“And take land away from someone else who needs it? No matter whose pack I try to take the lands from, that pack will just ask for more territory. And if I start to give away free land, the other Alphas will have my head.”
“Why? No one is using it?”
“No man’s land is there for a reason. There is space between every pack to allow rogues and travelers to pass without crossing any boundaries. Wildlife also resides there. Without the free lands, animals would be herded into packs and either bred forcefully or killed off. There goes our main food supply.”
“I had no idea it was so important.” I let go of the harsh glare I had been donning.
“Everything is balanced.” Theo held up his hands in a mock scale. “When one person oversteps, things shift, and their needs have to come from somewhere else. That’s what my job is-to find the balance.”
“So, Reed wants more, and you won’t give it to him, he blames you and takes it out on me?”
“I think if there’s one thing Reed hates more than me, its humans.” He reached out and grabbed my shoulder, pulling me closer until our chests were flush. “I’m sorry, Margo.” He breathed out, kissing the crown of my head. “I was trying to protect you.”
“I understand,” I said, though it was muffled by his broad chest.
“Did you have a good day?”
“It was…uneventful,” I settled.
“I’m sorry.” He moved away from me, and he took his warmth with him. The cool air of the house swept between us, and a shiver ran from the base of my spine up to my shoulders and down to my fingers. “I was just frustrated, and I wanted to give you some space.”
“Space would have been fine. Ignoring me and then leaving all day?” I squinted. “Not as fine.”
“Bad mate moment?” He cringed. His steely exterior melted away, and he looked like a scolded child.
“Bad mate moment.” I smiled softly.
“Can I make up for it?”
“How?”
“Well.” He brushed a piece of hair behind my ear. “I could wake up early and make your breakfast in bed, and I could show you more of the territory, we could spend the day together, and I don’t know, whatever you’d want to do tomorrow.”
I nodded, agreeing to his proposition, and headed to bed. In the morning, he woke me gently with a kiss on my cheek and softly said my name. I groaned and rolled over to go back to sleep.
“Margo, love,” he said sweetly in the ear. “What do you want for breakfast?”
“Sleep, Theo, I want sleep for breakfast.”
He laughed. “You can go back to sleep, love, but what do you want to eat when you wake up?”
“Eggs,” I mumbled in my sleepy haze. “And bananas…and peaches…and toast.”
“Okay,” Theo whispered. He kissed my cheek again and tucked me back into the blankets. I slept for some time before I noticed that Theo was gone. I rolled over and looked around the room. I could hear his footsteps coming up the stairs, and I closed my eyes.
“Margo, I know you’re awake.” He laughed loudly when he walked into the room. I squinted up at him, unhappy that he called my bluff. “I brought breakfast.”
I sat up and took the tray he handed me. On it were plates filled with fried eggs, sliced bananas and peaches, a piece of toast with jam, sliced potatoes, and a few strips of bacon. I looked at Theo, who sat down next to me with a similar looking tray.
“This is good,” I complimented, smiling shyly.
“Yeah, except for the peaches,” he said in disgust as he placed another peach slice on his tongue.
“Why do you keep eating them then?”
“Because this is what you’re eating, and I told you we were going to do whatever you wanted.”
We finished breakfast. Theo washed our dishes, and then we got dressed to go out on our walk. The air had gotten a few degrees warmer, which meant Theo stopped trying to put winter boots and gloves on me when we went outside. There was still a slight chill to the air, but it was refreshing.
The woods that surrounded the house were thick, pine, fir, and sequoia trees all blended together in a mix of shadows. Theo took my hand and led me down a dirt path that was cleared. We walked for ten minutes and then reached a small clearing where six large boulders were piled together. In three bounds, Theo had left my side and climbed up to the largest boulder and stood on the top childishly. He laughed boyishly and motioned for me to come up as well. I shook my head; my balance wasn’t as good as his. I would certainly fall.
“What is all this?” I called to him.
“When we were little, my dad took us here, and there were only two, one for my mom and one for him. He said when we got older, we would have to prove our strength to the pack by getting a boulder from the cliff and carrying it here.”
I stood in awe; the rocks were huge. I brushed my fingers over the smallest one, which was still three times the size of me.
“Which one is yours?” I said curiously. He smiled and pointed to the one he was standing on, the largest one. I raised my eyebrow.“Of course, you have the biggest one,” I grumbled.
He laughed.“This one is my father’s,” he said, pointing to the second largest. “The only way I could take over my father’s title was if I could carry a larger rock than his up here. That one is Gabe’s, then Reese’s, and Eli’s, and the smallest one is my mother’s.”
“Will I get one?” I asked wistfully.
“You’ll have to bring your own up here, sweetheart,” he said happily.
“Theo, I’m never going to
