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of being pleased that his mate could take care of himself, Talan was acting as if Adrian had betrayed him. If he was looking for a defenceless fragile thing, then Adrian wasn’t the one for him.
    “I think it’s time for me to go home now,” Adrian told the golden lion shifter, avoiding his gaze. He couldn’t look at the lion, he was too angry. After thinking he found his mate, his heart almost couldn’t take the disappointment. It was devastating.
    Talan nodded. “You should rest after such a traumatic encounter.” Adrian didn’t bother to correct him. He let the larger man drive him back to the pride house without comment. Blinking back tears, he went to his room and collected his bags.
    “Where are you going?” Talan asked. Stepping into the doorway, he blocked Adrian’s path.
    “I told you I’m going home. I have to decide if I can live with a man who thinks I’m entirely useless.”
    Talan frowned. “Why would you say that? I have never said you were useless.”
    “You think I’m weak and in need of protection. I told you I could take care of Olson, but you took one look at me and decided I was a frail, defenceless thing who needed to be protected. I’m not fragile, or weak and I don’t need a mate who thinks I am.” It was hard to push the words out when his heart felt as if it was going to rip in two.
    The weight on his chest made it difficult to breathe, but he had to let Talan know that he wasn’t going to put up with this type of behaviour. He tolerated his brother because they’d grown up together.
    However, Talan hadn’t watched Adrian grow from a baby to a man, and he should have more trust in his mate.
    “How will you get home?” Talan asked, folding his arms across his chest.
    “I’ll take him,” Kevin offered from the hallway.
    Talan growled at him.
    Kevin held up his hands in a show of peace. “We can’t stop the wolf. If Adrian calls his brother and tells him he’s unhappy, there will be a bucket of trouble. As much as I like Adrian, I’m not willin’ to start an interspecies war because you can’t trust your mate.”
    “I trust my mate!” Talan shouted.
    “I’ll take you.” Kevin picked up two of Adrian’s bags.
    FROM PACK TO PRIDE
    Amber Kell
    51
    The pair walked to Kevin’s car in silence. Adrian didn’t even comment when the other man opened the door to a gas guzzling pickup.
    Talan watched from the garage door but did nothing further to stop Adrian leaving.
    Miles passed before Kevin spoke. “He really loves you, you know. I’ve never seen him this protective of anyone before. Is it the lion thing? Can you not live with a bunch o’ cats?” Adrian sighed. Pressing his forehead against the cool glass of the window he tried to rally his thoughts. “It has nothing to do with you guys being lions. You were all really welcoming. I enjoyed my stay with you, as short as it was. It’s about him trusting me to know my limitations. I won’t live in a bubble. My entire life my brother has tried to keep me protected from everything. I won’t continue to live a sheltered existence because my mate doesn’t trust me to watch his back. An alpha mate has to be strong, and I can’t stay with Talan if he’s never going to believe I’m strong enough to be by his side.”
    “How’s leavin’ him going to prove your strength?” Kevin asked. “I’d think it’d make more sense to fight ‘im than to leave ‘im. I know if was lucky enough to find my mate and then he left me, I’d be too broken to think about anything other than what a failure I was.
    What do you think he’s going to learn from this?” Adrian didn’t snap at Kevin because the lion shifter sounded more curious than condemning. “I want him to think about what he wants in a mate. If he wants a partner, then I’m willing. If he wants a pretty cuddle mate, he’ll need to look elsewhere.” Adrian gave the handsome shifter a curious glance. “I thought you were straight.” Kevin shrugged. “I like