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“Seriously, though. If you want me to be your omega, you’ve got to understand who I am as a person. And you can’t bark at me. Ever.”
I stroked my hand along her forearm. “I’m not perfect either. I’m going to make mistakes. But I would never purposefully try to hurt you. It makes me insane to see you in pain.”
“My job means a lot to me. I’m respected here.”
“I’m not asking you to give it up.”
“You’re not asking at all, jackass.” Now she really smiled.
She was teasing me. I could breathe.
“I’ll be honest. I’m ready to bond you right now. So are Ben and Michael. It’s hard for me to ask when it’s so clear.” I smoothed her hair back from her face. “You must feel it too.”
I wasn’t capable of flowery language, and I wasn’t great at falling on my sword. I’d told her I wasn’t perfect. Being blunt was all I knew to do.
She stared into my eyes for a few heartbeats. “I feel it,” she finally whispered.
“Then the rest is just logistics.”
I knew it was more complicated than that. But at least it seemed like we had a chance to make it work. Like I was forgiven.
It was getting hard to ignore the damp creeping through my clothes as I lay in the snow. And there was something else. Something tingling at the back of my neck. We were behind a drift, and I couldn’t see the cabin, but I heard the door slam.
I took a risk and lifted my head, bringing my lips to hers. She hesitated, then kissed me back. It was simple, nothing heated. An apology being accepted.
Instead of lying back down, I maneuvered to get us both up and standing. It took a bit of doing in the slush. Then I held her hand, and we started back for the cabin.
Logistics. We just needed to talk it all out. This was going to be okay.
Hairs stood up on the back of my neck as we got to the door. The feeling that something wasn’t right followed me inside. Ben was standing alone in the living room.
“Where’s Michael?” Tracy asked.
24
MICHAEL
It didn’t take long to put the cabin so far behind me, I couldn’t see it anymore.
How could Ben stay so calm? Griff’s fear had paralyzed me. Even when it started to let up, I felt lightheaded.
Something positive had happened out there. The change in Griff’s feelings through the bond had been obvious. But I was sure things weren’t totally fixed.
Fuck. He’d called her our omega. Barked at her. He should have fucking known better. I wasn’t a violent person, and Griff was my best friend, but I wanted to pummel his face raw.
We’d been cooped up for days. I needed to walk it out. Keep myself from doing something I’d regret.
A branch fell somewhere in the trees nearby, and I slowed my pace. I didn’t get into the woods that often anymore. In fact, it was the first time I’d been near a forest since my last fire crew job. I’d been avoiding reminders.
This was very different. No dust and ash in my mouth. No wall of heat bearing down on me. No parched and dry landscape. Here, the trees were green and covered in snow. My feet sank into mud and slush. I could hear water trickling nearby.
My feet turned toward the sound. I wanted to sit by a creek and just stare for a while, let the flow of water clear my head. The walk was already helping.
I knew Griff was reacting to seeing Tracy so upset. And he was right, she did need to live with us. But his delivery was shit.
We all make mistakes. I could give him some grace. As long as he got her back.
When it came into view, the creek turned out to be more than a trickle. It was roaring.
