“What?!” But Lucas is jumping down from he treehouse and I wrap my arms around his neck. When we get to the ground, he lets me get off and I look up at him, “What did you just say?” “It’s complicated,” Lucas says, his face shuttered. He begins to walk into the forest and I follow after him, “I have a right to know, Lucas. You’re my mate." He looks over his shoulder at me, "You're very quick to use the mate excuse when it’s convenient for you.” I catch up to him, "You know that's not what I'm trying to do. I just want to know a little bit more about you.” The journey to the archives is a five day one by foot so it’s not like we don’t have time. “My parents died when I was a teenager. They were the Alpha pair of the pack,” Lucas says, quietly, walking forward. I have to struggle to

