Chapter 5

Maya made her way to Garrett's rooms that night, avoiding everyone she could, like usual, troubled by what she'd overheard from her Alpha. The door to the enforcer building opened and Caleb stood framed in the light.

"Hello, Caleb. I'm here to see Garrett."

His teeth flashed white in the light and he stepped side, bowing slightly. "By all means."

She stepped inside while he shut the door behind her. "Maya, are you sure you know what you're doing with Garrett?"

She faced him, deciding to bluff her way out of the conversation. "What do you mean?"

Caleb gave her a gentle look. "I'm not stupid. I can scent you on him and vice versa. The mating bond is in play between you both. But your packs are not aligned in any form. In fact, it's safe to say they're enemies. Have you thought about how a mating would work between you?"

She'd shoved all thoughts of the details of the mating between them into the dark recesses of her mind, something very uncharacteristic of her. But she'd wanted to enjoy the moment for once, see what could be before she destroyed it with reality. Unfortunately, reality was intruding far too soon.

"Believe me, I am well aware of the issues. But it's a mating bond. Are we supposed to walk away?"

Caleb's expression was sympathetic. "You can. Unless the mark has already formed."

She didn't respond, didn't want to admit that she may have felt the burn of a mark forming. But it was still invisible. She could walk away. "Not yet."

"He can get out of his Council duties if he finds his mate, but then you would be thrust into the pack situation. Are you ready for that?"

That was exactly what she wasn't ready for. She needed time to figure out what she wanted. Did she want to mate now, when she was so close to becoming Den Leader? One of them would have to give up their pack. She hated Saranac. Couldn't imagine living there, but how did he feel?

Damn, they needed to talk, not fuck.

She sighed. "Thanks for complicating my last night here."

He patted her shoulder awkwardly. "Sorry, but it needed to be said. For the record, I like you both and if there is anything I can do, I'll be there. No questions asked."

"Thanks, Caleb."

She headed up to Garrett's suite, more troubled than before. When she opened the door, he was pacing in the living space, a pensive look on his face.

He turned and came to her, taking her lips in a deep kiss. Then he growled and buried his nose in her neck, almost pressing her body into the door. "Why do you smell like Caleb?"

A scent hit her nose, one that made her wolf's hackles rise and put her on edge immediately. She pushed at him, fighting the sense of panic that rose in her. "Why do you smell like Shane Colvin?"

He took a step back. "Because he's my father. I had a meeting with him tonight."

The blood drained from her face and she swayed, her fears confirmed. She had spent time with Shane Colvin when her and Isaac had to deal with inter-pack issues and he always creeped her out. "I had forgotten he was your father. I've met him when Isaac and I had to meet with Saranac on border issues. It's been particularly contentious lately."

He drew her over to the dark blue couch and they sat, knees touching. "I'm sorry. I heard there's been a border dispute that the Council has to rule on."

She snorted, knowing that she was walking a fine line with him working for the Council, part of Saranac and her own role in the Dirigo pack. "Yeah, we'll see if they do. They tend to turn a blind eye to anything they can avoid." She took a deep breath and looked him in the eye. "We need to talk. We're leaving tomorrow. I can't justify staying beyond that unless we want to declare our mating and I'm just not ready."

He let out a breath and nodded. "I understand. I haven't been home in four years and want to see what has changed, if anything, in the pack before I take a mate. I'll warn you, my father spoke of big plans for me, leadership roles and needing me to find a mate soon."

Her wolf growled inside at the thought of him taking anyone other than her as a mate, but she gritted her teeth and asked the question. "Who are they thinking of?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. When I get back to the pack, I can find out more. I'm sure I can put them off for a while until we figure out what we want to do."

"What do we want?" She asked, not really knowing the answer herself.

* * *

Damn, she would have to toss the ball into his court. His wolf was still pissed off at smelling Caleb on her, still angry about not claiming her as a mate. His wolf couldn't understand the delicate dance they were both in as humans with their pack rivalry and their own paths forward. The wolf understood one thing only. She was his mate, and another male had been sniffing around her.

Though, his wolf understood threats and his father was a Threat with a capital T. He'd always been a stern taskmaster in his life, demanding the best from his son and even that was often not good enough. Garrett had scars to illustrate his failures often enough, with a few related to his past with Maya. He didn't know how his father would handle a mating with her. Given their past, he would think his father would probably forbid it in the strongest way possible, not limiting himself to threats. He hadn't in the past, so why would it be different now? But he had directed Garrett to find a mate outside the pack, a strong female, which Maya was. Maybe it could work, and he could have his future with her.

