I felt at a loss of what to do. Lynn wasn't happy. Despite the fact I could only feel her emotions as a whisper instead of a gale force wind like with Amanda, it was clear to me. She was despondent and so quiet it almost hurt me to see. I felt her like a faint whisper in my mind but it seemed so utterly loud under the realization of what I had done.

I had taken away her life in my attempt to save it.

I understood that, could see it back at the precinct. That one little 'I can't.' nearly broke my heart at how absolutely devastated she sounded saying it. I had wanted to comfort her, ease her through the devastation she felt but guilt had me equally torn. I was the reason she had been crushed but I couldn't bring it in me to regret my actions. She hated me for them, I knew she did, but she was still there, still mine and I couldn't regret that.

I glanced at her from the corner of my eyes as she sat with her head bowed, picking at the food on her plate. She was intelligent and kind, her energy was soothing and warm despite how she glowered and cursed at me. She was beautiful too. I could remember how she felt underneath my hands and how giving her flesh was underneath my fingers. She was soft and dainty but there was an edge to her that let me know to be wary and I did not know if that was the witch in her or simply who she was herself but I would respect it.

"So, are you enjoying the food?" Gale's voice was light and she had been directing questions to Lynn all evening but the female would barely respond.

I looked at the tall blond and gave her a wane smile to soothe over her hurt feelings as Lynn remained silent. "Its very good." It was honestly the best meal I had eaten in months. To be fair I hadn't really properly eaten in months either but still, she was a good cook.

"I'm very glad you are enjoying it." She gave me a small smile, her eyes sliding to Lynn as she did so. I found my own gaze wandering towards my small mate. Her shoulders were pulled down and she looked like the very Earth rested on them. I wanted to reach out and take her hand in mine. My instinct was to ease her burdens and doubts but I knew the actions would be violently rejected. It hurt to be rejected like that by her.

Ricktus shifted in his spot before he stood up, gathering his plate and his mate's. "Gale, love, why don't you show Lynn to the room where she will be staying. I'm sure she's tired." I wanted to protest but kept my mouth shut as the blonde female stood up and smoothed down the skirt of her dress and beamed at Lynn.

"I hope the room will be alright." She came around the table and Lynn slowly stood up, throwing the female a half hearted smile that struck me as more of a grimace than anything else.

"As long as it has a bed it will be fine." Her tone was quiet and she didn't even look towards me as she followed Gale from the kitchen. I watched her leave, my gaze lingering in the doorway long after she was gone before I turned back to my plate. I ate the few bites that were left and wiped my mouth with a napkin.

There was a tense edge to the air as Ricktus gathered up everyone's dishes but mine and placed them in the sink. His entire form was tense and I knew the male wanted to speak to me, if not outright attack me. My wolf snapped his teeth at the thought, wanting to take a chunk out of the male's hide for even feeling that. Despite my condition, he was an Alpha and I knew I would have to control his ego until I got back into shape.

"Hun." Gale came back into the kitchen and Ricktus immediately relaxed as he turned to look at his mate. I glanced at her and she looked a bit worried. "Is she normally that quiet with new people?" She asked the question hesitantly and Ricktus glanced at me before shaking his head.

"She has had a rough go of it. She's still reeling from it all." His voice lowered and his mate made a small noise of sympathy.

"Will she be okay?" Her voice was low as well and I disliked how they were speaking like I wasn't there. I was an Alpha by birth and being ignored was grating on me.

"I don't know. It all depends on how well her... mate understands her needs." The words were directed at me and I narrowed my eyes at the back of the male's head. I did not appreciate that comment. I knew that Lynn would have different needs than Amanda did, I wasn't stupid. She was human, witch or not, she was mundane and I knew that I would have to adjust myself to fit her specific set of needs.

"I'm sure it will be okay." She threw a soft smile over her shoulder at me as if trying to soothe over hurt feelings. She turned and came towards me, picking up my plate. "I am glad you enjoyed supper." She gave me another smile. "Go ahead and go relax in the living room. Get off your leg for a bit." She gestured to an open doorway and I nodded, giving her a strained smile.

