Pride’s POV
She was crying in my arms, and that made me feel horrible. Sol was in shock over her story, and he didn’t know how to react.
When I took over back then, I didn’t want to shut him off or push him into our subconscious; he saw all I saw and heard all I had heard.
Our kind was very different from humans because here there were no cops or lawyers. The highest rank was the ones that held power, so killing wasn’t that rare because I too killed. Whenever a rogue had crossed my pack’s border or when someone disrespected me so much to the point of losing control, I killed. That’s why I understood her story and felt very sad over how much she had to endure all alone.
“She went through so much,” Sol whispered sadly.
“And you did nothing as her husband to lighten her burden,” I answered silently.
“Pride, how was I to know about her…,”
“You didn’t have to know! You had to make her warm up to you completely and submit. One who has fully submitted can never hold secrets. You made her feel insecure somehow, and you accepting our mate was your last messed up resort!” I growled furiously as he kept quiet.
“I let you take over most of the time because I saw no need to be the one doing things you could easily do! I always handled hard shit; that’s why being behind you was okay! But if I had known how much pain she was in, I would have been the one holding her hand! Love her more than our life and want her more than you need that damn sip of water. Amara and I may have a breakable bond, but Morai and I can never have. You and Morai can have a breakable bond, but never should you and Amara have!” I yelled furiously.
“I am so sorry,” he whispered.
“Listen and listen very carefully, Sol. When that she-wolf wakes up, you will go to her side and reject her. I am not telling you, Sol, I am commanding you. If you don’t, then I will put you into a deep slumber for years and be the one to take over everything. You won’t be able to see the pups grow up, and you will wish you would have done things differently,” I said and then stood up with her in my arms, walking out of the room and going upstairs to our bedroom.
Once we were in, I laid her on the bed carefully and got on, laying next to her, wiping off her tears.
“Don’t think for a second that we love you less than we did because of your past. And yes, I want to scold you for what you did today. Hurting her is something I too wanted to do despite failing, but you using such a dangerous method is not acceptable. Any mistake you could have made would have been brutal. What if you had forgotten and touched your food? What do you think would happen to us and the pups if you were harmed in any way?” I asked seriously as she shook her head slowly.
“I am sorry,” she sobbed.
“Don’t cry, I am not upset, I promise,” I whispered while I wiped away her tears.
“What you need right now is a bath and some rest,” I said and then sat upright and moved out of the bed.
“Be still, don’t move a muscle,” I ordered and then walked to the bathroom to prepare a warm bath for her.
I filled the tub with water and made sure to add her favorite rose bubble bath liquid.
When I looked at the fresh roses which were on top of a small dressing table, I smiled and moved to grab them.
Every three days, fresh roses were added to the bathroom, bedroom, and living room by Joan because they were Amara’s favorite flowers.
I plucked the petals and put back the stems into the jar.
“Will they be enough?” I asked Sol when I walked back to the tub and threw the petals in.
“Pride, allow me to do everything,” he said softly, ignoring my question.
“Why should I let you when you were the one who pushed us into this mess?” I asked coldly.
“I really am so sorry for how I acted towards our wife, and I want to make it up to her. You know this because you feel it too. No matter how I acted or reacted towards our mate, I love Amara, and my heart belongs to her. I accept that I was stupid and comfortable in our relationship that I couldn’t make her open up about her past. But then again, we learn through mistakes, don’t you agree? Right now, I have learned and realized my wrongdoing, so let me try and do something for her,” he answered as I chuckled softly.
“Then come up with something that she will like. Me doing this for her is solely on me and not you, so don’t even think I will let you take over and act as if this was your idea,” I said as he kept quiet.
“Can going for a vacation make her happy?” he asked.
“Yes, if it includes the pups. But as I said, you first need to fix the mess with that woman. Only when you reject her will she fully understand how serious we are,” I answered and then came out of the bathroom.
I found her sitting at the edge of the bed facing the window.
I went to her side and knelt down, grabbing her hand.
“Come on, I have prepared a bath for you,” I said softly.
She looked at me and then smiled sadly.
We stood up and went to the bathroom silently.
“Take your clothes off,” I instructed after I had closed the door behind me.
She smiled brightly and then took off her clothes and got into the tub as I swallowed hard.
No! I wanted her to relax and enjoy her bath, so sex was out of the question!
“Is the temperature okay?” I asked seriously and then moved closer.
“It’s perfect,” she answered as I smiled widely.
“I’m glad, because I thought the …,” I cut my sentence short and frowned.
“Pride,” she called in a low tone as I forced a smile on my face.
“I’m sorry I spaced out for a second,” I answered.
I had a strange feeling. It’s as if someone was about to cross our pack’s border.
“I’ll be right back, so please relax and take your time,” I said and then quickly rushed out of the bathroom and stepped out of the bedroom.
“Joan, get our strongest warriors and meet me at the border. I think we may have some intruders approaching,” I mind-linked him as I quickly rushed out of the pack house.
No matter what, my instincts were never wrong, and right now they were telling me we had some intruders close to our pack’s border.