"I think we should talk." His deep rich voice sent a shiver down my spine, causing my insides to flutter and my eyelids close on their own accord.

I inhaled sharply, taking in his scent which intoxicated me to no end. It was impossible not to be drawn to him. The power of the mate pull is relentless.

Turning away from him, I gave him my back as I let my feet dip into the water once more. He made a move to sit down beside me and my pulse became erratic.

I couldn't look at him during this; The conversation that I knew would break my heart. Again.

"How did you find me" It was barely whispered.

"Nova." He sighed, running his hands through his hair. "I can find a trail of your scent everywhere you go. It's maddening, almost explosive to my senses when I come across your scent trail. With my being older, it's harder to stop my wolf from scenting you out. It's difficult to control anything when you are involved."

He must have already healed from his fight with Deacon because I saw no marring of his perfect flesh as I studied him out of the corner of my eye.

I couldn't find it in me to fully look at him. I could barely sit beside him without wanting to push my face into his neck. My wolf was stirring just beneath the surface and I had to dig my hands into the earth to keep them from reaching for him.

"Please look at me." His voice broke, pain evident.

Turning my head to face him, his wide blue eyes were glassy with unshed tears. He felt a different pain than I did. He wasn't shattered, but he was hurting. I wasn't sure if it was over me or the fact that his pack looked down at him now. He had a lot to feel ashamed over.

Inhaling my scent, he let out a sigh and continued, eyes scanning my face.

"I want you to know what happened. You need to know."

I shook my head. I didn't want to know what happened between them.

"I don't want to know. It's none of my business." I sounded as detatched as I felt.

Those blue skies narrowed on me, jaw clenching. "It is your business. You are my mate and I don't want to give you up for my mistake. But I need to tell you." His words were honest and this surprised me.

He didn't want to give me up? A little too late for that. I shook my head and fixed my gaze back on the stream before me.

He must have took that as a sign to go ahead and tell me.

"Nova, I spent my summer at Blue Moon, as you know. The males there... They are always fighting, challenging. The females are friendly. It's not like it is here. They do not value the mate bond that they could have with their mate somewhere out there."

"Neither do you," I whispered.

He hung his head in shame. "I do. I always have, Nova. My only friends there, they were female. The males looked at me as a threat, so I befriended a few females. Grace was just a friend to me, someone to talk to. We didn't have much to talk about one on one. I was usually with her group of friends, I was never with a female on my own but once. Two weeks before I was due home, Grace's heat came."

This is what I didn't want to hear. But he needed me to know. It would only break my heart further, but he wanted me to know.

He lowered his gaze to where my hand dug into the earth and I felt a shiver run through my fingertips. He continued with his story, looking away from my face so he couldn't see my pain.

"It came to her before she realized it. We were sitting up late. All the pack had gone to sleep, and it hit her. I should have smelled it coming. I should have been able to sense it, but I couldn't!! I don't know why!"

He slammed his fists down on the ground, pain in his tone. He really didn't know why, that, I could tell.

Every female knows when their heat is coming, along with every male. It's a sweet, musky scent you can smell off that wolf. Grace, herself, should have felt it coming, which didn't make sense. She would have sensed it coming weeks before it came.

"After everything was said and done, we realized what a mistake we had made. A male can't resist that, Nova."

This was true too. Males can't resist a female in heat. A male having a mate will try to get to their she-wolf. Unmated males will try to get to any she-wolf, mated or not, which is why the females are supposed to be separated, away from temptation. Usually the parents or mate step in for this.

I hated hearing this. My stomach clenched and A tear fell from my eye as I took all of this in, keeping my eyes on the grass between us. I could feel his penetrating stare on my skin again, warming my insides with the burn from his gaze.

"But, Nova,... I won't mark her."

My eyes shifted up to his, looking for any evidence of a lie. There was none. He meant it, or he meant what he said at the moment.

He wouldn't mark her.

"You won't?" So much hope on that one question. But it was too late for hope.

Slowly he shook his head. The vibrations coming from his skin was playing tricks with my mind, thinking I could claim him. But I wouldn't, not when there was another female involved.

"My parents put her up at the cabin with the Oracle. I'm staying at an unused cabin across the lake. I didn't want her staying with me and my dad thought it was best if I wasn't near you during this time, just in case of your wolf, so I'm staying across the lake. It's easier on me without your scent always floating past me in the air.

My lips parted in surprise. I was sure that she was staying with him. The way they seemed at the barbecue together, It was as if they were trying to be what we should be, A family.

But then it hit me.

"You're staying away so your wolf won't be tempted to mark me and visa versa?" My brow rose, slight anger in me, mixed with a relief.

He did me a favor at the same time he broke my heart. My wolf was aggravated over the news, but I was happy. I didn't want tk be near him.

He nodded while his head was still down and I kept quiet, waiting for more.

"Grace is the daughter of the Blue Moon's pack Alpha, Alpha Conrad. When he found out I didn't have a mate yet, he wanted me to take her home and mark her as my mate, uniting our packs, giving me title over his pack one day as well as this one."