Chapter 7
Daniel
He should have felt elated.
He’d just spent an earth-shattering night reconnecting with the love of his life—his bond mate.
His? What?
Matthew let out a contented sigh and snuggled closer, his arm snaking across Daniel’s chest, chin tucked against his shoulder.
But to Daniel, it felt more like an anchor holding him down.
A sensation close to panic made his muscles tense. The urge to throw off the omega’s arm and bolt from the bed clawed at him. With each second he lay there, trying to stamp it down, the more his belly roiled.
After so many years of wishing, wanting, dreaming of holding Matthew in his arms—the reality?
It was almost more than he could stand.
Daniel sucked in a breath and gently eased Matthew’s arm from his chest, inching his way to the edge of the bed. Standing, he walked to the picture window, staring out at the frozen vista.
The quiet stillness outside did nothing to calm the maelstrom inside his head.
Leaning forward, he pressed his face to the cold glass and closed his eyes. Some of the tightness in his chest eased as he worked to slow his racing pulse. Yet his mind still spun, trying to reconcile the gravity of the situation, trying to fit all the new pieces of the puzzle together.
Usually, seeing the bigger picture was easy—at least where his clients were concerned.
This time, though, the picture kept shifting.
Daniel was so deep in thought he didn’t notice Matthew wake or move to stand behind him. He registered nothing until he felt hands grip his upper arms and soft lips press feather-light kisses to his back.
Biting back a whimper, Daniel clenched his teeth—but couldn’t stop his body from recoiling.
He needed space. He needed time.
His lungs froze on a breath and held as the room seemed to close in around him.
He needed air.
He could be here—but not now.
Everything he’d ever wanted was reaching out toward him, but he couldn’t take it. And he didn’t know why.
Shrugging off Matthew’s hands, Daniel trembled. His bear was so close to the surface he could feel his features begin to shift.
He couldn’t change here. Not now.
He needed to be alone—to understand what was happening inside him.
Turning from the window, he saw Matthew still standing there, eyes wide with a mixture of confusion and hurt.
Guilt coiled in Daniel’s stomach.
He opened his mouth to speak, to offer some kind of explanation—but the words caught in his throat. He couldn’t lie. Not to Matthew. He couldn’t pretend everything was okay when it wasn’t.
Daniel couldn’t stay.
Moving past him, Daniel grabbed his discarded clothes, pulling them on with jerky movements. He had to go. Had to get away—at least until he could sort out the jumble of emotions warring inside him.
“I… I need some air,” he managed, his voice raspy.
Without waiting for a response, he turned and fled the room, leaving Matthew standing alone, the silence broken only by the soft thud of the door closing behind him.
As he hurried from the cabin, Daniel felt the first tendrils of the change begin to creep through his body. The familiar prickle of fur. The ache in his bones. The shifting of his form.
All the signs indicated his bear was about to break free.
He had to get away. Had to find a secluded spot where he could let the shift take him. Where he could wrestle with his own nature—and the new feelings that swirled inside him.
He had to understand why, after years of longing, the reality of Matthew’s closeness filled him with dread instead of joy.
He had to know why he couldn’t accept what he’d always wanted.