Clear Lake

Chapter Twenty-Two

We make it out of the pack house, without running into anyone. Everyone must still be preparing for the rest of the packs' arrival tomorrow.

Since he's with me, no guards accompany us, though I saw him mind linking, before we left.

I strip down at the edge of the forest, not looking at him, and hoping he's doing the same. I shift into my wolf, and he's beside me again. I give my wolf a little more freedom, and she immediately takes advantage. We walk up to his wolf, rubbing our head under his.

"Ready?" I ask.

I don't wait for his response, before taking off. My run is a little more casual and playful. I make my way back to my favorite path again. I share that with him.

"This is my favorite trail. I was running this, when I caught your scent on the wind."

We jump and dodge and my wolf is happy for the activity, especially that we're sharing this with our mate. We arrive at the waterfall, and I stop to drink. He comes beside me and does the same. I sit on my haunches and watch him.

He hasn't said anything on our run, so I do something I haven't done yet, and delve into his mind, knowing that he'll sense me there.

He isn't thinking in words at the moment, but I do get emotions. He feels happy to be here with me, and relaxed because he knows I'm here, safe. There's also an undercurrent of desire and possession. I leave his mind and come back to the here and now.

I feel like I'm standing on a precipice. I think about what will happen if I jump and what will happen if I don't.

If I do this, I will be the Luna of a pack. Not just a pack, but a feared pack. A large pack, from all accounts. I'll be mated to someone who definitely has a fearsome reputation.

If I choose to deny him, he will leave here eventually without me. The separation and incomplete bond will drive his wolf to madness. I think about how he didn't even have the chance to consider the option of choosing me or not. About how he marked me, when I could have easily died right after, making his life shorter than it would be if I denied him now.

When a male wolf - especially an Alpha - loses his mate that he's bonded to, his wolf experiences incredible pain. They become damaged beyond repair. His fate lies in my hands now, and for some reason, I'm angry.

"Why did you mark me?" It comes our harsher than I mean it to.

"Because you're mine." He says simply.

"No, I'm not. I'm not yours. You're mine, though." I say angrily. "You gave yourself up to me with that mark. You put your life in my hands, before you knew a single thing about me. Why would you do that? You don't even know me." I flounder.

I try to explain my earlier thought process. "If I'd died from my injuries, then you would have followed me. You would have been better off not finding me at all."

He's still remarkably calm, and I'm desperate to know what he's feeling, but I'm not brave enough to probe again.

"The mark is just physical. We are bound through power and nature. Destined." His words tells me he believes everything he says, with complete conviction. "If you'd died," he pauses, "a life without my mate - without you - isn't worth living. I would have happily followed you."

Goddess.

I shift back to human, and he does the same. I stare into his eyes, a million different emotions overflowing me - so much that I don't think my body can take it.

I take a step closer to him, our eyes locked together. I don't know how long we stand there, naked, my eyes searching his.

He doesn't know me, but he trusts the moon goddess. The fact that so many of his answers have matched things that Iris has said, gives me comfort.