Page 67

And even more, that it might not be whatshewanted at all.

I’d tried so hard to keep our conversations playful and fun. To make her smile, to make her laugh. To make her happy. And I thought I had succeeded.

But she didn’t just want happiness—she wanted our relationship to have depth. She wanted to understand my past, and to help me understand hers.

I hadn’t realized that, and in my obliviousness, I may have well and truly fucked myself over.

Shoving that idea away, I finally peeled myself off the dirt.

I was the king, for fuck’s sake; I couldn’t just throw in the towel because I’d screwed things up so damned epically with my female.

I ignored the blood drying over a couple of my almost-healed wounds as I strode toward the edge of the shadowed wall. My hands skimmed the surface of the structure, and I grew more impressed by the moment as my own shadows slid around the shield Diora had built around herself.

That thing was fucking sturdy.

I considered trying to break into it, but shot that idea down almost instantly.

Diora was furious with me, and if I broke down the wall she’d built to protect herself, she would only be more livid—and more hurt by my actions.

I didn’t think what I’d done was necessarily wrong; I had only been doing what I thought was best for her. I sure as fuck hadn’t been holding back out of cruelty.

But she was still hurting because of it, and I had to take responsibility for that.

My gaze skimmed the area around me, my shadows still working their way around Diora’s shelter, following her walls and wrapping around them lightly enough that she wouldn’t notice my power strengthening hers, keeping her safe.

She needed time, and space, and I would give that to her.

My eyes landed on the log of a tree that looked like it had tipped over a decade earlier, and I strode over to it. My shadows were still moving, but they were doing so out of my sight and Diora’s as well.

Now, I just needed to check my wounds… and then wait.

Jesh, Lavee, and a few of my other warriors came jogging out of the forest, looking as if they hadn’t even been in a damned battle at all. Diora was to blame for that—and I was fucking proud of her for it.

She had been a one-woman army out there, ferocious, deadly, and absolutely beautiful.

Her wolf form was so damned incredible, I was almost tempted to try one out myself.

“Way to screw things the fuck up,” Jesh growled at me, as he and the others slowed.

“What are you going to do now?” Lavee changed the subject before another fight broke out. I was exhausted after facing off with Laith, but not exhausted enough that I wouldn’t defend myself, or my mate.

“Wait until she’s ready to come out.” I turned my face toward her shadowed wall, still musing silently about how damned incredible her control over her magic was.

She didn’t even fucking know it, but she had more skill with the shadows than anyone I’d ever seen—myself included. With a little practice, she would surpass me easily, and I’d only be even more attracted to her for it.

Jesh drawled, “I’m sure she’ll appreciate that.”

Lavee grabbed a rock off the ground and threw it at his head half-heartedly. The other warriors exchanged snorts and grins, but my gaze went back to Diora’s wall.

“Jesh will get the tent,” Lav announced, striding over and plopping down on the log beside me.

“Like fuck he will,” Jesh grumbled.

“I won’t sleep in a tent. She’s alone in the forest, under the stars, so I will be too,” I told them all, my gaze remaining firmly in place. “I failed her; I won’t live in a damned tent while she’s roughing it because of me.”

There was a beat of silence.

“Well, I’m going back to the castle,” Jesh told me.