I had loved our day together, though Maya seemed distracted at the ice-cream parlour. I think what we had spoken about was laying heavy on her mind. Unsurprisingly, really, it was a big decision to make, and not one I wanted to rush her on. But ultimately she did need to accept that Ryder would need to come and live on Blood Shadow Pack eventually, because I planned for him to be the next Alpha in line.
Maya was my fated mate, if she chose not to be with me, there would be no other mate. Therefore, there would be no other successor to the pack. As much as I had promised her I would not take her son away from her, I would have to at some point in the future if she did not come to the pack voluntarily with him.
But I hoped that would not need to be an issue. I hoped her bond with him woul
