“Hey there, gorgeous,” Bryce said to Sabrina, trying to catch her attention. She glanced over her shoulder, rolled her eyes, and continued walking without acknowledging him any more than that.
“Ouch, that’s cold,” Bryce bit out under his breath. He couldn’t stand being ignored, especially by someone he was into.
It was then that I saw Liam staring intently at Sabrina. His gaze was sharp and focused, as if he were trying to decipher some hidden meaning in her actions. I sifted through my memories, desperately seeking any thread of connection between them.
“Something wrong?” I asked Liam, trying to sound casual.
“Nothing.” He sounded distant and never once stopped watching Sabrina’s retreating figure.
Curiosity piqued, I closed my eyes and reached out with my wolf, focusing on the bond between wolves. It was a powerful and intimate connection, one that went far deeper than the superficial relationships most people experienced. It was only shared between true mates.
To my shock, there was a faint thread of that bond emanating from Liam, drawing him toward Sabrina like an invisible tether. I stifled my gasp. The bond was still weak, barely formed, but it was undoubtedly there.
“Wait, you and Sabrina?” I whispered in disbelief.
Liam stiffened, his eyes narrowing as he finally tore his attention away from Sabrina. “What are you talking about?” he growled.
“You must be able to feel that? It might be weak, but the fated bond between you two is there.” I struggled to wrap my head around the revelation.
Bryce’s gaze darted between Liam and Sabrina, the tension in the air straining like a taut bowstring. The gears were practically turning in Bryce’s head as he tried to figure out what was happening. “A fated bond between a shifter and a human?” he exclaimed. “Who ever heard of such a thing?
“Then again,” Bryce continued, a note of grudging acceptance entering his voice, “The Wylde family bloodline is definitely unique. Liza’s your fated mate, after all.”
I chose to ignore the dig.
Liam’s gaze momentarily wandered elsewhere, lost in thought, before finding its way back to Sabrina. His expression was unreadable, but I already knew him well enough to recognize the unease simmering beneath the surface.
As Bryce’s shoulders slumped in resignation, Liam reached out and patted him on the back. The gesture was awkward, almost tentative, but I recognized it for what it was—an attempt at reassurance.
Liam gave one last bittersweet gaze at Sabrina before heading inside without another word.
“Whatever was going on with you and Sabrina, it’s over now, you know that right?” I told Bryce quietly. “She’s clearly his mate.”
Bryce stiffened further at my words, his jaw clenching, but he didn’t argue. We both knew that challenging someone as dominant as an alpha like Liam would be a recipe for disaster.
“Let’s just… focus on the task at hand, shall we?” I tried to defuse the situation before it could escalate. “We have more important things to worry about.”
“Right,” Bryce muttered, the muscles in his neck still corded with tension. He hurried to his car and left the estate, gravel crunching under his tires.
While I mulled over the implications of this presumed love triangle, I caught a whiff of Sabrina’s scent in the air—a heady mix of jasmine and something uniquely her own. I wondered what it must be like for someone like Liam to experience that pull, that bone-deep connection to another being. I pushed the thought away, fully aware that at that moment, there was no time for such distractions.
I turned and made my way back up the steps and into the house, pulled by our bond to be near my mate.
107
LIZA
The first rays of sunlight peeked through the curtains, warming my face. I stirred, my body buzzing with newfound energy, rejuvenated after yesterday’s nightmare. Ty pulled me against him and pressed butterfly kisses against my cheeks, eyelids, and then my forehead.
“Good morning,” he murmured, his voice gruff and thick with sleep.
“Morning.” I wrapped my arms around him, tracing the contours of his back with my fingertips, relishing the taut muscles beneath my touch, and released a contented sigh.
Ty’s stormy gray eyes fixed on me, and he brushed a stray strand of hair out of my face. “Are you feeling better today?”
I nodded and scooted away to sit up. “So much better. Thank you for taking care of me.”
Ty frowned slightly, his fingers tracing invisible patterns on my arm. “I was worried about you. I’ve never seen you fight for control like that.”
