Ryker was amazed by the warm welcome. Perhaps staying away from Valerie for a few days did the magic.
"I never thought I held such an important place in your heart. You should marry me so you'll be with me forever," he whispered in her ear. Valerie felt strange and quickly pulled away, a small frown lining her face.
"You are so silly. I missed your presence, but that doesn't mean I'm in love with you."
Ryker looked hurt, his hopes crushed. It was not in their nature to woo a woman, so he was running out of patience with all the threats lingering around. With the mate bond, as long as they felt it and both accepted it, they were fated to love each other, and no one had to pursue the other.
They could even mate and mark each other at that very moment. If Alpha Denzel had known that something like this would happen to her wolf, he would have handled things differently.