"Ben, he didn't--What he did isn't what made me so mad at you, it was how you reacted, how you were ready to kill him rather than bring him in.  The way you said you felt about me, don't you think that's how he felt about her?  Even if it was wrong?  I'm not saying what he wanted to do was rational, but it came from those same feelings you feel about me..."  Even as the words left her mouth, she knew she was just rehashing an old argument and it wasn't going to get them anywhere.  She gripped his hands with hers and stepped in, pressing her body against him, as her hands moved from his to go around his neck and pull him in close.  That anger and fear was still inside her, the fear that he could be brutal and unrelenting when it came to something that threatened her safety, even in an indirect way.<br/><br/>"It doesn't matter anymore.  We're not going back to that and we're not having this fight again," she whispered as she buried her forehead against his shoulder.<br/><br/>She pulled back after a moment and looked up at.  For the first time in her life, she felt small next to him, and she knew it was a glimmer of how he felt about her.  The mate bond sharing their perspectives of one another.  He saw her as something he needed to keep safe.  "He didn't have it in him to kill the Alpha, and Ben, he was scared.  I'm not saying he's not involved, I'm saying that there might be someone or something beyond him.  He hated your Alpha for banishing him, for keeping him from the girl he loved, so I agree, that all makes sense..."  She looked up into his eyes and bit her lip, fearful of his reaction.  Would her words make him upset?  Angry?  The wolf in her was clawing at her mind, growling at her for even risking another fight.  It wanted nothing more than to press against Ben and soak in his warmth, his needs, his love.  Roxie wanted that too, but she feared he would turn her away if she pressed him.<br/><br/>"I'm not going anywhere this time.  I want you, even if it's hard, I want you."