are you going to teach me?”
“I’m not,” he said softly and took a step away from me.
“What do you mean, you’re not going to help me? I thought my life was in danger.”
“It is,” he said, then took another step away from me, his gaze fixed on the dark tree line. “You know just as well as I do that he’s not going to let another male near you when you’re vulnerable.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” I scoffed. I wanted to say more, but a large shape loomed in the shadows, and my nostrils filled with the scent of bear. Ramsey. His eyes glinted in the darkness, and he hovered at the edge of the tree line, waiting.
The uncomfortable shivers started along my back again. If Ramsey wanted to hurt me in his bear-form, I’d be helpless. He was so big . . . but when Connor shifted another few feet away, I noticed that the enormous bear’s gaze wasn’t on me.
It was on Connor.
“So how am I supposed to learn how to shift if he won’t let you near me?” I asked.
Connor gave me a lazy smile. “Don’t know. You should probably ask your mate.”
This was just getting silly. “I’ll talk with him,” I said. “This agreement between the wolf pack and our Alliance needs to work. Ramsey knows that. I can reason with him—”
“You can’t,” Connor said. “The mating instinct is strong and possessive. When it finds the woman it wants, it grabs ahold and won’t let go. You don’t think straight when she’s around. When her scent’s in your nostrils, she’s all you can think about.” A bleak look swept over his face. “And when she won’t speak to you, the light in your world goes out.”
I had a feeling we weren’t talking about me anymore.
Connor noticed my silence and cleared his throat. “He’s not going to want you anywhere near another shifter, especially one you’re frightened of. It’s the mating instinct.”
Yeah, but we weren’t really mated, so that wasn’t it. “I’m sure I can reason with Ramsey.”
“And I’m sure you can’t. Trust me on this.” Connor glanced at my neck, then headed across the overgrown yard toward the guest cabin. “See you in the morning. Don’t forget we have the barbeque tomorrow. I imagine that’s what they came by to remind you about.”
Like I could forget. “How long will it take for them to forget about me?”
He studied me for a minute, and his gaze softened into something that was either sympathy or pity. Then he glanced away, as if thinking. “It might take a while.”
He was lying. I watched him, and he wouldn’t look back at me. “ Are they going to forget about me?” I asked in a smaller voice. “Ever?”
Connor just gave me a look of pain. “If I could get them to back off, I would. It’s affecting my life, too.”
“Because of Savannah?”
A flash of intense pain crossed his face, quickly masked. “They won’t let me be with her. I need her, but I can’t have her . . . not that she’d have me. I wasn’t strong enough when she needed me.” His hands clenched into fists and he stared into the woods, eyes intense. “I need to stop thinking abouther, because as long as Uncle Levi is the alpha, it’s his way. What I want doesn’t matter. What you want doesn’t matter. It’s what Levi wants. And what he wants is for wolves to belong in a wolf pack. Not mating with cats or bears.”
“If that’s how your uncle Levi thinks, I’m surprised he agreed to this pact.”
Connor’s smile pulled up in a wry twist. “He’s giving you a bit of rope.”
“Just enough to hang myself with?”
He nodded. “No more, no less. If I know Uncle Levi, he’s expecting this experiment to be a failure and you’ll come running back to the pack soon enough. Which is why you need to tell Ramsey to hold you close and not let anyone get in the way of your love.”
Before I could stammer out something appropriate, he turned and walked back to the guesthouse.
I watched him go, then turned to regard Ramsey’s massive
“I’m not,” he said softly and took a step away from me.
“What do you mean, you’re not going to help me? I thought my life was in danger.”
“It is,” he said, then took another step away from me, his gaze fixed on the dark tree line. “You know just as well as I do that he’s not going to let another male near you when you’re vulnerable.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” I scoffed. I wanted to say more, but a large shape loomed in the shadows, and my nostrils filled with the scent of bear. Ramsey. His eyes glinted in the darkness, and he hovered at the edge of the tree line, waiting.
The uncomfortable shivers started along my back again. If Ramsey wanted to hurt me in his bear-form, I’d be helpless. He was so big . . . but when Connor shifted another few feet away, I noticed that the enormous bear’s gaze wasn’t on me.
It was on Connor.
“So how am I supposed to learn how to shift if he won’t let you near me?” I asked.
Connor gave me a lazy smile. “Don’t know. You should probably ask your mate.”
This was just getting silly. “I’ll talk with him,” I said. “This agreement between the wolf pack and our Alliance needs to work. Ramsey knows that. I can reason with him—”
“You can’t,” Connor said. “The mating instinct is strong and possessive. When it finds the woman it wants, it grabs ahold and won’t let go. You don’t think straight when she’s around. When her scent’s in your nostrils, she’s all you can think about.” A bleak look swept over his face. “And when she won’t speak to you, the light in your world goes out.”
I had a feeling we weren’t talking about me anymore.
Connor noticed my silence and cleared his throat. “He’s not going to want you anywhere near another shifter, especially one you’re frightened of. It’s the mating instinct.”
Yeah, but we weren’t really mated, so that wasn’t it. “I’m sure I can reason with Ramsey.”
“And I’m sure you can’t. Trust me on this.” Connor glanced at my neck, then headed across the overgrown yard toward the guest cabin. “See you in the morning. Don’t forget we have the barbeque tomorrow. I imagine that’s what they came by to remind you about.”
Like I could forget. “How long will it take for them to forget about me?”
He studied me for a minute, and his gaze softened into something that was either sympathy or pity. Then he glanced away, as if thinking. “It might take a while.”
He was lying. I watched him, and he wouldn’t look back at me. “ Are they going to forget about me?” I asked in a smaller voice. “Ever?”
Connor just gave me a look of pain. “If I could get them to back off, I would. It’s affecting my life, too.”
“Because of Savannah?”
A flash of intense pain crossed his face, quickly masked. “They won’t let me be with her. I need her, but I can’t have her . . . not that she’d have me. I wasn’t strong enough when she needed me.” His hands clenched into fists and he stared into the woods, eyes intense. “I need to stop thinking abouther, because as long as Uncle Levi is the alpha, it’s his way. What I want doesn’t matter. What you want doesn’t matter. It’s what Levi wants. And what he wants is for wolves to belong in a wolf pack. Not mating with cats or bears.”
“If that’s how your uncle Levi thinks, I’m surprised he agreed to this pact.”
Connor’s smile pulled up in a wry twist. “He’s giving you a bit of rope.”
“Just enough to hang myself with?”
He nodded. “No more, no less. If I know Uncle Levi, he’s expecting this experiment to be a failure and you’ll come running back to the pack soon enough. Which is why you need to tell Ramsey to hold you close and not let anyone get in the way of your love.”
Before I could stammer out something appropriate, he turned and walked back to the guesthouse.
I watched him go, then turned to regard Ramsey’s massive
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