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“I’m avoiding my anger, Ez. Not you.”
Damn him.
I was going to have to do something more drastic.
Standing up, I stepped over the stuff on the floor and plopped down on his lap. He let out a long breath and met my gaze, but said nothing.
“What do shifters do when they’re angry?” I asked him, fairly confident I knew the answer.
He didn’t even have to consider it. “Fight.”
“Then fight with me.” I set my hands on his shoulders.
“I’m notfightingyou, Ezra. You’re my mate. My role is to protect you.”
“Not physically; fight with me verbally. Tell me everything I did wrong. Whether you want to admit it or not, you’re mad at me. Yell if it makes you feel better, and I’ll do my best to yell back.”
I’d never been much of a yeller, but I would try if it would fix our issues.
Ivaylo scowled. “I will notyellat you. And I have no desire to make you feel bad by bringing up my personal opinions.”
“If you don’t talk to me, I’m leaving,” I said bluntly. “I know you well enough to know you’re afraid I’ll leave if you’re honest, and that’s a shitty way to live for both of us. Tell me the truth, or I walk.”
His hands landed on my hips, hot and firm, and a growl tore from his chest. “Of course I’m afraid you’ll walk away. There are forty-nine males outside who would happily kill me to claim you. My mind runs through their names and faces continually, weighing the risk and calculating how many I could end before they end me. They are my pack—my family—and yet I cannot rest, knowing I have what all of them desire beyond words or reason. Even if they don’t kill me, there’s every chance one of them could please you more, in every damn way.”
Shit.
I hadn’t realized I had so much sway over him. He was a massive man, and I was an average-sized woman with ridiculously red hair, yet I could’ve broken him in that moment.
But I didn’t want to break him.
I wanted to… well, to be there for him.
To be his friend.
He was responsible for the entire pack. He watched out for all of them, talked them off ledges time and time again, and was probably like a brother to them on top of it.
Yet no one was there to be responsible for him, or talk him down.
Maybe I could be that person.
Despite the insane situation we had both been thrust into, he had done everything he knew to take care of me and protect me.
It was time for me to do the same, in my own way.
I lifted my hands to his face and set them on his skin. The action surprised him, and his grip on my waist tightened.
“Love is a choice to me,” I said firmly. “Always. It hasn’t been long enough for me to make that choice with you, but I’m here in our den, aren’t I? I haven’t walked around your pack land looking for another man, and I’m not trying to find a way out. I’m sorry I didn’t phrase what I was saying right, but that’s what I meant. Humans want to choose love, and it might not seem like it, but I’m on my way to choosing you.”
One of his hands lifted to press mine tighter to his cheek, his eyes full of emotion I didn’t yet know how to read. The frenzy’s magic was rolling around us, making both of our bodies react, but we fought to ignore it. “How can I make it easier for you?”
My lips curved upward. “Spend more time with me instead of trying to find a new way to fix this damn door. Teach me how to cook your weird fruits and vegetables. Teach me how to hunt animals for meat, if you want. Tell me stories about your world. Ask for stories about mine. It’s not hard to win me over, Ivaylo. I just want you to keep being my friend.”
His gaze softened with humor. “Shifters do not hurt other animals. I’ve only fed you what we can grow.”
A soft laugh escaped me. “Obviously, I didn’t know that.”
“I’ll work on it.” He turned his head to the side and pressed a kiss to my palm before setting it back on his cheek. “I’m sorry I didn’t fight with you sooner.”
