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In spite of my reminder, my dick hardened even more at that word. To take out my frustration, I shoved Heath off the throne. He laughed as he recovered, landing on both feet.
“Seriously, though, how is she?” I asked.
“Now we’re getting somewhere.” Heath crossed his arms, all traces of playfulness gone.
I sighed. “I just wish she could accept my bite as a gift. I didn’t mean—”
“As a gift?” I’d never heard Heath’s voice go that high in incredulity before. “You’ll be lucky to win Freya’s forgiveness. Here’s a tip: Don’t go talk to her until you get your head out of your ass.”
My first instinct was to lash out in anger, but my wolf whimpered. That cued me in, making me take a closer look at the situation. If I’d managed to piss off Heath, too, then yeah…
“I fucked up,” I said out loud.
“Yup,” Heath said.
I descended the throne, ready to leave this claustrophobic place. I needed to get outside. I needed to shed my clothes and run. I needed my wolf to take charge for a while, to make things less complicated.
“What does your wolf think?” Heath asked.
“He wants to run,” I answered instantly, then listened a little closer. “He… wasn’t upset when you two were with her. In fact, he was totally calm. He wasn’t worried about dealing with a raging boner.”
Heath laughed, and the sound soothed my jagged edges and gave me hope that everything might work out.
“But he was concerned when Freya felt disappointed afterward.”
“She doesn’t understand why her mark didn’t appear on either of us.”
“Did you bite her to see if that would work?”
“Gage,” Heath groaned in frustration. “You really think she wantsanotherbite right now? And what if it doesn’t work? She’ll be crushed.”
“Right…” I faced him with renewed resolve. “Sleep deprivation isn’t helping. I need to catch up on sleep tonight. Will you take care of things?”
“You know I will.”
“Thank you,” I said sincerely. “I probably don’t say that enough, but… I couldn’t do any of this without you.”
Heath sat on the throne and winked. “Damn right. Now go run, then get some sleep. You can figure things out tomorrow when you have a clear head. I’ll keep your chair warm until then.”
“Don’t get too comfortable in that throne,” I said, but left to do just that.
As I ran alone through the woods, I sensed Frost Fang wolves giving me space. They knew not to call upon their pack alpha outside of the throne room — that had been hammered home by Nira, Garth, and my father.
I still had a lot to do if I had any hopes of remaking Frost Fang to be more like the Howling Echo. This pack had lost faith in the hierarchy after so many selfish pack alphas, and as a result they didn’t trust me or each other. They needed time to heal, to see that things could be different, and better.
The situation with Freya felt similar. Both cases would take time. I hadn’t even realized how lucky I was to earn Freya’s trust… until my stupid mistake broke that fragile trust. Some part of me really had been treating her like we still had the deal, and I could do whatever I wanted to her.
That wasn’t how I wanted my mate to feel. Seeing how horribly my father had treated his wives while I was growing up, I’d always wanted my mate to be my equal. But then Nira and Garth had twisted me up, and I’d sworn off mating at all. Then Flint had brought Freya to our pack. And now, I’d messed up everything by biting Freya and making a one-sided mate bond.
I hoped her wolf would appear soon so she could bite me back… if she didn’t reject me under the full moon first.
My paws instinctively took me back to the den. With my snout in the air, I circled the building, finding nothing out of place. My mate was safe, and that pleased my wolf, though he longed to see and sniff her for himself.
I wanted to see her, to talk to her, to explain. But not while I was this sleep-deprived. After what I’d blurted to Heath about them biting her, I knew I was liable to put my paw in my mouth if I talked to Freya right now. With the way things had gone so far, it would only guarantee that things got worse, not better. No, I needed to sleep first, think things through, and talk to her with a clear mind in the morning.
So instead, I went back to the old alpha estate. I’d cleared out my father’s mates, exiling most of them for conspiring against Garth and me. Now the massive house sat abandoned and empty.
It felt strange to go inside. Things had changed… a few rooms were decorated almost the same. In one wing, I could see my brother’s touch. And in other areas, Nira had taken over completely. My wolf and I both bristled anytime we caught her scent, faint as it was. She apparently hadn’t lived here for quite some time, for which I felt grateful.
