Derek wrapped his arm around her shoulders and settled closer. "It's not just on you, Laur," he promised. They both wanted the same things--that, at least, he could be confident in. And they both always knew that Laura would be the Alpha one day. They just hadn't anticipated it would be when she was so young, or without the support of the rest of the pack. Now that burden was on him.
He squeezed her shoulders, bumped his head against hers. "We've been a family of two for so long," he said, quietly. "I'm not sure I remember how to be more." Guilt twisted his stomach a little, because maybe if he'd been better to Scott, he wouldn't have left. He didn't want the same thing to happen to Mir.