Page 75 of Gunnar

“He’s right,” she says, shaking her head.

“No.” The word comes out sharper than I intend. I hold her hands more tightly. “Not at all. It’s safe for you to be here. This place is protected. We’ll know if anything is coming.

She studies me for a long moment.

“That’s not all, is it?”

I don’t answer.

“I saw his face when he came into the clearing,” she says. Her voice drops. “He doesn’t…”

She trails off, but I know exactly what she’s trying to say:

He doesn’t want you kissing me.

Her gaze drops to the ground, color rising in her cheeks.

Silence stretches between us.

“He’s not used to you,” I say at last. “You’re human. That’s all.”

It isn’t all. We both know it.

“And it’s none of his business what I do with you.”

I step closer.

She doesn’t move at first.

Then she pulls her hands free.

“I can’t,” she says.

The words land hard.

“I liked kissing you,” she goes on, quieter now. “I really did.” She swallows. “But this is… a lot. Everything is a lot.”

I don’t interrupt.

“I don’t even know what’s happening to me,” she says. “Or what’s going to happen next. I can’t…” She shakes her head. “I can’t add more to it.”

My beast surges, clawing up hard enough to make my vision blur.

Mate. Mate. Mate.

The fight with Orson was bloody. The worst fight we’ve ever had, times ten. Because my beast wasn’t just fighting for me; it was fighting for Alexandria. And now it’s desperate.

I force it down.

“I’m not asking you to,” I say.

The words come out rough.

Her eyes lift to mine.

Something flickers there. Relief. Something else beneath it.

“Okay,” she says softly.