I got to my feet, rubbing at my left leg as I limped towards the living room. It was a cozy little place, smaller than I was used to but they lived on the outskirts of a city in a smaller pack so it made sense for them to live a bit scaled down. It wasn't for me, I liked wider spaces but I could see they made do. I sat down on the couch, groaning slightly as the twisted muscles in my leg twinged and protested. I muttered out a curse as I rubbed at them, trying to get them to settle and stop aching. It was a useless task but it kept me occupied.

"You are a real fucking piece of work, you know that?" The deep voice had me bristling and I did my best to ignore Ricktus. The male had been itching for the chance to berate me all evening. "You took away everything that had meaning to her." The amount of disgust he had in his voice had me tensing up but I bit my tongue, hoping he would get it out of his system and walk away. "What is she going to do now, huh? She can't go back to being mundane, she knows too much, and any pack will tear her to pieces the minute she opens her mouth. Did you not think?" He hissed the words at me and I ground my teeth together as I rubbed at my leg, trying to focus on that and not on how badly I wanted to force a submission from the male to get him to stop talking.

"What do you have to say about this? Just going to keep pretending that everything is going to be okay?" He came closer and I resisted the urge to bare my teeth at him. I needed to stay calm but every word he said was dripping with venom and each one scrapped along my nerves and agitated my wolf. "You can't take care of her, look at you."

My head snapped up at that, my teeth baring. He had no clue. "I can take care of her just fine." I wouldn't have him questioning my ability to take care of her. I knew I would have to make some adjustments but her care was first and foremost to me. I had been given a second chance and I wasn't going to fuck it up.

He gave a heavy scoff, crossing his arms over his chest. "Great job you are doing. She lost her magic and got fired. That's all after you locked her in a basement of a crack house." He rolled his eyes as he shook his head. "Superior care there." The look he gaze me set me on edge and I resisted the urge to stand up. I felt uncomfortable having him loom over me but I knew standing up did nothing to fix that. I was uncomfortably aware of just how limited my body currently was.

"You don't have a fucking clue what happened." He didn't know the situation, didn't know what I went through, didn't know what happened. I didn't even fully understand the goddess' reasoning for her actions. She had acted so dark but then gave me a brilliant and shining beacon of hope in the instant afterwards. She was an enigma wrapped up in a contradiction.

"You did something stupid and now Lynn is dealing with the consequences to that." His gaze was venomous and I snapped my teeth together in warning as I finally pulled myself to my feet, unable to stop my instinct to no longer be below his gaze.

"I did it to save her life!" There was nothing stupid about that. Even if she hadn't been tied to me, even if the end hadn't come out as it did, I would have done it again because she hadn't deserved death. She hadn't deserved the end I had forced her to. I fixed my mistake and I would do it a hundred times over again. "I did it because she is a good female, a kind one." I narrowed my eyes at him, hating that he was wider than me, stronger than me. I couldn't get him down like my wolf wanted. "You don't understand a goddamned thing about me or about her." He could make all the assumptions he wanted but he didn't know what happened or what we went through in that house.

"I was her partner for five years. Five. Years." He thumped his chest with his fist, his jaw tensing and releasing rapidly. "I know that female far better than you could ever claim to!" He took a step towards me and I squared my shoulders, ready to fight him off when a stillness filled the air that had us both freezing.

"I would appreciate it if you idiots stopped talking about me as if I'm not in the house. I can clearly hear you both and you are both stupid." Lynn's voice was eerily calm and something in her agitation had the hairs on the back of my neck rising. It was a faint whisper of something to her energy that had flashes of the goddess running through my mind. I wondered if it was Mene's power lingering around her.

"I apologize but he needs to be told off." Ricktus didn't seem to get the same feeling from her that I did and i wondered just what was going on with the little witch I called my mate.

"Its not your place to tell him off." She crossed her arms over her chest. "He is right, you don't know what happened." I was surprised she was agreeing with me but one look at her let me know that she wasn't softening towards me in the least. "But I do. I am the only one who can tell him off because I am the one who has to deal with all of this shit." She gave a sweeping gesture between herself and I. "I appreciate you trying to defend me but I'm a big girl so back off. I don't need another man thinking he knows better than me about my own life." She glanced at me, her gaze icy and I hunched under it. I didn't like feeling her upset or angry with me. It unsettled me in a way that Amanda's anger never did.

