Chapter Thirty Five

I sat on the bed, looking up at Liam. His face was worried. Clearly, he wasn’t as sure as I was about this.

“Are you sure, baby?” he asked again.

“Yea, I am sure,” I said, giving him a warm smile.

“If something goes wrong, Damien and Lily are right down the hall, okay. You just need to yell,” he said.

“Nothing will go wrong. Gavin wants to meet me, Liam,” I told him. He ran his hands through his hair with a sigh.

Bending over, he gave me a quick kiss. “Okay, ready?” he asked. With a large grin, I nodded. I did not want him to worry. For some reason, I wasn’t scared at all. He stood up, his eyes glazing over for a minute. When he looked back at me, his eyes were a very deep blue, and his posture changed. Liam’s relaxed and easy-going appearance felt more aggressive suddenly.

A small chill ran up my spine as I flashed back to last night in the kitchen.

“Mate,” Gavin breathed.

“Hi, Gavin,” I said timidly. I realized that I did not know what we would talk about.

“Mate,” he said this time with more growl to his voice. I stood up in front of him, looking up as he looked down at me. He smiled.

“It’s nice to meet you under better circumstances. I am sorry I don’t have a wolf for you to connect with,” I said, feeling a little guilty. He didn’t say anything. After a moment, he reached out his hand and cupped my cheek. I felt warmth radiate from his touch. I leaned into his hand, trying to show him that I wouldn’t reject him.

“Gavin, why did you want to talk to me so badly?” I asked him finally.

“Little one, we must mate. Liam is weak. Mating will make us stronger,” he said.

“What do you mean ‘Liam is weak’? You are an Alpha; you are stronger than other wolves,” I asked him, confused.

“Alphas must mark their mates. If they do not, they lose strength and power. We cannot protect our mate if we are weak,” he said. He sounded so resolute.

“But surely, you cannot be worried over not mating for a week or so, right?”

“Three years.”

“Oh,” I said, completely understanding Gavin’s behavior. His face looked grim as he stared at me. Finally, I raised my hand to his cheek. “Gavin, are you mad at Liam for rejecting me?”

“Yes,” he simply said. I was getting the impression that Gavin was not one for many words.

“Gavin, can you please forgive him?” I asked. Shock took over his features as I said this. “Liam only did what he needed to in order to help me. He was willing to sacrifice having a mate to keep me safe. Can’t you see that?” He looked like he was listening to my words but made no move to acknowledge what I said. I continued, “Really, the one you should be mad at is me. I didn’t accept the rejection properly and caused you all this pain. If you feel like you have been growing weaker, it is really my fault, so you shouldn’t be mad at Liam.”

His eyes glazed over. He and Liam must be having some conversation in their mind. After what felt like forever, he finally brought his attention back to me.

“Okay, Little Mate. I will not blame Liam. But we must mate soon,” he said.

“Let me think about it a little longer?” I asked, hoping he would understand. He nodded his head; I gave him a big smile in return.

“Liam wants you back, goodbye Little Mate,” he said.

“Goodbye, Gavin,” I said, reaching up on my tiptoes. He bent down to meet so I could kiss him on the cheek. I stepped back, and seconds later, Liam was back, his light blue eyes shining at me.

He immediately lunged forward, grabbing me up in his arms and swinging me around in a delighted hug. When he stopped spinning, he looked at me, saying, “You are amazing, you know that?”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Azalea, you are the most thoughtful person I have ever met. Gavin didn’t even know what to say when you asked him to forgive me. He’s blamed me all this time, and I never knew why but it all makes sense.”

“When he told me that he had been waiting three years for it, I knew why he was acting that way. I knew it had to be the reason why he was trying to take control.”

“Azalea, I want you to know something: I don’t care how weak I become. I will wait for you to be ready. We do not have to mate until you are sure you want to, okay?” he said, getting very serious. I nodded my head then cuddled into his embrace.

“Thank you,” I whispered, just wanting to be close to him.

Liam

“Gavin, can you please forgive him?” her sweet voice said. Forgive me? Where was she going with this? Gavin clearly did not know either, as he had nothing to say. “Liam only did what he needed to in order to help me. He was willing to sacrifice having a mate to keep me safe. Can’t you see that?” she continued.

“She’s right, you know; I never wanted to reject our mate. I wanted to find my mate and be happy,” I told him.

“Really, the one you should be mad at is me. I didn’t accept the rejection properly and caused you all this pain. If you feel like you have been growing weaker, it is really my fault, so you shouldn’t be mad at Liam,” she told him.

This part shocked us both. For a moment, neither of us had anything to say. He finally broke the silence. “Our little mate is wise,” he said.

“Yes, yes she is. She is right, though. It was never my intention to keep you from our mate, but I had to protect her the only way possible. Even if you think we could have protected her, I wasn’t Alpha yet. My father could have cast us out,” I told him.

He huffed in agreement. “We would not be as affected if she had accepted properly,” he admitted.

“Gavin, are we that weak? I work out every day, and we shift regularly. Surely I would know….”

“We have not reached our potential. I feel it. Once we mate and mark her, we should feel the power return,” he said.

“Can you let her decide when it is the time at least?”

“If it is soon, yes.” He turned his attention back to Azalea. “Okay, Little Mate. I will not blame Liam. But we must mate soon,” he told her.

She smiled at him. I knew he would not be able to refuse her. “Let me think about it a little longer?” she asked. He nodded at her. She smiled brightly at him, her face radiant with happiness.

“Okay, give her back now, please,” I said.

“Liam wants you back, goodbye Little Mate,” he told her. She kissed him as he said goodbye, and I was able to take control again.

As soon as I had control again, I went for her. Grabbing her up, I swung her around, hugging her small frame. Only she was capable of settling him down. “You are amazing; you know that?” I told her.

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“Azalea, you are the most thoughtful person I have ever met. Gavin didn’t even know what to say when you asked him to forgive me. He’s blamed me all this time, and I never knew why but it all makes sense.”

“When he told me that he had been waiting three years for it, I knew why he was acting that way. I knew it had to be the reason why he was trying to take control.”

“Azalea, I want you to know something: I don’t care how weak I become. I will wait for you to be ready. We do not have to mate until you are sure you want to, okay?” I needed her to understand I did not care when it happened. I loved her no matter what and would wait my entire life for her.

She cuddled closer to me, and I happily held her firm. Gavin was content for the first time that I can remember, and I felt jubilant even with her impending heat. “Want to relax in bed together?” I asked her. She nodded her head against my chest. I moved us over to the bed, getting comfortable against the headboard. Azalea sat in my lap, her arms wrapped around me. I reached my hand up under her sweatshirt and rubbed small circles on her back. I was craving the contact with her but knew I couldn’t risk triggering her heat to flare up again so soon.

Before long, I felt sleep taking over. I shifted us down the bed so that we were lying down, Azalea on top of me. I closed my eyes, ready for bed, when I heard it.

“I love you, Liam.”