Eivind sighed, wishing he had shredded Freyr for all the questions he dug up. Blue was inquisitive, and it was too much to ask apparently that he wouldn't be curious. Talking about his father was among one of the things he wished to avoid talking about all together. It wasn't fair not to highlight his shortcomings with Blue's tentative acceptance of the situation, even if he thought Freyr had done a good job pointing them out.<br/><br/>“Freyr wasn't all wrong. What he said about you was out of line, but I probably deserved the rest,” Eivind started, frowning. “My father used to be the pack alpha, and after he died, I took off. The pack was angry at the circumstances of his death, and they made the decision to go after the people who'd killed my father. A few more were lost, and if I'd been here, they would have respected me enough to tell them it wasn't the time to lash out. I fucked up, and shirked my duties. A lot of the pack still holds a grudge. I should have stepped up. My family has always been a long line of alphas. My bloodline dictates what I'm supposed to be, but I honestly don't want it.” Eivind shrugged. He been selfish and he hadn't considered the consequences of his actions. Nothing was going to change it, and Eivind was still prone to his coming in going. His nature hadn't changed completely, despite his mistake.<br/><br/>“I do still go off sometimes, but I wouldn't leave you. I don't want you to believe that,” he did add, not wanting Blue to think he was totally unreliable. “I don't know if it'd be physically possible for me regardless.”<br/><br/>Eivind made another little huff, as if this was all emotionally draining.<br/><br/>“As far as his comment about me fucking you.. It might make the pack take our mating seriously, like the consummation of a marriage. They're likely to consider your reluctance a refusal, and it's not any of their business if it is.” Eivind was grumbling now, but he waved his hand flippantly. “It doesn't matter. They can't exactly make my dick hard and force it into you, and I don't want a circumstance fuck. I'll figure the rest out, so you don't need to worry about it.” Eivind wasn't fretting it, obviously. He'd take whatever they threw at him in stride, even if it meant taking Blue and laying low elsewhere for a little while. Once thing Eivind was good at was disappearing.<br/><br/>“They wouldn't be so worried over the idea if you'd come here willingly, under difference circumstances. If we'd met, and I'd asked you to come back here with me. Most are going to have a hard time reasoning that you wouldn't want revenge against our kind after what was done to you. Maybe I'm biased, but I'm inclined to trust that you wouldn't do that to us.” It was easy for Eivind. Blue was his mate. He couldn't wrap his head around the young man doing something that could pose a threat to him. It was still a blind faith, but Eivind trusted his instincts.<br/><br/>“We should probably head back. I'm sorry your walk turned out.. less than ideal,” Eivind apologized, and lead him around back to his cabin. He didn't want to encounter anyone else that evening.<br/><br/>“You won't be so cooped up for too much longer, I promise. Is the house okay? Is there anything more you might need before I go? It's late. You really should be resting. Just because you're feeling a little better doesn't mean you should overdo it.” Of course, he hadn't seen the dresser Blue had been shoving around upstairs, otherwise he might have been a little more alarmed.<br/><br/>“Did you eat okay while I was out?” Eivind was checking the contents of the fridge, trying to find what was missing. “And you're not shoveling painkillers, right?”