couldn’t scratch. He had to find out. Their lives – and potentially the lives of other people – depended on it.

Not now, he thought in frustration, and the urge to scream his feelings to the wind was almost overwhelming. It had been over twenty-five years since he’d last found himself in a situation where he had almost zero control, and it was even more difficult than the previous time. Because now, he knew exactly what he would be losing.

I might lose her if I let her go, and I might lose her if I force her to stay.

His need for control over the situation felt overwhelming. He wasn’t used to having to argue with people to convince them to do what he said. And he shouldn’t want to force her to do what he said, anyway.

He stared at Tahnee, unable to find the words to make this right – and his hesitation was apparently answer enough.

“Bye, Robb,” she said quietly, her hand grasping the strap of her handbag tight.

She walked past him, her eyes focused straight ahead and never deviating even the slightest bit.

Stop her! the dingo howled, driven almost to distraction with frustration and fear. You cannot let her walk away from us again. You must keep her safe. How can you just let her go?!

But Robb knew that if he tried to do anything to stop her, then things really would be over, mate bond or not. He’d always known Tahnee wasn’t someone who could be pinned down – she wasn’t someone who could be controlled.

And he loved that about her.

And right now, his only choice if he wanted to find a way to keep doing that was to let her go.

Robb turned and watched her go, not taking his eyes from her for even a moment until she had disappeared completely from sight.

Chapter 8

Home, sweet home.

Tahnee looked out over the sanctuary foyer from the top of the staircase, fully aware of the way her face was scrunching up, but unable to stop herself.

It was safe to say that her mood could currently be defined as foul. Obviously she was pissed off at Robb – he really had been ordering her around like a jerk – but mostly, she was pissed off at herself.

Because she’d known what he was like at the start of all of this, and she’d still decided to pursue it anyway, without allowing him any grace. She was pretty damn sure that his only serious relationship before now had been with his job. There was going to be a learning curve.

And, as much as she hated to admit it, this was her fault too.

I got scared.

Tahnee wanted to snort out loud at her own admission.

Scared enough to find an excuse to run away.

It was stupid, but it was true.

And some part of her had known it, even as she was in the midst of blowing up the relationship with her mate that she’d only just started.

But no, her temper had gotten the better of her, as it so often had in her life. She liked to think that she had it under control these days, but clearly being in Robb’s presence had been enough to wipe out all of her hard-fought control.