War Claim (The Claim: Book 3)

Chapter 8 - Animkii (Part 1)

After Madison's Welcome Ceremony, she and Animkii were moved into one of the guest cabins so they could have their own space.

His little sister, Anwaatin, threw the biggest temper tantrum he'd ever seen. His father had to hold her down as she thrashed about while he packed his things into the pickup to move it across the valley.

Guilt never stopped bearing down on him. First his mate, then Chloe, and now his sister.

When would he stop hurting others?

Once his things were packed up, he called Chloe and broke her heart.

"I don't think we can be friends anymore..."

He buried his face in his hands after hanging up the phone. His entire body trembled with what he had done. He gathered air into his lungs and released it slowly. It shuddered with his aching heart. His stomach twisted into so many knots, he didn't know how he would ever unwind it.

Fuck. He never thought it would hurt this much.

She's strong. She'll be okay, he reminded himself, rocking back and forth gently on the edge of his bed. She has a mate out there somewhere. She should be faithful to him so she doesn't hurt him the way you're hurting Madison.

It took him a few minutes of his repeated mantra before forcing him up and leaving the home of his birth.

He and Madison spent the evening unpacking their belongings. They had more than they could cram into the cabin but they tried to make do with the space. It was a large single room with a bed in the back left corner with a closet and a dresser against the wall and a bathroom. In the middle of the space was the living room—merely a long couch and coffee table dividing the bedroom from the kitchen and table and chairs.

He gave Madison the bed and the couch was his, and let her use the bathroom first to get ready for bed.

When she emerged, he put his hand on her arm to stop her before going into the bathroom himself.

"You don't need to worry about Chloe anymore."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "What did you do?"

He swallowed. The guilt pushing his shoulders down and turning his gaze to the floor. "I ended our friendship."

He willed himself to meet her gaze, even if it was only for a fleeting moment.

He heard her swallow. Her spine straightened as she lifted her head. "Good. Maybe we can make this work after all."

Turning away, she went to the bed to settle into the clean blanket and sheets his mother had packed for them while he entered the shower in an attempt to drown away the pain.

***

Days turned into weeks and weeks into months.

Animkii trained hard during the week and visited his family on weekends, spending as much time with Anwaatin as he could.

Anwaatin hated Madison for "taking her brother away" but eventually warmed up to her and they formed a friendship that he hoped would grow deeper in time.

Their evenings together were quiet and awkward at first. They quickly ran out of small talk and tried to find something else they could bond over. They were both exhausted, their bodies sore and achy during their first week of intensive training before the pain started to subside.

More than once, he had walked in on her crying. The first time he thought it was because of the deep bruises on her cheek and arms—that she was upset about getting her ass kicked during an intense sparring session—until he saw the package on her lap. Her friends sent her a small photo album of their favorite memories along with a letter, telling her how much they missed her and how excited they were that she found her mate and was the future luna of a pack, and how they couldn't wait to find their own mates.

He realized how homesick she was and asked if he could hold her. She hesitated but agreed and let her guard down enough to cry and be soothed in his arms.

The need to apologize gripped him and he expressed his regret for causing her pain. For taking her away from her friends and family when she wasn't ready.

She accepted his apology, but it still took some time for him to feel forgiven.

***

Winter came hard. The wind pounded at their little wooden cabin. The wood-burning stove was the only source of heat and on the first freezing night of howling winds, Madison allowed him to share her bed for extra warmth.

He never had to sleep on the couch again after that.

Their relationship was strained most of the winter. They fought and bickered, threw hateful words at each other before attempting to reconcile before going to bed. As spring approached and the land began to thaw, so did her heart toward him. They still bickered, but most of it was due to the sexual tension that grew between them and Madison refused to give in for more than a heated make-out session.

Spring came and Madison's brother's pup was due. The two of them caught a flight to the nearest airport to her family's pack. He allowed her to stay a month with them while Animkii spent a few days before returning and coming back at the end of the month to spend a few more days before bringing her back with him.

He came so close to claiming her before he left her there with her family. In the weeks leading up to her visit, she had become kinder, softer to him. She expressed her appreciation to return to her homeland and welcome her nephew into the world.

It was a time that drew them closer together and instead of fighting with each other over petty things, they were fighting against the urge to claim each other.

They both agreed that claiming each other before being separated for a month was not a good idea. The separation would hurt their souls more after claiming each other than it would before.

Despite that, the sexual tension was nearly suffocating and it took all his strength and will-power to tear himself away and return to his pack to continue his training.

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