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“And what would your sister want?”
It’s a low blow. I know right away that I shouldn’t have said it. But it seems to do the trick, and Tilda winces as she steps backward.
She starts to cry.
I hate that I made her cry. She doesn’t seem like the type of woman who usually cries.
“I’m sorry I said that,” I murmur. “I shouldn’t have…it was selfish of me.”
I reach for her, but she brushes me off. “Don’t fucking touch me,” she says. “I get it now—why I’ve felt so safe. It’s this wolf stuff you keep talking about, lulling me into a false sense of security.”
“That’s part of it, yes,” I admit. “But you have no reason to feel unsafe here. No one will hurt you as long as you’re under my protection.”
She barks out a bitter laugh.“That doesnotmake me feel as comfortable as you seem to think it does.”
“I know what’s happened is strange, but I’m just a man, Tilda,” I say. “And before all this happened, I was a priest. I’mstilla priest. I won’t let anyone hurt you, and I’ll show them that God put you here for a reason.”
“But you aren’t just a man,” she says. “Youbitme, left amarkon me, and now you can find mewherever I go.”
I balk, unconsciously taking a step backwards. I don’t want to intrude on her space, even as I want to get up close and pull her into my embrace.
And yet…she’s right.
If I touch her, it won’t mean anything. If I tell her what to do—even if it’s on accident—it won’t mean anything.
The Alpha Prime’s power means that any connection between us is artificial.
“I should have told you,” I murmur. “Sometimes I forget I’m not human anymore.”
No matter how much my wolf rages to claim his mate, Ihave to be fallible.
Tilda crosses her arms, chewing on her lip. She’s all screamed out—we’ve been through what needs to be discussed. But we’re in an absurd situation, and I can’t just send her home now that she’s been in the den, knows our resource problems, and knows we have children here. I stupidly showed her where to hurt us most.
I have no choice but to keep her prisoner, at the same time that it’s not fair that I do that at all.
I slump to a seat on the bed, making myself as small as possible, and she relaxes just a little.
“Okay,” she says, inhaling through her nose. Her grimace is tight, her mouth in a thin line. “You saved my life. I don’t…that doesn’t mean I’m grateful.”
“Understood,” I bite out, even though my wolf roars in my chest.
“I wouldlike itif you let me go, but I have valuable information,” she says. “And I don’t want those kids to get sick because you can’t provide for them.”
I let out a hoarse chuckle, tugging on my beard and leaning back against the wall. I’m so close to breaking. The full moon hasjustended, and that scent of blackberries and leather is doing things to me…and she won’t stop provoking me.
But I need to be strong. Level-headed.
I need to show her andmyselfthat I’m not a monster.
“So you’ll help us with establishing a garden,” I say. “And in return, I’ll help you get medicine for your sister, sinceyoucan’t provide for her.”
Okay. Apparently I’m not completely above pettiness here.
Tilda narrows her eyes at me, opening her mouth to say something. I almost tell her to just go ahead and spit it out, but then I remember that it would be an order, and I can’t tell her what to do…
“Our deal still stands,” she says. “I help you with your farm, you help me with the medicine. And then…then you can decide what you’re going to do with me. I don’t care as long as Enid gets what she needs.”
She squares her shoulders, her chin lifted and her eyes staring down at where I sit on the bed. I stand up and let her see just how big I am—showing her that I’m still in control, even though I feel anything but. Her latent wolf is challenging mine, and I’m realizing now that, even though we’re helping each other, this isn’t an alliance.