Ricktus held up his hands, signalling he wasn't going to argue with her and she moved into the kitchen. Ricktus looked after her before he moved closer to me. I gave a small surprised growl at the close proximity. I didn't want the male that close to me. "Back off!" I snapped my teeth at him and his eyes narrowed to near slits.

"You are completely and totally unprepared to provide for her needs as a female. She isn't some female shifter you can be lazy with." His voice was a low hiss and I looked away from him. My wolf was banging against my control, wanting free to tear into the male before us. "What you did was reckless and stupid. I don't care why you did it, what I care about is the fact that she is now hurting and its all your fault." Each word compounded the guilt I felt. It was reckless and because of it Lynn was hurting. These were both undeniable facts but I had to live with that, he didn't. He needed to do as Lynn said and back off. "What are you even going to do? Do you think anyone is going to accept whatever is between you two?" It was a harsh set of words and I narrowed my eyes, before looking at him.

"I am taking her to my pack. She will be fine there, safe there." It was familiar territory and everything would be okay. My parents could come around to her eventually but until then I knew I could convince the pack that she was okay and needed to be protected. "Do as she said, back off." I narrowed my eyes at him further as he did the same before he turned around and stalked off.

I shook my head slowly. I couldn't imagine the fight I would have with my parents when it came to bringing Lynn back to the pack. I knew there would be a fight but if there was this much push back with her partner? I didn't even want to think about what my parents were going to act like. I just hoped they kept their bigoted attitudes to themselves when she was around.

I could hear movement in the guest room and I slowly made my way towards it. Lynn and I needed to talk. It was becoming more and more apparent to me. We couldn't keep ignoring the situation and refusing to communicate. Well she needed to stop refusing to communicate. She was ignoring me so hard it was like she believed that if she ignored me enough I would completely disappear.

I slowly opened the door and she was going through one of the boxes the other, creepy, witch had given her. She muttered underneath her breath as she dug through it. She gave a sound of disgust as she closed the flaps before kicking it with a curse. I closed the door behind me and let out a small sigh. "Are you alright?" The question hung in the air as she turned and opened another box, rifling through the contents. One would have thought she hadn't heard me but I saw how her shoulders tensed at the question. She was ignoring me still.

"So tomorrow I was thinking of taking you to my pack." I let the statement hang in the air as I took a few limping steps towards her. My left leg really protested the movements and I tried hard not to rub at it. My pride wanted me to be seen as someone strong in her eyes. She shoved that box away and opened another one, her muttering growing a bit more vicious. "Do you want to talk about that?" I wanted her to open up to me, to tell me about what she was feeling. Communication with Amanda had been easy. She had always been willing to talk to me so being stonewalled by Lynn with basic communication was not something I appreciated.

"What are you looking for?" I moved closer, grabbing one of her boxes and carefully cutting through the tape with my claw. I opened the flaps and a cheery picture of a group of females sat on the top of what looked to be clothes. Before I could get a good look, a small set of hands slammed the box closed and yanked it away from me. Lynn didn't even look at me as she dropped the box on the floor and kicked it towards the others. "Just talk to me." I reached for her, hating the icy distance between us.

She whirled around, moving away from my reach. "And say what, Bastian?" Her eyes narrowed as she looked at me. "That I can't stand being around you because all you do is remind me that I am not me anymore?" Her jaw set itself into a defiant position and her words hurt me, the bond reprimanding me for her current state.

"You are still you, nothing has changed that." I didn't want her to think that this was insurmountable. We would get her through this together.

She gave a heavy scoff to my words. "Yah, its not like I'm now a jobless witch who has no magic. Nothing has changed about me at all." The sarcasm was heavy in her words and I winced at it, running a hand through my hair.

I wanted her to understand that those things were not something I wanted to have happen. "I didn't mean for-"

"It doesn't matter what you meant. What matters is that it happened. Your actions had consequences that I'm dealing with. Not you." She glared at me, that sheen of wetness entering her eyes that made me want to buckle. I didn't want her to cry. I didn't want her to feel hurt like she was but I knew there was nothing I could truly do to make it go away. I couldn't give her, her magic back. It was impossible to undo what the goddess did.

"I know but once we get to my pack we can sit down and figure this out." I said it softly, trying to soothe her over the distance between us. I ached to hold her close but I knew that, with how she was feeling, that was a long way from happening.

