Chapter 73

**Kataleya’s POV**

‘It is about time that you said it! Kataleya, make him ours! We are not letting him go!’ Skye was shouting in my head.

This wolf was going to give me a headache. Shit, sometimes I wish I could have a brain aneurism, so I can escape her. Then, other times, I remember that Skye is a part of me and I do love her, even if she is sometimes annoying. I chuckled to myself. That describes my relationship with my wolf accurately. It is a love/hate relationship and sometimes it is more hate than love.

I continued walking towards the stands that are at the edge of the training field until I was sitting almost directly in front of Justin. I was resting my elbows on my knees, leaning forward with my head on my hands, watching Justin as he trained with the warriors.

‘Our mate is sexy,’ Skye purred in my head.

We can definitely agree on that.

I watched as Justin trained, mesmerized by the way that his body moves as if it is a fluid dance. Poor Garrison, though, has continually tried to attack Justin and has not been able to lay a hand on him. Justin has been repeatedly dodging his attacks and turning them on him with each move that Garrison makes towards him.

After another 45 minutes, the training finally ended and Justin walked over to me, using a towel to dry his face.

“Were you enjoying the show, babe?” he smirked at me.

I could feel my face heating as if I was caught doing something inappropriate. “Y-y-yes,” I stammered.

He grinned at me before picking me up and spinning me in a circle.

“Ewww! Let me go! You are all sweaty!” I screeched as I smacked his back. Instead of responding, he just laughed. I growled at him, low in my throat.

Once he finally dropped me to the ground, I glared at him. “Asshole,” I mumbled.

He laughed again. “You love me though, babe. I am your asshole anyway!”

We walked hand in hand to the dining hall for lunch. As we sat to eat, we were joined by Gael, Oliver, Michael, and Elijah.

“You finally make up,” Michael asked as he plopped in his seat.

I shot him the bird as I finished chewing my food.

“Whether we made up is none of your business.” I glared at him.

He held his hands up in surrender. “Just gotta make sure. You are supposed to be considered our powerhouse couple. You know, with you being the future Alpha and all. Gotta make sure the next head couple is okay.”

I laughed at his logic. Of course, my brother would be the one to think like this. This is usually how he thought, so I am not sure why any of us are surprised. Whenever Oliver and I were mad at each other growing up, whenever we made up he would ask us the same question, and then he would tell us that Oliver was going to be his future Beta, so he had to make sure that his Beta and favorite sister did not have a problem with each other.

I shook my head at his silly antics. “Michael, Justin and I were fine. There was no reason that we were not fine. You do not need to worry about your next 'powerhouse' couple. How about, instead of worrying about my love life and mate, you focus on finding your mate?”

Everyone at the table laughed, except for Michael. He scowled at me and I lightly smacked his shoulder.

“Love you, big brother.” I said with a huge grin on my face.

We finished the rest of our lunch with each of us having fun with the others. We made jokes with each other. We laughed. We told Justin stories about when we were children and some of the mischievous we would get involved with. It was one of the most relaxed meals we have had in the past couple of weeks. I was ready for all this to be over with. Once it is over, then we can all move on with our lives and not have to worry about them anymore.

After lunch, Justin and I walked back to our room hand-in-hand, so that he could shower. He definitely reeked of sweat, grass, and dirt.

While Justin was in the shower, I lay in the bed, contemplating how I was going to apologize to him tonight and in what ways I could make it up to him.

Justin took a while in the shower. When he finally came out, he had a towel wrapped low around his hips and water dripping from his hair. He walked to the closet to pull out some shorts to wear. Once he was fully dressed, he went to the other side of the bed and sat down. We sat in silence for several moments before I had the courage to speak.

“Justin…I am sorry. I am sorry I was mad at you. I was mad you left me in that conference room with everyone just staring at me, knowing that you had left me to deal with it on my own. I was angry that you tried to tell me what I could and could not do. I think that was what pissed me off the most. You did not try to listen to my reasons or my thoughts on the subject. You just stormed off because you were angry with what I had suggested.”

Justin sat up in bed and turned to face me. “Kataleya, I needed to leave the room. I felt as if I was suffocating. All I could think of was losing you. I cannot and I refuse to live without you in my life. You are my everything. Everyone is talking about you being the bait. I could not handle it.. As your mate, I want to protect you. Shelter you. With you being a victim, I know you need closure and this could help you get the closure you need. Most importantly, as my Alpha, I know that you have to do this for your pack. Knowing that you need to do this though, does not make it any easier. It makes it harder. I feel as if I am fighting for air when we talk about it. There are so many things that could go wrong out there. What am I supposed to do if something were to happen to you? Continue on with my life as if nothing had happened? As if I was fine? How would you feel if the roles were reversed and it was me risking my life?” Justin’s voice broke at the end, causing me to turn my head towards him.

I sat silently, giving myself a minute to think about what I was going to say next to him. I watched as tears silently streamed down his cheeks. “Justin, I am sorry if I worried you or scared you with what I intend to do. I know it scares you because I am your mate. You have the need to protect me, but I am not letting you do what your body is screaming at you to do. I know that hurts you. That scares you. Baby, I have to have closure too. I cannot let them continue to go around and hurt others like they did to Jasaslyn. I would never wish for something like that to happen to my worst enemy, let alone innocent women…I love you, Justin. Please try to understand where I am coming from.”

Justin was quiet for a minute before he spoke next. “Kataleya, you cannot rush into these situations without talking to me about them first. We are a couple, a team. We may not always agree with each other, but we have to be able to communicate with each other before we jump head deep into a decision. I am scared that you will not come back from this…what will this mean for us? What if they attack you again? Assault you? What does that mean for us? Are you going to revert back into the shell that you once were and close yourself off from everyone, including me?”

Justin and I stared into each other’s eyes before I leaned over and lightly kissed him.

“Goddess forbid, if something were to happen to me, then I would make sure that I pull myself out of that depression for you and Ares. You both deserve better than that. If I cannot do it, then I will set you free to either find your second-chance or to be with a chosen mate.”

“Baby, I don’t want another mate. It is you or nothing.”

“What if I can give you something that will make it easier for you? It will make it easier for you to find us and to fully feel our emotions.”

“What exactly are you implying? What are you trying to give me?”

“Complete the mate bond with me. I will give you full control over me. My body. Fully give myself to you. If the bond is completed, then you will be able to sense where I am easily…and you will feel everything I am feeling with clarity.”