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“I know she made mistakes, but it’s ok to mourn her too,” I stroked my fingers lightly across his cheek. “It’s ok to miss what you’ve lost.”
He swallowed hard, our bond allowing me to see all of the emotion that he was fighting to suppress.
“You too, Princess,” he breathed, pressing a light kiss to my lips before tugging me to lay down with him in the flickering shadows.
His arms wound back around me as he tucked me against his body, shielding me from the world even as his words made me face emotions I had thought were well buried.
“We can both grieve for what our mothers could have been, even if we hate the people they became.”
I sighed, the ache in my chest intensifying again as I accepted his point.
“I’ll hold you together if you hold me?” I whispered as I felt sleep pulling at me, the comfort and safety of his arms impossible to resist.
“Deal,” he agreed, our bond thrumming between us as we fell asleep tangled together, giving each other the strength to accept the pain of betrayal and loss and know that we could face it together.
The glowing embers of the fire were the only thing piercing the darkness when I next opened my eyes, the warm weight of Liam’s arms around me as his slow, deep breaths told me he was still sleeping.
A confused frown creased my forehead, unsure of why I had woken when the forest seemed peaceful around me, but I didn’t sense danger creeping close and the pack remained silent around us. Focusing on the dying glow before me, I began to relax again before a small movement across from me made me stiffen. Amber eyes reflected back to me in the dim light, a dark wolf muzzle coming into view above midnight black paws as a shifter stepped deliberately close enough to let me see them.
“Hey,” I whispered softly, not wanting to wake the others.
He didn’t move or acknowledge my words, holding my gaze as I stared back at him, my pulse picking up as I struggled to find the right thing to say. I knew he’d been avoiding me, that it was likely his wolf instinct that had driven him to find me tonight, and I guessed that he would easily leave again if I said the wrong thing right now.
“Zeke,” I breathed. “Can we talk?”
He made a low chuffing sound before taking two small steps backwards.
“Don’t,” I murmured, a little louder now. “Please don’t run from me.”
I saw his indecision as he hesitated, one paw raised as if he was frozen in an internal battle over my words. I couldn’t read any emotion in the wolf’s eyes, and without a mate bond I had no proof of what he was feeling, but as he broke eye-contact with me I knew he wasn’t going to stay.
“Zeke!” I called, abandoning my attempt to be quiet as I sat up and watched him turn away.
It was pointless though, and as Liam and Noah startled awake around me Zeke sank back into the darkness as quickly as he had appeared.
“What’s happening?” Noah asked groggily, his eyes searching the forest in a way that proved he could see a lot clearer than me in the blackness.
Liam had obviously spotted his brother though, his gaze fixed on a point as if he was watching him pad away from the fire.
“Why was he here? Did he wake you?”
I nodded as I brushed a stray lock of hair behind my ear. “I asked him to stay and talk but…”
Liam rubbed a soothing circle on my back, his emotions as conflicted as mine. “It can wait.”
I nodded again, though my attempt at a smile fell flat. “I was the one who wanted to wait. I should have mated with all three of you at the start, then he wouldn’t have been affected by the magic either.”
Noah scowled at me, pulling me under his arm and giving me a squeeze. “Don’t start throwing blame around, Cor. It’s not your fault at all.”
My mouth twisted as I tried to see through the inky blackness to where Zeke had disappeared. “It’s not his either.”
The guys were silent at that, the anger they had been holding onto still simmering and mixing with a heavy dose of guilt as they struggled to accept everything that had happened.
With a deep sigh, I lay back down on the soft grass, letting them wrap me up between them as I stared up at the distant starlight. Their breathing soon evened out as they relaxed back into sleep, but my mind and gut churned with guilt and anxiety until the sky gradually began to lighten and dawn broke over the forest.
I might be laying in the safety of Liam and Noah’s arms, but I didn’t feel complete knowing that Zeke was out there hurting and avoiding me out of needless guilt. I needed him too, his protective nature and reasoned strength. I needed the way he balanced Liam’s intensity and Noah’s pure sunshine. He was vital to me, just as the others were, and I knew in my heart that I would never be truly happy until I made him irreversibly mine.
I just had to make him talk to me first.
