Chapter 72 DANE

“Over my dead body,” I growled.

Aurora’s eyes flashed. “You’re an Alpha, Dane. I know you don’t take kindly to challenge. But hear me on this–I will challenge you when it comes to my children.”

I held on to calm with the tips of my claws. “Tonight was perfect. Why the hell would you even suggest I not see them again?”

She shifted, and I could see the discomfort in her eyes. The uncertainty.

She was so cool, calm, and collected, but she still couldn’t hide her fears from me. That was how I knew that deep down, the woman who’d been Ann Reed and the woman who was now Aurora DeVere were the same.

But then she straightened her spine and looked me in the eye. The fact that she was brave enough now to stand up for herself, and stand up to me, was the sexiest fucking thing I’d ever seen.

“Are you sure you want this?” she asked. “Because I still can’t unhear what you said all those years ago about drinking silver rather than having children with me. I can’t help but think…if you started to hate me again…”

Her voice lost its steadiness, and she stopped to take a breath.

“That won’t happen,” I said. “I know the truth about you now.”

I pushed hair from her face, but she turned and walked a few paces away, her arms still wrapped around herself. “How can you know the truth about me when I’m not even sure I do?”

I followed her, stood behind her, and put my hands on her hips. At my lightest touch, she allowed me to pull her against me. I rested my forehead on her silvery hair and breathed in.

Nothing had ever smelled as good as this woman. It still felt like sin, being close to her. Allowing myself to desire her.

“The first night we met, I knew on a deep level it was my job to protect you. I knew it after that, too, but I fought against it. My wolf…he always liked you. He hated how I treated you.”

I felt my wolf shift inside me, giving a low rumble of agreement at my words.

She leaned against me but didn’t turn. “There have been so many years of distrust between us. You…caused me so much pain.”

I closed my eyes at her words but didn’t flinch. I wanted her honesty. The fact that she was even allowing me to touch her was insane. I couldn’t believe she hadn’t made me grovel and beg on my knees, like I deserved.

Even then, it wouldn’t be enough. Nothing I did would ever be enough.

Maybe one day Aurora would forgive me, but I would never forget, and I would never forgive myself.

“This is what I want,” I repeated. “Them. And you.”

Not just that, it was what I needed. Being close to her…it healed something inside me. Something that had broken the night her pack attacked mine.

Finally, she turned and wrapped her arms around me, fitting her body against mine for one too-short moment.

Then she stepped back. “There’s so much more to think about, Dane. This isn’t just about our family–or about you and me. We have different packs now. And I’m not just some pack princess. I’m the Luna-heir.”

“I know.”

“You know, but do you understand what it means? I can’t just give that up. I’ve been scarred too many times by people I should be able to trust trying to hurt me or control me. Becoming Luna of High Alpine is my chance to take control of my life and keep it. Forever.”

She took a steadying breath. “Not just for me, but for my children. It’s the only way I can protect them and keep protecting them.”

I frowned. “You don’t trust me.”

She laughed without humor. “Of course, I don’t. How can you even ask that with a straight face?”

I stiffened, and she moved forward to put a hand on my chest. Our gazes met, and she looked sad. “Dane, you were the person I wanted to love the most. That means I gave you the most power to hurt me, and goddess, did you use it. Time and time again. It’s going to take more than a few weeks or months of working together for me to get over the past.”

Her words made sense, even as they stabbed into my heart. But she was right. The knives that cut so deep were of my own making.

“You wouldn’t consider being the Luna of Blue Ridge?” I asked.

“No.” Her voice was quiet. “The wolves of Blue Ridge still hate me. I can see it in them. And with Evelyn still here and pregnant with…” Her lips pressed together. She sighed and moved to her room. I followed, then watched as she walked to her desk and started sifting through the papers on top of it.

“What is it? About Evelyn?”

She shook her head, still focused on whatever she was searching for. “Nothing. Anyway, I won’t give up my freedom. I won’t give up control. Not again.”

A dark storm loomed on the horizon, and we both knew it.

When it was time for her to leave, would I let her take the children?

Would I let her go at all?

It was a question even I couldn’t answer.

Suddenly, her search became more urgent. She opened and closed drawers, then looked around and cursed beneath her breath.

A prickle of apprehension ran down my spine, and I stepped closer. “What’s missing?”

When she looked up, her eyes were wide. “The pages out of the journal. The ones we found in the Reed pack house. They aren’t here. Someone has been in my room.”