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"Are you well, Mina?" He tried to keep the pain he was feeling from their distance out of his voice, but he knew that he would not be able to hide it all He felt her surprise at hearing hiht a s with her rin

"I am, and you?" Her voice was like a summer rain after h hi places inside of him

"No more than a couple of hours have passed fro not to run straight back to you," he admitted without shame "Hoill I survive this, Alina?"

Alina could feel his turmoil as if it were her own The frustration that laced his words dug deep into her soul adding to her own tor the one you loved It was a desperation born of being unable to breathe without thes would not function because of your love’s absence She leaned against the door of their cottage she had been about to enter when she heard his voice Her hands tre so hard she was sure it would leave a bruise on the outside of her chest She did not knohat to say to him or how to comfort him when she, herself, ached with the pain of the hole inside her

"You will survive because you have to," she told hi she knew to do at that point was to appeal to the doation that an Alpha felt towards his pack and bring that to the forefront instead of the agony of their separation "We both have things we need to do; focus on those things, Vasile You need to be an Alpha right now You need to restore our pack so that ill thrive I aht here where you left me when it is time for you to come for me" The next words that came out of her mouth shattered her already broken heart, but it was the only thing she knew to do that would keep them both sane If they continued to feed off of each other’s hurt and grief, eventually neither of them would be able to function "I completely understand how you feel, Alpha one by, and I a incapacitated fro from my own soul, but yours as well I cannot live like this, Vasile, not for two years I need so you," she quickly added when she felt his te the bond narrowed so that so much of our emotions do not flood the other’s mind I know you will not ad," he bit out

"Until we are able to control our own emotions, we need to accept the situation, and our wolves need to accept the situation before ill be able to tolerate the pain" She waited for his response gritting her teeth to keep fro him to come back for her

"This is really what you want?"

Herthe snarling wolf inside of her "I hat is best for us, and I think for now this is what is best" She knew she was using his oords against hiree so that she could close down the bond enough that he would not feel her fall to the ground in a mess of sobs

"So be it" His voice was cold as if he had removed the emotions from the equation and was now si for you sooner rather than later" Despite the words he had just confessed, she did not feel comforted by hio up, and then she was alone She had done what she had set out to do, and as she slipped to the ground, biting her botto out, she wondered if she had just made a mistake that would be irreversible as was as irreparable

Vasile pictured the walls going up in his head as he shut the bond down between them Not even a day, hell not even half a day, and already a chas had happened inside of him when his mate had told him she wanted space All the darkness she had chased away rushed back in like a tidal wave and instead of fighting it, he embraced it He pulled it close and pushed away the hurt, the desperation and the need of his truethat had yet to abandon him His brother had left him, his parents had left him, and now the one person who he needed more than any of theust at her placating words, narrow the bond, as if she did notdown because I cannot deal with your anguish She was young, and he probably was not being fair to her, but in that o because it hurt too ive her all the space in the world; and when she turned eighteen, he would continue to give her space; nineteen, ic number of twenty hit, he would claim her, he would bind her to him, and then once the bond was cemented between them, he would tell her that he needed some damn space Let her feel what she had just done to him Let her wonder if he truly wanted her Remind her of the day she rejected his soul because it was more than she could handle

He sat in the chair that was once his fathers His breathing beca to wrap itself around his heart squeezing what little compassion remained A knock on the door drew his attention, and he looked up to see Ion standing just inside the office

"Yes?" His voice, calm and smooth, was a co inside of him

"I take it that you do not trust Alin since you did not tell him of your mate," he said as he watched Vasile carefully Ion had known him all of his life and knew him quite well It would be tricky to hide the darkness from him, but not impossible; after all he was born of two deceivers ere masters of their craft

"The only ones that are aware that she is e, and I spoke with her father to ensure none of theht now there is no mate" He saw the surprise and then suspicion in his third’s eyes and added, "For her safety, of course Until we are sure that all in the pack have their needs ive theainst me"

"If that is what you think is best for her," Ion said slowly