“You thought I was up to something. That-that makes sense.” I had no idea what was happening at the time, but I get why he was so guarded now.
“When you kissed me, I thought this is it, this is when I end whatever game you’re playing and laugh in your face. I almost did. But then I thought, if this is the only way I’m ever gonna have you, why not? As long as I don’t let myself want more.”
“There was always a distance between us. I didn’t know you were just protecting yourself.” I swallow hard, the pieces falling into place. “And I was afraid to tell you we were mates since we’d never gotten along and then you were so standoffish. I kept hoping you’d figure it out for yourself if we spent more time together. It all makes sense now. Of course it didn’t work. You already knew the truth.”
“Yeah, and you kept trying to get closer. It was messing with my head,” Bane admits.
I let out a humorless chuckle. “I know the feeling. For so long, you were just an obnoxious asshole, and yet you’re the one who told me to believe in myself and helped me awaken my magic.”
“Can’t take much credit there. I always knew you had magic. I saw it when I Recognized you.”
He looks as dazed as me. We sit there, letting it all sink in. I think we’re both replaying various small moments in our minds and seeing them in new lights.
“This is why you always judge me and act better than me,” I realize.
“I don’t do that.”
“You make little comments loud enough for me to hear. Make sure I see you with dates. You show off.”
“Okay, I do that,” he huffs, ducking his head. “My way of showing you what you were missing out on, what you could have had. Honestly, you’re right. I did think I was better than you, but not because I’m an alpha, or I have money, or your pack is too laidback, or anything like that. It’s because you rejected me without giving me a chance.”
Now that everything is out in the open… I have absolutely no clue what to do now. Everything I thought I knew about my mate was incorrect.
“What, uh, what happens now?” I wonder.
He doesn’t respond. When I look over, he’s staring at the cobblestone tiles under our feet. He’s so still that I almost want to poke him and see if he’s still breathing.
“Bane? Say something.”
Then he springs into action, grabbing my hand and pulling me along behind him as we dart across the courtyard. “Come on.”
“Where are we going?”
“The Iron Pack.”
My eyes widen. “You’re throwing me in the dungeons?”
“No. You want answers?”
I nod firmly. “I do.”
“Me too. I know where to get them.”
“Oh. In that case, lead the way.”
15.Alpha vs. Mates
Josh
Is this what cheating death feels like?
Bane strides into Elias Blackwood’s office without any hesitation, not even bothering to knock. His anger has wiped away all caution and left him immune to the Alpha’s instant wrath.
I’m not so lucky. I hover nervously in the doorway, stuck by Elias’s sharp gaze as we march in without an appointment. My wolf instincts scream at me to lower my eyes, bare my throat, and do anything to appease the predator whose territory we’ve just invaded.
My human instincts are telling me to punch the Alpha. It’d be worth a trip to the dungeons.
“What is the meaning of this intrusion?” the older man demands.
