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.

"Yes, 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, sighing.

Bending over, he kissed me quickly. "Okay, ready?" he asked. With a large grin, I nodded. I didn't 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 suddenly more aggressive.

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 I didn't know what we would talk about.

"Mate," he said this time with more of a growl in his voice. I stood before him, looking up as he looked down at me. He smiled.

"It's nice to meet you under better circumstances. I'm 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 finally asked.

"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, 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 resolute.

"But surely you can't be worried about 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 wasn't one for many words.

"Gavin, can you please forgive him?" I asked. Shock registered on his face. "Liam only did what he needed to do 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 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've been growing weaker, it's really my fault, so you shouldn't be mad at Liam."

His eyes glazed over. He and Liam must have been having some kind of mental conversation. 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; 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 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 now."

"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 don't have to mate until you are sure you want to, okay?" he said, getting very serious. I nodded and cuddled into his embrace.

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

Liam's POV:

"Gavin, can you please forgive him?" her sweet voice said. Forgive me? Where was she going with this? Gavin clearly didn't know either, as he had nothing to say. "Liam only did what he needed to do 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've been growing weaker, it's really my fault, so you shouldn't be mad at Liam," she told him.

This shocked us both. For a moment, neither of us spoke. He finally broke the silence. "Our little mate is wise," he said.

"Yes, she is. She's 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 wouldn't 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 haven't 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's the right time, at least?"

"If it's 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 wouldn't be able to refuse her. "Let me think about it a little longer?" she asked. He nodded. 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 goodbye, and I regained control.

As soon as I had control again, I went to her. Grabbing her, I swung her around, hugging her small frame. Only she was capable of calming 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 now."

"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 don't have to mate until you are sure you want to, okay?" I needed her to understand I didn't care when it happened. I loved her no matter what and would wait my entire life for her.

She cuddled closer, and I held her tightly. Gavin was content for the first time I could 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 to the bed, getting comfortable against the headboard. Azalea sat in my lap, her arms wrapped around me. I reached my hand 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 we were lying down, Azalea on top of me. I closed my eyes, ready for bed, when I heard it.

"I love you, Liam."