Seth’s lips pull back in something that might be called a smile but is more like a grimace. “That’s not possible. This is official business, and I need to speak with her privately.”
Annoyance flares through me. I already told him everything that happened. What more could he possibly want to know? I suspect what he really wants is to understand this whole fated matesituation—why Zane thinks we’re bonded when Seth and I used to be. That’s going to be a fun conversation.
“Selene,” Seth says, his voice commanding despite the bafflement still written all over his face. “Come with me to my office.”
I don’t want to leave Zane, and I don’t want to deal with whatever interrogation Seth has planned. But the authority in his voice makes it clear this isn’t a request.
“I’ll see you later,” I whisper to Zane, reluctantly stepping away from his warmth.
His hand catches mine briefly, squeezing gently. “I’ll be here when you get back.”
The promise in his voice gives me just enough strength to turn away and follow Seth across the garden, already dreading the questions I know he’s going to throw at me.
The walkto Seth’s office feels like a death march. I can practically see the tension radiating off him as he strides ahead of me, his shoulders rigid with barely contained emotion. When we reach his door, he holds it open with exaggerated courtesy, but the moment we step inside, everything changes.
The door slams shut behind me with a bang that echoes through the room. Before I can even turn around, strong hands grab my shoulders and spin me back against the wood. Seth cages me there with his arms on either side of my head, his face inches from mine.
“What the hell is Zane talking about?” he demands, his voice low and dangerous.
But there’s something else in his green eyes that surprises me: panic. Real, honest-to-god panic, like his world has fallen off its axis. The sight of it sends a rush of satisfaction through me that I don’t bother to hide.
“He’s right,” I say simply, meeting Seth’s gaze without flinching.
His jaw clenches so hard, I can hear his teeth grinding. “You and I are fated mates, Selene.”
I push his hands away from the door frame, forcing him to step back. “Not anymore,” I tell him with a calm that seems to unnerve him. “I don’t feel the fated mate bond toward you anymore. I feel it toward Zane.”
His mouth opens and closes like a fish gasping for air. “How is that possible?”
I brush past him and settle into one of the visitors’ chairs, crossing my legs with deliberate casualness. The action clearly throws him off balance; I can see him struggling to process this new version of me, the one who isn’t shrinking away from his anger.
“Why do you care?” I ask, tilting my head with mock curiosity. “You wished I was gone. And now, I feel nothing for you. Isn’t that what you wanted?”
Seth stands frozen in the middle of his office, staring at me like I’ve grown a second head. “It’s not possible,” he says, his voice hoarse. “I still feel the bond toward you.”
A laugh bubbles up from my chest, sharp and bitter. “Stop lying, Seth.”
His face darkens with anger. “I’m not—”
“Ask whatever questions you have and let me go,” I interrupt him, examining my nails with exaggerated boredom. “I want to go back to Zane.”
There’s a dangerous glint in his eyes at the mention of Zane’s name. “You’re suddenly very interested in him,” he says scathingly. “Is it because he’s a nobleman?”
This time, I laugh outright, shaking my head. “You can be as nasty as you want, Seth. It doesn’t bother me because you don’t matter to me anymore.”
I can see my words hitting their mark, the way his face pales slightly before flushing with anger. Good. Let him feel a fraction of what he put me through.
“In the ten minutes I spent in Zane’s company, he treated me with more courtesy than you ever have,” I continue, my voice steady and calm. “So yes, I’m drawn to him. The fated mate bond also helps.”
I know I’m upsetting Seth. I can see it in the way hishands form fists at his sides, the way his breathing becomes shallow and quick. Part of me should feel guilty, but mostly I just feel satisfied. This is payback for months of humiliation and rejection.
“If you have any other questions for me, you should ask them now,” I say, checking an imaginary watch on my wrist. “I don’t have all day.”
“Zane is not your fated mate,” Seth says through gritted teeth. “I am.”
I give him my sharpest smile, the one I’ve been practicing in mirrors since my release from the infirmary. “Why are you fighting this, Seth? I don’t know how it happened, but it did. I have a different fated mate now.”
His face goes through several emotions before settling on desperation. “Zane is dangerous, Selene. You don’t know what—”
