<b>Chapter </b><b>193 </b>


    Julian’s POV


    I had no idea if I could trust this random man at the gym, but honestly, his exnation was the best one I


    mind. had heard yet. Certainly more usible then all the wild notions crossing my


    A strain in the mating bond could certainly exin my rise in possessiveness and the rage I felt, the urge I had to punch Roman in the face.


    I couldn’t be sure, and I certainly couldn’t move forward on the guess of a stranger. So after cleaning myself up in the locker room of the gym, I made my way to the library.


    Research had never been one of my stronger skillsets. As an Alpha, I was more prone to a straightforward approach, busting heads together until someone else spilled the answer. But since be reunited with Amber, especially when I took on the role as her assistant, I learned some skills I never would have thought I’d have the patience for in the past.


    My training with Amber had prepared me for tasks like this, so I knew how to track down the information I needed, or at least where to search for it. Even with that confidence and knowledge, it took me a couple of hours to find the right book, and then longer to discover what I needed from inside of it.


    Books on mating bonds tended to be mostly fluff. It was more difficult to find scientific tomes, especially those that covered what could be wrong. But after some intense searching, I finally found a book of possible medical conditions that directly rted to the mating bond.


    After searching for my symptoms, specifically my increased possessiveness and my rise in aggression toward other males around my mate, I was able to limit what it could be.


    In fact, it seemed absolutely certain to be one thing.


    After sleeping with a mate for the first time in a long time, the mating bond will feel strained and needed


    to be reestablished.


    It was just as the man at the gym had warned me about.


    To reaffirm the bond and <i>to </i>calm my possessiveness, I needed to bite Amber.


    The problem with that, of course, was I could not envision her allowing me to do that in a hundred years. <b>I </b>was still uncertain of our rtionship at present. Right now, even after just having sex recently, we seemed caught somewhere between friendship and more than friends.


    If I pushed for something like this, it would undoubtedly drive her away from me. Besides that, I wouldn’t want her to feel forced, to cure this medical condition. If hopefully when I restored our bond by renewing the bite on her neck, I hoped it would to reaffirm our love.


    –


    Until then, I had to just deal with it. Unless there was some other solution…<b>? </b>


    –


    I searched through the book, but it offered little other alternatives. The only other option, it seemed, was to break the mating bond entirely through mutual rejection.


    Like hells, we would be doing that. I could deal with this forever, if that was the alternative.


    But the longer I was left to think about it, the more uncertain I was about everything. I was starting <i>to </i>feel somewhat feral, and I didn’t want to give into the aggressiveness and identally hurt someone, especially in front of Amber or Alice.


    I was an Alpha. I needed to be an example for my family and my pack. If no one could trust me not to blow up, then I didn’t deserve my title.


    The more I thought about it, the more I thought that maybe I should talk to Amber about this. Not because I wanted her to agree to renewing the mating bite, but because she was the best Healer on the continent. If there was anyone who might have some additional solutions, wouldn’t it be her?


    She was an expert on health. She had probably even dealt with conditions like this before.


    If I exined this to her and told her I was looking for a third solution – she might know where to look if nothing else. And I could do the research. I’d be happy to if it meant not pressuring her or losing her.


    I’d do whatever I had to, to keep the status quo.


    So, that evening, after Amber and Alice returned and we all sat to dinner around our small table, I thought of broaching the issue.


    “Someone said something strange at the gym today,” I said to preface.


    Amber nodded, not truly paying attention to me. She seemed utterly distracted, her gaze mostly drawn to


    Alice.


    “It was really interesting,” I pressed. “I think it might be relevant.”


    “That’s nice,” she said, and I deted slightly.


    I knew she had a lot of her own drama going on, especially with Rafael maybe her brother and Roman’s


    return. But… if nothing else, we were friends. Surely she could make a minute for me?


    Although, maybe this was a sign I shouldn’t talk to her about this. What if she wanted to force a rejection. for my sake? I’d rather suffer.


    Looking at Alice, Amber proved she hadn’t been paying attention at all to me, lost in her own thoughts, by asking her daughter, “Alice, how would you feel about seeing Roman again?”


    Alice froze.


    Alice’s POV


    I didn’t really want to see Roman again. He could be scary sometimes, though I didn’t think he meant to be. He just wanted things that I didn’t want. Like, he wanted to be my dad, but Julian was the dad I wanted. He also wanted Mom to be his wife.


    <b>I </b>didn’t like that idea either. To me, the perfect family would be Mom as my mom and Julian as my dad. I’d been secretly hoping that they would want to get married, making us a family for real.


    They both were kind of stubborn though, at least when it came to that. They liked each other, even I could tell, but they never really admitted to each other. Every time I think they will, one or the other got cold


    feet.


    I wished I could just smoosh them together until they figured out how much they loved each other. Love


    shouldn’t be this hard!


    Adults didn’t do enough talking. Or maybe they talked too much, but none of what they really said was all


    that important.


    They didn’t say the important parts out loud.


    Things like, I love you and I want you to be my wife.


    If Julian said that, everything would work out.


    Instead, Mom was asking me if I wanted to see Roman.


    Did she want to see Roman?


    I didn’t want Roman to be my Dad, but I did want my mom to be happy. Did she think Roman would make her happy? But what about Julian?


    Adults could be so confusing sometimes.


    Maybe what they really needed was my help. If I could find a way to get Mom and Julian together, so they could realize they want to be together, then we could be a family for real.


    Roman didn’t have anything to do with anything.


    And he only seemed to make Dad mad.


    “I guess,” I said, hoping that Mom could see that as a no.


    Instead she nodded. “Okay.”


    Ug! That wasn’t what I wanted.


    Mom and Dad both really needed my help. It seemed like I was the only one who could bring this family


    together.


    And I would do whatever <b>I </b>could to make that happen!


    Chapter <b>194 </b>