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“I didn’t mean to upset you,” he breathes, eyes rounded in earnestness.
“I can’t do this,” I grit out, shaking my head adamantly as I retreat a step and throw up my arms. “I don’t even know you!”
Javi advances on me, closing the distance between us in a single stride and grabbing onto my arms to hold me in place. “You know me, Lo.”
I narrow my eyes on him angrily. “Do I?”
“Yes, and I knowyou,” he replies calmly, flexing his grip around my upper arms like he’s trying to anchor me. “We’re not strangers, not anymore. I care about you.” He exhales, leaning his forehead down to rest against mine. “I’m sorry you’re upset, but I’ve never lied to you.”
I pull back, wrenching my arms out of his grip and folding them across my chest protectively. “Then why are you really here, Javi?” I demand. “Why did you come to our territory?”
“Because my pack wants somewhere to call home.”
His response is instant, spoken with so much confidence that I want to believe him.
I drop my gaze to the ground, kicking at the dirt. “I can’t do this anymore,” I rasp. “It’s too hard…”
“Then let’s tell them.”
“No!” I shout, snapping my head back up to meet his eyes. “Wecan’t…”
“Then what do you want me to do, Lo?” Javi asks, raising his voice for the first time since I stormed out here like a psychopath. “Just say it and I’ll do it!”
I shake my head, tears springing to my eyes. “I don’t know!” I whisper helplessly.
Javi pins me beneath the intensity of his stare, spreading his arms. “Come here.”
And for some reason, I do. I step forward, falling into his outstretched arms, letting them wrap around me and pull me inclose. The warmth of his body envelops me as he presses a kiss to the crown of my head, his heart beating steadily beneath my palm.
He just holds me for a long moment, and I let him. His presence and his closeness bring an immediate sense of calm, like as long as he’s here with me, everything’s going to be okay. My wolf settles. My pulse slows. And finally, I pull back to look up at him, a tear slipping from the corner of my eye.
“I swear I’m not normally this insecure,” I say with a wry laugh, swiping the tear away with my thumb.
“It’s not you, it’s your wolf,” he murmurs. “It’s the mate frenzy. I feel it, too. You’re not the only one who feels like they’re going crazy.”
“I’m not?” I sniffle, gazing into his obsidian eyes.
The corner of his mouth kicks up in a smirk. “Definitely not. My wolf started plotting Ares’ murder today when he mentioned how hot you were.”
I laugh, another tear slipping free and tracking a wet path down my cheek. Javi lifts a hand to wipe it away, cupping my face in his warm, rough palm.
This bond between us is really messing with my head. I had no idea that the fated mate bond was this strong or that waiting to seal it would have me walking an emotional tightrope. I can only hope that this is temporary insanity; that if and when wedoseal the bond, I’ll be able to get a better handle on my emotions again and feel more like myself again.
“It’s going to be okay,Preciosa. I promise,” he says, stroking the pad of his thumb across my cheek. “And I’ll figure out some way to stall Maddox until you’re ready to tell them about us.”
“Areyouready?” I ask hoarsely.
“Why wouldn’t I be?”
I bite my lip, brow furrowing. “I thought you weren’t sure about telling your pack?”
“That was before I knew you,” he grumbles.
“And now? You really wanna saddle yourself to a crazy person?”
He smiles. “I like your brand of crazy.”
My insides turn to goo as he dips his head down, brushing his lips against mine. I pout my own, and he rewards me with a kiss so sweet and tender that butterflies swarm in my belly, my body melting against his. It only lasts for a few moments, but that one brief kiss is all the reassurance I need that this is the real deal; that me and Javi aren’t just some hot and heavy fling, doomed to burn out. Not only can he handle me at my worst, but he brings me back from the brink of self-destruction like nobody else can.
