Page 118 of Our Deceptive Heat

“I am so sorry. I didn’t want to embarrass you or anything, but I just wanted you to know it’s not my intention, and the way that went down, oh, man, I didn’t mean to make you feel bad.”

I smile tightly. “It’s okay, Eben, it was my mistake.”

“I just, I’ve seen what packs can do to a person. My brother has met his omega, but she wants no part of him, and I’m trying to avoid that for as long as possible.”

I study him.

“Why?”

“He loves her. She loves him, but she was burned in the past and now can’t bring herself to trust.”

I return my gaze to the ocean. I can’t trust. That could be me.

“What?” my voice breaks, and I clear my throat and start again. “What if she’s right not to trust?”

“No, see, Shale is one of a kind. He’s devoted to her. And trust is earned. He has earned it a thousand times over. I don’t know what her deal is, but she keeps him on a string.”

“What if they broke her trust?”

“Then don’t they get a chance to fix it?” Eben asks. “You either cut them loose or listen.”

“But I did cut them off!”

Eben comes to stand beside me. “Can I give you some advice?”

I shrug. “Sure.”

“You don’t look at them like you’re done with them.”

I open my mouth to protest, but he goes on.

“He looks at you like you are everything that makes his world special. And I find it hard to imagine what he lives with. He is Tyr Fate. He must have seen everything, but it’s you that makes him light up.”

I chew my bottom lip.

“I’m just saying, maybe you aren’t ready to walk away. Maybe there is still something holding you to them, and if you’re fighting it, is your reason a good one? Because it doesn’t look like you're just hurting them, it looks like you're hurting yourself.”

“Have you practiced that?”

“A few times. You got the modified version. Wasn’t meant to be delivered to you, though, I was hoping to get through to Shale’s omega. But my brother caught me. Bastard knocked out a tooth when I tried to speak to her. He’s got a mean left hook.”

“I’m not sure I can forgive them for what they did.”

“Okay, but how long are you going to keep running? Why not just hear them out? Then you can say firmly one way or the other if it’s over.”

I turn to him and smile. It’s a tired smile, but it’s there. He gives me that same infectious grin he was wearing when I met him.

“So, forgive me?”

I snort a laugh. “There’s nothing to forgive.”

“It was really interesting to meet you. I do have to get going. Tyr is going to introduce me to the guys.”

I blink at him. “You are friends with them now?”

“Well, yeah, they are Fate’s Choice. That song, ‘So Long’, is on my playlist for life!”

I snort a laugh.

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