Chapter 30
*Jiselle*
I barely had time to process it before Max stiffened, probably scenting him before he even looked.
“Can I come in?” Nate asked smoothly, a sly smile playing on his lips. “Heard you’ve been quite the bodyguard.”
I nodded wordlessly and stepped aside.
The air in the room immediately shifted.
Despite Max’s huge room, everything suddenly felt smaller.
Max was glaring. Nate, for once, seemed to be… restraining himself.
Something told me this was the first time either of them had been this physically beaten down.
Nate reached into his jacket and tossed a bundle of flowers toward Max, who caught it effortlessly.
Max scowled at them. “The hell is this?”
“Lunara Blooms,” Nate said lazily. “They’re good for silver wounds.”
Max looked at them like they might strangle him. “I don’t need-”
“Before you start thinking I care, I don’t,” Nate cut him off. “They’re from Ethan. He asked me to give them to Jiselle for you since he has Night Nav.”
“Oh.” Max’s scowl disappeared briefly but returned as he refocused on Nate. “If that’s all, you’re welcome to leave.”
“Max,” I scolded. “Be nice. He brought you flowers so you can heal faster. Wasn’t that nice of him?”
Max’s gaze snapped to mine, immediately softening.
“Yes, mother,” he teased with an eye roll before glancing back at Nate. “Thanks,” he gritted out. “Now, if that’s all, you’re still welcome to leave.”
Nate stuffed his hands into his pockets, tilting his head slightly.
“That isn’t all, actually,” he said. “I wanted to personally thank you for keeping Jiselle safe.”
I gaped.
Max’s expression darkened instantly. “I don’t need a thank you for protecting my own girlfriend. I take personal offense that you would try.”
Nate shrugged, unfazed. “Still, thanks. It would’ve been hard to lose her.” His gaze snapped to me. “I’m seeing that now.”
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My heart plummeted.
I hated him. I hated him so damn much for doing this to me.
“Don’t think I did anything for you,” Max countered. “Again, she’s mine. I’d do anything to protect her.”
Nate flinched. It was subtle, but I caught it.
“She’s no concern of yours,” Max added.
Nate raised a brow. “Oh, she isn’t?” His voice was a low challenge, and I stepped between them subconsciously.
“I knew you were once infatuated by her, and you grew up together. But it doesn’t matter. It’s not your job to worry about her anymore.”
“Infatuated?” Nate questioned with an amused tilt of his lips. His eyes shifted to me quickly, and I understood the question without him saying it out loud.
I shook my head subtly, telling him that I hadn’t told Max about our bond.
“Interesting,” Nate mumbled, studying me like he was piecing something together I didn’t know about.
The seconds dragged by.
“Well,” he said in a dismissive tone, and I blew a breath of relief that he didn’t say anything. “I’m glad you’re not dead, Laker.” He moved to the door and smirked as he looked back. “It would have been a shame if you died before I could kill you.”
I threw him a glare, and he chuckled as he left.
I rubbed my temples as I plopped down beside Max, his arm instantly going around me, and I snuggled into him.
“That was fucking weird,” he mumbled.
I laughed softly. “Nate can be… that.”
Max huffed. “Yeah, well, if he ever brings me flowers again, I might just throw them at his face.”
I smirked, shaking my head before changing the topic.
“So, I found a way to avoid shifting in a few days when the wolf–to–wolf challenges start,” I told him.
His hold on me tightened slightly as he shifted to face me, no doubt catching the hesitant tone in my voice,
“Okay,” he mumbled. “And what it is?
1 exhaled slowly, preparing myself for his reaction. “You’re not gonna like it.”
Max sat up straighter, turning to face me, his stormy gray eyes darkening with suspicion.
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Thesitated before saying it.
“I have to injure myself.”
Max’s entire body went rigid.
“No,” he growled immediately. “Absolutely not.”
“Max-”
“No,” he repeated, voice firm, his grip tightening around me like he could physically stop me from considering it. “There’s no way in hell you’re hurting yourself. I know I asked you to find a way but no.”
“It’s better than dying.” I sighed, running a hand through my hair. “You know the rules. You can fight in human form even if you’re injured, but you can’t challenge in wolf form if you’re hurt.”
His jaw locked, and I knew he hated that I was right. “It’s too risky.”
“It’s the only way,” I countered. “I’ll do something minor–a sprained wrist, maybe a pulled muscle. Just enough for it to be on record so I don’t have to shift.”
Max exhaled sharply, his chest rising and falling unevenly. His hands ran over his face in frustration before finally dropping to his lap. “Fuck,” he muttered.
I placed my hand over his, squeezing gently. “I’ll be fine.”
He was silent for a long moment before nodding reluctantly. “Fine,” he said through gritted teeth. “But I want to be there when you do it.”
I frowned. “Why?”
“Because if you’re going to hurt yourself,” he murmured, looking at me like it physically pained him to even say it, “then I want to be there to make sure it’s as minimal as possible.”
My heart clenched at the raw emotion in his voice, the way his gaze burned into me, filled with frustration, protectiveness, and something deeper.
Somehow, the conversation shifted.
He hesitated, running his fingers along my knuckles before his voice dropped lower. Jiselle, can I ask you something?”
I raised a brow at the sudden change in tone. “Of course.”
His thumb traced circles along my skin, his expression unreadable. “Can I establish a mind–link with you?”
1 froze.
My breath hitched slightly, my stomach twisting in surprise. Claiming.
He was asking to fully claim me.
Not just words. Not just a promise. An actual claim.
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If he did, we would be fully mated. Bound to each other in a way that meant he would always be connected to me, always be able to find me, always able to protect me.
I swallowed, my lips parting slightly as I struggled to find the right words.
Max studied me, waiting. But when I didn’t answer right away, he simply smiled softly, knowingly.
“You don’t have to answer now,” he murmured, brushing a strand of hair behind my ear. “I just want you to think about it.”
His lips pressed against mine, gentle this time, slow and grounding. “If I claim you,” he whispered, his breath warm against my skin, “you’ll never have to worry about being alone. I’ll always be there.”
I nodded slightly, my heart pounding painfully in my chest. “I’ll think about it.”
His smirk returned, but this time it was softer. “Good.”
We stayed like that for a while, tangled together on his bed, wrapped up in each other.
I waited until his breathing evened out, until the tension left his body and exhaustion finally pulled him under.
But sleep didn’t come for me.
Because I knew the real reason I didn’t say yes.
Max claiming me would mean my bond with Nate would be broken.
And I hated myself for the tiny, traitorous part of me that didn’t want that.
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