He felt terrible for the panic that he had caused
"I called to tell him that I was in love with you. Listen." He reached out and took her hand in his. Her hand was trembling. "You don't have to worry about anyone taking Eliza from you. Not even me. I give you my vow as the Alpha of the Anchorage pack that no one will take Eliza from you."
She seemed to relax a little bit after that. There were no legally binding documents that they could sign, but an Alpha wolf never made a promise that he wasn't willing to follow up. She must've still trusted that his word was good.
"I know you like to do everything on your own, and I respect that, but let me help you. I want to help you. I can deal with Sutton. I can deal with your former pack."
She studied him. “Why are you here? You’re supposed to be in Anchorage.”
The folded real estate papers were burning a hole in his pocket. But now probably wasn't the right time.
How could he tell her that he’d rented a house when she didn't even want to see him? "I have a lot to tell you, but I'm not sure you're going to want to hear it right now."
"I don't know. Is it going to bother me?”
“I’d like to think that it's good news but I'm not sure you'll feel that way."
She swayed on her feet, and he grabbed her, leading her toward a park bench. "Come on, sit down. Have you told Eliza that I'm her dad yet?"
She huffed. "No. I didn't. I was about to and then I freaked out. All I could think was that if I told her, she'd want to go with you."
"I promise you, I'm not going to let anyone take her from you. I'm not going to take her from you."
"Maybe I overreacted," she said.
"No, if Sutton implied that, then there's no excuse. He needs help."
He was going to have to delay his plans a little bit until she felt better. "Why did you come all the way back here? I want to know."
"Are you sure you want to hear this right now?" he asked.
"Yes. I need something to distract myself." They sat on the bench side-by-side, staring straight ahead at their daughter who had now moved to the swings. She was swinging as high as she could, pumping her legs back and forth.
"I had a romantic evening planned out. I was going to make this really special,” he said.
“I'll keep that in mind.” The side of her mouth quirked. “You’ll get credit for it. I just need to hear something good right now or at least something different. My bear is ready to lose it. It was all I could do to keep my bear in the car. And now it's all I can do to keep her sitting here on this bench. My bear wants to run away with Eliza."
"I understand that." He picked up her hand and held it in both of his. "I would like to be a permanent part of your life. I would like to be a permanent part of Eliza's life too, but I would also like to be your mate. I knew you were my mate before and I repressed it, but now I want you back.”
She stared at him. "That's a lot to take in."
"I knew it would be. But I'm going to go ahead and do this.” He pulled the sheaf of papers from his back pocket and handed them to her.
"What's this?'' she asked.
‘It's a lease form. I rented a house so that I can be near you and Eliza."
"You're leaving Anchorage?"
"Yes."
"What about your pack?"
"Well, if you plan to stay in Juneau long-term, then I'll have to find a replacement Alpha."
"You'll give up your spot?"
"Yes. I was wrong before. The duty to my pack is nothing compared to how I feel about my mate and my child."