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Tasha has her head thrown back in laughter, her hair swinging freely around her shoulders. Gabe chuckles alongside her, the two of them looking so friendly it hurts.
I’ve had enough. I shove out of my chair and stalk toward them, glaring at my brother before returning my full attention to my mate.
“I’ve had enough of your silent treatment, Tasha.” I stare down at her, guilt forming a cold sweat at the back of my neck as her laughter abruptly stops. She pulls her bottom lip between her front teeth and flushes. I’m not sure if she’s angry or embarrassed. Probably both.
Gabe clears his throat. “I’ll, uh, let you two talk.”
I drop into his chair the second he clears it. I recoil with surprise when Tasha stretches her hand toward me, offering me her palm. She wiggles her fingers when I don’t take her hand right away, so even though it feels like this could be a trap, I still wrap my hand around hers. She tugs at me until I take the hint and lean closer.
“Imagine how bad it would look to other shifters if word got out that the new Luna Sovereign is being spoken down to by her very own mate.”
Shit.
“You don’t have to respect me or anything I believe in, Paxton,” she continues. “But with all these people watching usvery closely, you damn well can pretend that you do. If it really comes to war, I need to have earned the respect of our people. Not to be a laughingstock.”
She smiles so widely the whole time she’s speaking that to anyone else, we probably look like two lovers enjoying a private moment. I realize for the first time how much the crowd has grown. It’s not just my siblings and hers anymore. Several members of the Anchorage Lake Pack seem to have joined our impromptu bonfire as well.
I hear Tasha’s warning loud and clear. Either I let her take control, or I feign it. Either way, she’s done putting up with my bad attitude.
“Tasha?”
“What?” she snaps, the smile still plastered to her face.
I lean in slowly, knowing she can’t risk pulling away or she’ll be the one undermining our mate bond in front of everyone. “I do respect you, sweetheart. It’s time we start compromising. I’m here to figure it out with you.”
I kiss her before she can protest. I don’t want to hear her say anything. If she needs me to prove I can lift her up like a queen, then that’s what I’ll do. If it means I’m pandering to this idea that bringing my family together will somehow fix all of us… Well, I’ll do that too. It doesn’t really matter to me anymore if it’s rational or not. If it’s what Tasha wants, I’ll give it to her.
I’ll do anything to keep her. Fighting dirty didn’t seem to work so maybe now it’s time I let her take the lead.
She was chosen to be Luna Sovereign for a reason.
“What was that?” she asks when I finally pull away so we don’t make a different kind of scene. Every time I get a taste of her, I worry I won’t be able to stop. I could take her right here and not feel an ounce of guilt, but I know she’s not ready for that.
“A truce. Arealone, Tasha. I’ll make the effort with my family while they’re here, and in return, you’ll stay by my side.”
“But—“
“The more time you spend pulling away from me and our bond, the weaker both of our wolves will grow. If things are going to get worse before they get better, we need to be in peak condition.” I hesitate, unsure how she’ll take the next part, though I know I need to spit it out. “And I think we should go back to the Sovereign House.”
She purses her lips. “I agree.”
“You do?”
“Yes, I do. Right now, the only clear threat has been toward Tess, Tevin, and I. If word gets around that there are two of us in one place, it might encourage a bigger group of rogues to make a play. Tess told me all about the attack from our old pack; I won’t draw something like that onto their land again. Besides, there’s something we still haven’t dealt with.”
“What’s that?”
She gazes meaningfully at me. “Why haven’t we heard from Alpha Waverly since you first took me?”
* * *
“Where are you going?” Dominic demands. I should have known I would have zero luck sneaking out of this pack house.
I don’t bother pretending to be happy to see him. “I need to figure out what’s going on with the Sovereign Pack. We know of one danger already, but I’m worried they’re letting us be distracted by all these rogues coming after our women so they can plan something else. I got the picture that they didn’t value my mate too highly. I want to know why the fuck not.”
“So you’re going to effectively start a war with the Sovereign Pack over a hunch?”
“Yeah.”
