Page 31 of Shifting Fate
Arias
My wolf was pissed.
He wanted his mate, and he didn’t care about my stupid human emotions surrounding the matter. In his mind, Dallon was already his, so there shouldn’t have been anything keeping us apart.
Except there was, and it was my fault. Now I had to figure out how to fix it.
Spending time with my brother had helped smooth the sharp edges of my inner-beast’s anger, but I could still feel him lurking. I could still hear him growling out his frustration while he paced the walls of my mind, looking for a way out.
Was Espen right? Had I somehow triggered it this time by keeping myself disconnected from Dallon these past few months? The tension between ushadamped up recently, because the more I got to know the guy behind the saucy smiles and sexy makeup, the deeper I fell for him. He’d somehow become more than a friend, and that scared me.
I wasn’t mate material. No matter how calm I appeared on the outside, there was always that sense that I was slipping off the edge. How could I give myself to someone—to Dallon—if I didn’t even trust myself? If I let go of this control I was clinging so desperately to, would it make things better? Or would it make them ten times worse?
Guess there was only one way to find out. I only hoped I wouldn’t regret it.
After a hot shower to work the kinks out of my back from tossing and turning all night long, I dressed in my nicest pair of jeans and a button-up dress shirt. I rolled the sleeves up to my elbows, all the while staring at my reflection in the foggy mirror.
My wolf stared back, his blue eyes intense. He knew.
“Please don’t fight me,” I whispered. “I’m trying.”
He growled, but it petered off into a whine. It made me wonder just how right Espen had been. Iwaslonely, but I’d learned to deal with it…or so I thought.
But my beast? All he knew were instincts, and instinct was screaming at him to claim his mate, to mark him and keep him close, so we could protect him.
Dragging in a deep breath, I stuffed my feet in my boots and headed for the front door. Tristram was nowhere to be seen. Probably for the best. I’d already gotten a long lecture about how reckless I was being, how I was putting my pack in danger. I knew he was my Alpha, but he was also my friend, and the truth stung.
I needed to fix things. I just wasn’t sure how.
I decided to walk to Amber Run. The weather was nice for early November, a little brisk, but blue-skied and sunny. The wind kicked up the fallen leaves, making them swirl around my feet. They crunched beneath my shoes as I strode towards the pack-house.
If I could simply talk to him, tell him the truth, then maybe…
I slowly climbed the steps of the front porch, my heart hammering harder and faster. I swallowed my nerves and rang the bell. Since we arrived in Northpoint, Michigan, Amber Run and Foxgrove had become friends as well as allies, and it wasn’t uncommon for me and Tristram to have breakfast with the pack.
Except now I felt like an intruder, on unsteady territory.
That feeling struck home when the door was yanked open and a very angry Tashi glared out at me. Her jet-black hair was twisted up in a messy bun, but tendrils fell around her face, and her cheeks were bright red. Fury glittered in her almond-shaped eyes. I knew, then and there, what I’d done had hurt Dallon deeply if his sister was ready to come at me with claws.
“What do you want?” she hissed, blocking my entrance to the house with her body.
“I need to talk to Dallon,” I replied as calmly as I could. “Please, it’s—”
“Fuck off. He doesn’t want to talk to you, asshole.”
Like I didn’t already know that? “Damn it, Tashi. I should be allowed to say my peace before he writes me off for good.”
Tashi laughed, harsh and barking. “Your peace? You alreadysaidyour peace when you told my brother he was a mistake you didn’t plan on repeating.” I flinched at the words. “That’s right. I know what you did to him. He trusted you and you messed with his head. In more ways than one.”
“You don’t understand, I—”
“I don’t want to hear it. You fucked up, pal.” She glanced back over her shoulder, then leaned a little farther out the door, bringing her voice to a hush. “You made him feel like he’s not enough for you, so do us all a favor and get lost. If he wasn’t enough then, he’s not enough now.”
“Tashi.” The door was pulled open the rest of the way. Dallon stood behind his sister, placing a hand on her shoulder. His slim fingers curled, giving a squeeze. “Go back inside.”
“Dal—”
“He can say what he needs to say,” he said firmly, then shoved past her. He stepped outside and I took two steps back, gulping when his aroma wafted out to greet me. My inner-wolf stirred with another whine, more frustrated than the last, and I knew this wouldn’t go well.