He realized a few minutes had passed while she stared expectantly at him. He cleared his throat. "There's no question I want us to mate, but it's…"

"Complicated," she finished.

"Yeah, complicated."

Silence reigned as they both let their thoughts travel along their own paths. Finally, Garrett took her hand. "We have three options. Accept the mating now and be damned everyone and our packs."

She was already shaking her head. "I'm not ready for that."

He couldn't hide the flash of disappointment, even though, honestly, he felt the same. They each had their own lives and goals to just jump into a mating. Yet wasn't that the point of a mating? That it superseded everything? Doubt crowded his brain for a moment, making him wonder if time apart might be a good thing.

She was studying him carefully, then she echoed his thoughts. "Shouldn't we be overcome by the mating urges now? Maybe time is a good thing right now. Time and space."

His breath gusted out. "Yeah, that was option two. We need to make sure this is the right thing for us. Mating is different for every couple. Their paths are different and that's okay. We'll forge our own."

She buried her hands in her lap, fisted them hard, and her gaze dropped to them. "What if we don't?"

He felt that pain viscerally, a sharp stab to his gut, then twisting hard. "Then we might lose something precious and rare."

She jumped to her feet and began pacing the space. "If it's so damned precious, then why aren't we ready to jump in?"

He lunged for her and stopped her, pulling her to him. "Because our situation is fucked up. We can't control our packs or any of the bullshit around us. Unless we're willing to walk away right now, we have to find a way to work within it."

"And if we can't?"

The pain in her voice continued to twist the knife in his gut. "Then we have another decision to make. We'll figure it out then." He tilted her chin up to face him. "Maya, we'll figure this out. We each go back to our packs and decide what comes next for ourselves. When I get back from my Council assignment, we'll connect and decide what to do."

She watched him for a long moment, searching his face as if it held all the answers, then she slowly nodded, taking a shuddering breath. "One month. I can do that. But you won't be back until then."

His fingers flexed on her arms, knowing the mating bond would be painful while they were separated. "I'll do what I can to come back sooner, but I probably can't. I'm sure it won't take me long to find out what the plans are."

She still looked troubled. "Garrett, I know they're your pack and family, but something isn't right with Saranac. We're seeing too many things right now."

He dropped his hands and stepped back, stung by her attack on his pack. "Maya, we do things differently. A little more traditional, maybe, but that will change with time and fresh blood in leadership, which I will be a part of. Also, we just got out of a war with your pack a few years ago. Emotions are still raw. It will take time for everything to calm down."

She frowned and pushed back from him. "You haven't been there like I have. It's more than that."

He huffed and reached for her, but she evaded him. "Maya, I don't want to have this discussion now. Let's worry about it later. I don't want to ruin our last night together."

She folded her arms and shook her head. "Garrett, our packs are a part of us, made us who we are. They're critical to our discussion of our mating. And I'm not just going to leave my pack because I'm female."

He leaned against the couch arm, trying to diffuse the situation. "Maya, while I worked for the Council, we dealt with a few situations of inter-pack matings. Yes, one wolf has to leave for the other pack. That's true because there can't be divided loyalties. The dominant one is not always the one who leaves their pack, nor is it always the female, contrary to what some of the traditional packs may say. It comes down to the mating couple's wishes. They get to decide, though sometimes the pack that loses a member gains one from the other pack."

"You mean if I leave Dirigo, your pack has to send someone to my pack?"

"It's called compensation. But it has to be a discussion at the Council level. If you want, before I come home, I can float the concept of an inter-pack mating with Charles, the Council Beta and the head of the Council Enforcers, without mentioning details."

Her eyes flared with panic. "I don't want anyone talking to my Alpha."

He shook his head. "I'll keep it quiet and no names mentioned. I've had enough assignments that it could be related to one of them. And Caleb will have our backs here, too." He stood and walked over to her, pulling her back into his arms and rubbing soothing circles on her back. "Let's use the next month to gather information, then figure out where we want to go."

"Including if we want to mate or not," she said, her voice muffled against his chest.

While his chest clenched, and his wolf howled inside, he restrained himself. "That is another option. That we walk away from this."

He wasn't sure he could walk away from Maya. Not after finding her again after all these years.

They stood there for a long time, just holding each other, not saying anything.