“I bet Sage is another reason why you’re so growly,” Trace whispered.
I shook my head. “I can’t. She doesn’t even know who she is. How am I supposed to explain to her what the hell’s going on inside me?”
“She’s hurting, Rome. You know she lost her husband, right?”
I swallowed hard, giving him a tight nod. “I do. It’s been, what? A couple of years now?”
“Yes, from what I heard from Rowen and Laurel.”
“Do you know what happened?” I asked.
“No. And even if I did, I don’t know if I’d tell you. If you want her to be your mate, you’ll have to be the one who finds out more about her. From her. Though it’s not like you’ve had a full conversation with her. This fated mate business is for the birds,” Trace said, and another shriek came from above us.
I looked up at Jaxton as he flew down and landed. He shifted into his human form and dug another pair of sweats out of Trace’s bag.
“A bird joke?”
Trace blushed. “I didn’t know you were there. And it’s a saying.”
“Should I ask you if you shit in the woods? Would that be helpful?” Jaxton asked, his eyes filled with laughter.
I shook my head. “You waved goodbye.”
“I saw another bear lumbering over here, so I thought I’d visit and see how things were going.”
I turned as Alden walked through the trees. He lumbered, all right, though in human form. His bear was in his eyes, and he chuffed, the hump on the back of his neck rising.
I cursed under my breath.
“Alden.”
“You’re mated to that little witch?” Alden asked, his voice low.
“Stop,” I said, this close to adding power to my words. I could get my brother to stop. I could get him to bow to me and do what I ordered and commanded. Only I wouldn’t do that. Not then, and only in dire emergencies. I was alpha, which meant I had to protect all of my people—even my asshole brother, who got under my skin like nobody else.
“You can’t marry that witch,” he spat as if witch were a dirty word. And to some of the old-fashioned bears, it was. A long-ago war had been waged between the witches and the shifters, the witches dying at the hands of those stronger than them far too quickly, and the shifters being forced to endure unimaginable pain by witches who needed to protect themselves. Wrongs and atrocities were committed on both sides, and yet, everyone had eventually come together through mated pairs and a treaty and truce that protected them all.
Still, some of the elders didn’t understand that. They only remembered the pain, and Alden only believed what he didn’t understand.
He didn’t have immense power or magic, and he hated what he didn’t have.
“Yes, she’s my mate. The one I can truly bond with and have forever. I haven’t told her yet.” My bear growled at me in annoyance. “And if you go there and tell her, there will be consequences,” I snarled, my bear in my throat. My anchor wrapped itself around my chest, the head of the bear near my throat. It seemed to want to growl at Alden and push me into doing something we would all regret.
My bear didn’t like Alden very much, and right then, I wasn’t sure I did either.
“You know the pack won’t have this. You already think you’re good enough to be alpha when others wonder, and then what do you do? You plan to mate with a witch?”
I didn’t know this man in front of me. Not anymore. Damn, I needed to breathe. If I didn’t calm down, between my anger and the mating urge, I’d likely strangle my brother here and now. “Don’t continue if you know what’s good for you. You know it’s forbidden to mess with mates.”
“When mating bonds are real. You don’t have one. And not with a witch. And a witch with no power? An abomination.”
I growled and moved forward, but both Jaxton and Trace put their bodies between us.
“Don’t,” Jaxton whispered.
“Not now,” Trace added.
“You’re going to regret this,” Alden said. “Having a witch for a mate? You can’t. Not as alpha. Not if you want to stay alpha.”
I tilted my head, my bear in my gaze as I studied him. Alden lowered his head a fraction, unable to meet my eyes. Good. “Don’t threaten her or me. You and I may have problems we need to deal with, but that needs to come second to everything else.”
“Always second. Or is that third? Always focused on everyone else instead of who you’re supposed to care about: your people.”
I shook my head, my bear still in my gaze. “That’s all I’m doing, Alden, protecting my people. I need to keep our pack strong, and you know we can’t control who our bears want as mates. Who we connect to. Despite all of that, Sage is here for a reason. You saw the darkness. You know it’s here.”
Alden snorted. “Isn’t she the one who brought it? We were fine until she showed up.”
I shook my head. “You know that’s not true. You know it has been brewing for a long time.”
“Because of witches. The bears have been fine. It’s the damn witches who keep doing things. And now you want to mate with one? No. The pack won’t stand for it.”
I pushed through Jaxton and Trace and threw myself in Alden’s face. Alden lowered his gaze, and I growled, low and so deep the rest of the forest quieted as if there were a real predator in their midst.
“Leave before you say something you’ll regret.”
“We’ll see,” he muttered, but quietly enough that I knew he was blowing off some steam, trying to get the last word. So, I let him. For now. My bear was strong enough to allow it. Alden stomped off, growling under his breath, and I shook my head.
“You need to deal with that,” Jaxton said.
“You’re not a bear; don’t get in the middle of our politics,” Trace growled, but there was no heat in it. We were all friends here.
“I might not be a bear, but I am wing leader of the hawks, and I don’t want my friends hurt. Go see Sage,” he said after a moment, and I frowned.
“What?” I said.
“Your bear is on edge, and you need to decide what you’re going to do about it. And, honestly? She needs to know who you are and what decisions you might be making for the both of you.”
“I can’t have a mating bond without her,” I said. “There will be no decision-making without her.”
“True, but can you reject the mating bond? Can you ignore the urge that’s riding you right now?”
“Wouldn’t it be better that way?” I asked, and my bear let out a painful growl inside me. I’d yet to voice that aloud, and I wasn’t sure why I did now. I didn’t want to walk away from her, but I also didn’t want to scare her. Protecting her and needing her didn’t seem to go hand in hand. I sighed. I had no idea what I was doing.
“You don’t know what it means to walk away from a mate,” Jaxton whispered. “The pain and agony you’ll feel every day you even try to take a breath. They say there’s a choice, and there can be in the direst of circumstances, but it changes everything. Sage is new to all of this, and you need to make sure she understands what else is out there. Because the pack is watching, and so is the rest of the town. The witches began this place. They’re at the center of it all. We all watch them as we do you. You need to help Sage. Be there. There’s a reason you’re fated. And if you fight that, blood will be drawn. We all know that.”