The more he spoke, the more confused she grew. Her head spun with questions and complaints upon the topic, and the longer they remained on the subject, the more she wanted to leave it. 'Try' to be mates? Was that how it worked? Mate-ship wasn't something they could trial and experiment with, or at least she didn't think they could. It was a black or white kind of thing. And what would her family think of it? 'Oh, we're just testing the whole mate thing to see how it goes.' Her relationship with them was barely holding together, and she didn't want to disrupt what bond she had by saying she had a mate. They weren't even close to that stage in their life, nor did she think they would be understanding of her.
The least she wanted to do was argue. There was no room in their relationship for arguments. She just wanted to raise her opinion and concerns. "I don't know if I'm ready," she confessed softly, hoping he'd understand it wasn't entirely about what he wanted, but what they wanted. Unlike her, he was totally ready to take their relationship forward. So ready that he made assumptions and told the whole pack about it. She didn't want there to be any surprises like there had been. "So we can just declare that we're mates, here and now?" It all sounded too soon, too quick for her. What were they going to do for their remaining eight or so years? Continue being mates?
He replied to her query saying he felt surreal - whatever that meant, and added how the wolves of Myriad - their new pack-mates - were sufficient for now. She gave a small nod of agreement. The pack didn't seem like much now, though she could envision everyone coming together and making Myriad truly a strong home worth being a part of. There were a couple wolves she knew would rise through the ranks, and as their queen, with equal authority as the alpha, she had to be constantly thinking about her pack-mates. She carried more power than she ever imagined. "I'm still trying to get my head around being a queen. Seems like a big thing," she admitted with a nervous chuckle. "I don't even know how to be one."
