But Adam needed his pack behind him--and because of me, they weren't.
If I was going to be the problem, I owed it to him to be part of the solution.
So I was going to see if all those times I watched the Marrok twist people in little knots would allow me to use his techniques to achieve the same results.
I smiled at her.
"I want you to tell me what your problem with me is.
Right here, right now, where there is no one else to interfere." "You are the problem, Mercedes," she snapped.
"A scavenger coyote among wolves.
You don't belong here." "Oh, come on.
You can do better than that," I goaded her.
"You sound like you're Jesse's age--and Jesse doesn't sound like that." Her eyes veiled as she considered what I said.
"All right," she said after a minute.
"Point to you.
First problem--you let Adam rot for two years after he claimed you as his mate.
And during that two years our pack fell apart because Adam could barely keep himself calm--and was nearly useless at helping anyone else keep their wolf in check." "Agreed," I said.
"But I have to point out in my defense that Adam never asked me if I wanted to be his mate during that time--or before he declared it in front of the pack.
He never asked me either before or after.
I wasn't a pack member--and his declaration was to keep the rest of the wolves away--so I didn't even find out about this until well after it happened.
Even then, no one told me the consequences until just a few months ago, and as soon as I figured out what was happening to the pack and to Adam because of that claim, I made a decision." "How kind of you," she snapped, her eyes brightening with temper.
"To become Adam's mate for the pack's sake." "Point to me," I told her calmly.
"The choice I made had nothing to do with the problems in the pack--all Adam needed was an answer, and `no' would have worked just as well to set the pack back in order.
I agreed because .
.
.
because he's Adam."Mine, whispered a voice in my head, but I was pretty sure that it was my own voice.
"Second problem," she said between gritted teeth.
"It was your invitation to the stray that led to Adam being almost killed and Jesse kidnapped." "Nope." I shook my head.
"You can't lay that one on me.
That was werewolf business from beginning to end.
I got involved because I was in the wrong place at the wrong time.
No more, no less.