About him.
Her omega nature and the bond between them might keep her from coming at him with a knife or a gun again, but she'd never accept him as her true mate unless he could somehow change her mind.
Troy had been telling himself all morning that it didn't matter. That as long as she kept hollering his name when his knot swelled, what the fuck did he care?
But he did care—he cared enough to want to take a sledge to her old van and smash it into a twisted wreck.
The reason was simple. Until Faith accepted him, she would never bite him. Never claim him as her own and never allow him to claim her back. And that was what Troy really wanted.
What he needed.
The urge to mark Faith as his own had come roaring out of nowhere the first time he entered her and only grown stronger since until it was a raging need that overshadowed every breath he took.
Troy needed to make it clear to every alpha in the Boundarylands that Faith was his omega. That she belonged to him and him alone. It was an instinctive need, as elemental as hunger and thirst. It was what an alpha lived for.
But nature didn't work that way. Troy could never claim her without her claiming him first. Without her choosing him of her own free will.
Only then could he truly make her his.
That was why he was out here freezing his balls off working on a job that could easily wait until tomorrow, trying to drive out some of his frustration with hard work.
Instead, every passing moment only made him feel worse.
And now, on top of everything else, he was going to have to deal with company.
Troy wiped his hands on his jeans as Ty pulled the banged-up van to a stop just outside the door, and Mia parked their own truck alongside.
"I thought you might want this," Ty said as he got out of the truck. Judging by the sour look on his face, he couldn't get away from the clunker fast enough. Troy was amazed the thing had made it all the way out to his place, considering it looked and sounded even worse than he remembered.
"Bullshit," he retorted, glaring at the rusted brown panels. "Nobody would want this."
"Including me." Ty shrugged. "The truth is that it's ugly as hell, and I wanted it out of my parking lot."
"More bullshit," a female voice corrected. Mia stepped around Ty's truck, their pup cradled in her arms. "The actual truth is that it's been four full days since you drove off with Hope's sister, and I made him bring me out here so I could see for myself that everything's okay."
Ty shrugged sheepishly. "The truth is complicated."
"Don't worry about it," Troy said, turning and slamming the hood of Aric's truck shut. At least he'd finished the job before being interrupted. "You aren't the only ones to check up on me today. Maddox was already out here first thing this morning."
"Really?" Mia said. "How did that go? Was Faith with him?"
Troy rested his hip against the side of the truck and shook his head.
"Not great," he said in response to her first question. "And thankfully, no. He wanted to check things out first before bringing her over."
"Not a bad idea," Ty said. "She made a hell of a first impression, shooting out the side of the bar."
Troy gave a low warning growl. It was one thing for him to think his omega might be a little high-strung. It was another for anyone else to comment, and he wasn't having it.
"It was two shots, one at me and one at the trees. That old bar of yours has seen a hell of a lot worse."
Ty surrendered the point, raising his hands in apology. "No offense meant, brother."
Good.
But as much as Troy hated to admit it, the alpha had a point. Troy was on edge, almost asking for a fight—but getting into one with a friend wouldn't give him any satisfaction.
"It's fine. Honestly, it hasn't been the best morning so far. Faith hasn't—" Troy searched for the best way to put it. "—She hasn't settled into her new life yet."
Ty and Mia both nodded knowingly. Troy didn't have to say it out loud. They both knew what four days and no claiming bite could do to a guy. They were lucky Troy had welcomed them here at all.
"You know…it took me a while too," Mia said after a long moment had passed.
"Far too long," Ty groaned.
Mia rolled her eyes, and Troy got the feeling that this was still a sore spot between them. "But eventually I settled in. And everything's been fine since."
"Only fine?" Ty teased.
"Okay, better than fine," she admitted, unable to hide a grin. "Amazing. The point is these things can take time."
Hopefully, not too much time, Troy thought. His patience was not unlimited.
"Besides," Ty said with a chuckle. "Think of all the money you'll be saving from now on."
"Money?" Troy echoed, confused.
"It's Friday," Ty said. "The only Friday I can remember where you won't be first in line for one of Nicky's girls."
Holy shit--it was Friday, and if this had been any other week, Troy would have already been chomping at the bit, counting the hours until the sun went down.
But instead, he'd probably just stay out here, work on trucks, and try not to think too much about how he'd be spending the night—either listening to Faith call out his name in ecstasy or watching her contemplating all the ways she planned to send him to hell.
Chapter Ten
Faith felt disoriented when she opened her eyes, but it wasn't because she didn't know where she was.
On the contrary, she had a feeling
