Letting my fingers slide from the door, I stepped up so that I was only inches from her. Her citrus sunshine signature surrounded me, bombarding my senses from every angle. She turned her head away, but I whispered, “But you’re not the same woman you were three weeks ago, and not just a LaSalle. You’re one of us now. Part of the pack. You belong with us.”
With me.
Her eyes pricked with tears, but she raised her chin defiantly as she stepped back. “I don’t know where I belong, Jaxson, or why I have a wolf inside me. Until I find those answers…”
Her voice caught, and she let the sentence die. But I could read the unspoken words. She wasn’t ready to face the truth that she was a werewolf. That she was one of us. That she was my mate.
The distance she’d created between us with that single backward step burned. I closed my eyes and nodded. “Fine. It’s your choice. Always has been.” Her breath hitched as I reached around her and opened the door. “I’ll look into the bikers,” I added. “But if you notice anything out of the ordinary, call me. I promise I’ll pick up.”
For a moment, she lingered. Her hand hovered inches from my chest, and I could feel the prickle of electricity spanning the gap between us. Then she slipped by me and into the hall. “Thank you. I will.”
I shut the door behind us and followed her down the hall with a hollowness in my chest.
For days, all I had wanted was a moment to speak with her about our mate bond. But it was clear that she hadn’t even accepted what she was. Until she acknowledged that, nothing else would matter.
So that was the first step. I had to make Savannah understand what it meant to be part of the pack. That we were her family.
Then maybe we could face each other.