Marrok had never questioned it before. When she asked, it felt natural. She was his fated mate, his equal. If she couldn't read his mind, why should he invade hers? So he promised—without hesitation, without doubt—because it felt like the right thing to do.
But now—
"Until you stop being foolish and look into her mind, I won't ever come out when you need me," Zeev declared, his voice carrying an eerie finality.
Marrok's heart clenched, a cold weight settling in his stomach. His wolf had never said something like that before.
"Are you—" He exhaled sharply, tension tightening his shoulders. "Are you threatening me, Zeev?"
Silence. Nothing. Just like that, Zeev shut him out.
Marrok staggered back a step, the sudden emptiness hitting him like a punch to the gut. The constant presence in his mind—the tether that had been there since he first shifted—was gone. Even when Zeev got pissed and shut him out, it had never felt like this. This wasn't just silence. This was absence.
