Chapter 62 Nathan's Truth
NATHAN'S POV
Lisa turned toward the meeting room where Marcus Krane waited but I caught her arm gently. "Five minutes. Please."
She looked at me with those silver eyes still processing everything that had happened in the last hour. Ryan's letter, Daniel's bloody entrance, Sophia's return with a powerful Alpha at her side. "Nathan, we do not have time. Marcus Krane is not a patient man."
"Five minutes," I repeated. "Daniel can brief the council. This cannot wait."
Lisa nodded slowly and we stepped into an empty side office. The afternoon light filtered through the window and I could see dust particles floating in the air between us. My heart was pounding because I had rehearsed this conversation a hundred times in my head but now that the moment was here, every word felt inadequate.
"I heard Ryan's conversation through the door," I admitted. "I was coming to find you and I heard everything you said to each other."
Lisa's face flushed slightly. "How much did you hear?"
"Enough to know he finally understands what he lost, enough to know you are terrified of forgiving him and enough to know you do not know what you want." I took a breath. "And I need to tell you my truth before you walk into that meeting room and before you go to Western Pack to figure yourself out."
She waited and her expression was open but guarded. I had seen that look before when she was preparing for something painful.
"I have been in love with you for over a year," I said and the words came out steadier than I expected. "Long before the mate bond completion. Long before Ryan came back into your life. I fell in love with the way you handle pack disputes with fairness instead of power. The way you remember everyone's names and ask about their families. The way you sing off key when you think no one is listening."
Lisa's eyes widened. "Nathan, I did not know."
"I know you did not. I hid it well because you were healing and I did not want to pressure you. But here is what I did not say before and what I need you to understand now." I moved closer and the space between us felt charged. "I cannot be second choice. I will not be the guy you settle for when Ryan does not work out or Adrian is too far away. If you choose me, it needs to be because you actively want me. Not convenience or safety or gratitude for being there during hard times."
Her breath caught. "I care about you. You know that."
"I do know that and that is what makes this harder," I said honestly. "Right now you do not know what you want. You said it yourself to Ryan. You built your identity around anger and now you do not know who you are without it. So I am stepping back too."
"You are stepping back?" Lisa's voice was small.
"Go to Western Pack," I told her. "Take Adrian up on his offer. Figure yourself out away from all of us. Away from Ryan's guilt and grand gestures. Away from Adrian's patient perfection. Away from me and whatever we have built together. But do not choose me out of guilt or gratitude. I deserve more than that. We both deserve more than that."
Lisa reached for my hand and her fingers were trembling. "What if I come back and I still do not know? What if I cannot choose?"
"Then you tell me that and I will accept it," I said simply. "But if you come back and you truly want me, if you choose me because I am who you want to wake up next to and build a life with, then I will be here. Until then I am just your Third and your friend. Nothing more."
"Just my Third and friend," she repeated and tears formed in her eyes. "After everything we have shared?"
I cupped her face gently and wiped away a tear with my thumb. "After everything we have shared, I care about you enough to let you figure out what you actually want instead of what is easiest or most convenient. I have watched you be strong for everyone else. Now be strong for yourself."
She leaned into my touch and closed her eyes. "I do not want to lose you."
"You will not lose me," I promised. "But I need you to choose me if you want me. Not default to me because the other options did not work out. Can you understand that?"
Lisa opened her eyes and nodded. "I can understand that. It is fair and more than fair actually. You have been nothing but patient and kind and I have been taking that for granted."
"You have not been taking anything for granted," I corrected. "You have been surviving. But now you need to move from surviving to living and you cannot do that while juggling three men who all want different versions of you."
She laughed softly and it was watery but genuine. "Three men. How did I get here?"
"You are remarkable and people notice remarkable," I said simply. "Now go show Marcus Krane why you do not mess with a silver wolf. Show him the Alpha who defended her position against two challenges in one day. Show him the woman who built a pack from broken pieces into something stronger."
Lisa straightened her shoulders and I saw the shift happen in real time. The vulnerable woman became the Alpha. Strong, decisive, ready for battle. "Thank you for being honest with me."
"Always," I said.
She moved toward the door and I followed. My chest ached because stepping back from her was one of the hardest things I had ever done but it was right. She needed space and I needed to know that if she chose me it was a real choice and not a convenient one.
As I opened the door, Emma was standing there. Guilt was written all over her face and her hands were twisting together nervously. She looked between Lisa and me with a look I had never seen before. Fear mixed with shame.
"Lisa, I need to tell you something before you meet with Marcus Krane," Emma said and her voice shook. "Something about Sophia and your mother's journal. I have been keeping a secret and if you go into that meeting without knowing you will be walking into a trap I helped set."