"I don't want to go anywhere with you." She shook her had firmly. "I don't want to go any further into this fucked up world, Bastian. I want to go home." She stressed the word as if that would get me to understand but all I wanted was for her to be with me. It was selfish, I knew that, but I had lost Amanda, I wasn't going to lose her too.

"It will be alright." I moved closer, unable to help myself as she slowly shook her head.

"I hate you so much." Her eyes flashed with it and there was that feeling again, the one that made the hair stand up on the back of my neck but I shook it off.

"You can't hate me." As much as her words hurt, I knew the truth of the bond. She couldn't hate me, was incapable of it. I moved closer, wanting to draw her close as she shook, her anger making her cheeks flush and her eyes flash with fire.

"I want too." She looked at me and there was a flash of something in her gaze as I reached for her. "I want too." My fingers brushed the skin of her arm and instead of shoving me away she reached for me too. Her arms wrapped around my neck and she yanked me down, her lips pressing to mine without hesitation.

I gave a low growl as heat flared up within me as my need made itself known. Her hands tangled in my hair as I teased the seam of her mouth with my tongue. She opened up, giving a deep groan as she pressed herself closer to me. I wrapped her in my arms, my eyes closing at the sheer pleasure I got from holding her close.

Her hands dropped down from my neck and she started to tug up at my shirt. I broke away from the kiss, panting slightly as I helped her pull it off. Once it was gone she shoved me hard and I stumbled backwards, my left leg buckling. I landed with an oof on the bed and Lynn followed me, straddling my waist before she bent down and kissed me, nipping at my lips as she wiggled in place.

I could smell her desire, could feel her losing control with her emotions as her nails scratched along my scalp. I felt like I was in heaven as her lips trailed down my jaw and her blunt teeth nipped at my skin. I grabbed her waist, my hands sliding underneath my shirt she wore and I shuddered at the soft feeling of her skin beneath my palms. She was warm, soft, and giving as I gripped at her hips. I slid my hands up, taking the shirt with her until she was forced to lean up and let me slide it off of her.

I met her gaze as she panted, her hands pressing to my chest. My heart thumped hard underneath her touch and I could see the anger in her gaze, that part of her that wanted to prove me wrong. "I want too." She said it breathlessly and I gripped her hips as I sat up, pressing our chests together as I claimed her mouth with another heated kiss.

I slid my hand up her back and tangled it into her hair before I gently tugged her head back, trailing my lips along her jaw as she gasped. "But you can't." I whispered the words into her ear before I gently tugged on her earlobe with my teeth. She gave a low groan before arching her back, goosebumps erupting over her skin. She shoved me down to the bed once more, her nails scratching over my skin as her anger mixed with her passion and desire. I trailed my hands over her flesh, admiring my female between kisses and caresses as the rest of our clothing came off.

I met her gaze once more and it spelled out her want to me in so many different ways and for so many different things as she rose above me, taking me in hand. I flexed my hands on her hips as she slowly slid down my length, her scorching heat enveloping me so perfectly it made my brain flat line. She bent down, kissing me as she moaned her pleasure.

I gripped her hips tightly, forcing her to stay still as she pulsed around me. I nipped at her chin, her neck, and her collarbone, leaving little red marks in my wake. I laved my tongue against the redness of the wound on her neck and she writhed on me with the action, a heavy gasping moan escaping her. That sound was my undoing as I stopped holding her back, stopping holding myself back.

We came together frantically, unable to control ourselves any longer. Our movements were harsh and primal, her hips moving in sync with my own, both of us fighting to reach that peak. She hit hers first, her blunt teeth bit my shoulder as she did her best to muffle the sounds of her release. The faint pain of the bite was enough to send me into my own release as I bit my own arm, silencing my own guttural sounds before we both fell back onto the bed.

I shifted further up the mattress, taking her with me before I slid out of her. She gave a weakly muttered protest before she yawned. I pulled her into my arms, holding her tightly as my heartbeat slowed down to a normal pace. "I hate you." She muttered the words against my chest but they lacked the sting that they had before.

No matter how many times her tempting mouth would say she hated me, the one thing that kept me sane was the thought that no matter how hard she tried. She would never be able too.