War Claim (The Claim: Book 3)

Chapter 6 - Animkii (Part 2)

"She was upset. I was consoling her. What, you've never hugged your friends when they were upset?" He stepped up close and leaned his hand against the wall next to her head. "You're being unreasonable and allowing your jealousy to control you. Nothing happened. She knew she wasn't supposed to be there and I told her so. She got upset with me and I took her home. Okay? That's it."

She growled at him, her eyes narrowing.

He growled right back. "What? Was I wrong for hurting her feelings and then trying to make her feel better?"

"I don't care if you hurt her feelings or not. She needs to understand that you're my mate." There was a slight lift of her lip that angered him.

"Of course I'm your mate. Nothing changes that. But she's a pup and she's my friend. What do you want me to do? End our friendship?"

She gritted her teeth and the jealousy in her eyes confirmed what she refused to admit.

He leaned closer. "Fuck you. She wanted to be your friend too."

Turning away, he stormed into the bathroom to shower and brush his teeth.

Dammit, she was annoying! He guessed being headstrong was a good trait for a Luna-to-be, but damn... How long would this phase last before she reduced her hostility and opened up to him so they could grow together as a mated pair destined to lead a pack? They needed a strong, solid foundation in their relationship for the sake of the pack and they lacked that entirely. Trust and honesty should be their strength, not their downfall.

***

Sleep evaded him that night. He kept thinking about what to do. What was best for him and the pack. He always had to think of the pack—that was the sacrifice Alphas has to make.

And what was best for the pack—and his relationship with Madison—was to remove any perceived threats to the health and stability of their bond. Their bond was shitty from the get-go. He fucked it up from the start. That was his fault. His first mistake was falling in love with someone he shouldn't have.

If Madison couldn't welcome Chloe into her life as a friend and only saw her as competition, he had to do what was best for their own personal growth.

And that truth hit him like a sledgehammer to the chest.

Rising early, he went to the bathroom and when he passed by her room to go downstairs, he stopped and listened. He couldn't hear the steady sounds of sleep, so he tapped lightly on the door. He waited and didn't hear anything. "I know you're awake," he said in a low voice that he hoped she heard but not his parents farther down the hallway.

He heard her get up from the bed before opening her door.

She glared back at him with bloodshot eyes. "What do you want?"

"I'm going for a run. Want to come? No judgments. No talking. Just... Running."

She narrowed her eyes at him for a moment as she considered his proposal before pulling her door open wide. "Fine."

Going downstairs, she stripped out of her pajamas at the door and shifted into her brown wolf before he could get the door open. He let her out before closing the door behind him and shifting into his white wolf. She trotted on ahead of him across the valley and he ran up to her side. Once he caught up, she ran with him, matching his pace as they darted to the forest that surrounded the valley.

They ran for hours. Sometimes sprinting hard and fast while other times calmly walking side-by-side with their breaths puffing out before them as the sun rose over the horizon.

After pausing at a creek to lap up some icy-cold water, he pressed himself into her side, rubbing his scent into her fur. Her throat rumbled—a conflict of pleasure over disgruntlement. He made a throaty sound like a weak whine and licked her maw when she raised her head from the creek, licking the water droplets that clung to her short fur. She lifted her lip in warning, exposing a canine, but he refused to back down and continued licking her muzzle and purring his enjoyment of it.

Whining, she backed away from him, shaking her fur before shifting back into her human form. Staying on her hands and knees before him, she shivered as her skin rippled in the completion of the shift.

"Stop it... Stop touching me."

Shifting back into his human form across from her, he mirrored her stance, staying on his hands and knees, but lifted his head while she bowed hers.

"I can't help it. I want to touch you. I want to be affectionate with you."

He stepped forward on his hands and knees while she whimpered and lowered herself further to the cold, hard ground. "Stop... Stop using the bond... Stop screwing around with my feelings."

"I'm sorry. I'm not trying to screw around with your feelings. I can't help the fact that I want to get close to you. I need it. I need to indulge in it. It's like an internal itch that I have to scratch. I need to touch you."

He reached out and touched her cheek, feeling the warmth underneath his fingertips as sparks fired off.

She jerked away, still keeping her head down and avoiding his gaze. "I don't want you touching me."

A whimper escaped him as he drew away. "Fine. Let's head back then."

Ignoring the ache in his chest, he shifted back into his wolf and turned away. He walked a few steps before stopping and waited for her to join his side.

She inhaled and exhaled a shaky breath before shifting a minute later. With her head lowered, she approached him but remained a few inches back.

They trotted back to his parents' house and he shifted first to dress and open the door for her. Without shifting into her human form, she ran inside, snatched her clothes in her mouth, and bolted up the stairs before disappearing into her room.

He rubbed his tired face. Damn. How was he supposed to fix this?

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Copyright Jo Lee Hunt ( Joflower ) 2020