Page 82 of The Werewolf’s Wrong Mate

Ian made a low sound.

I glanced at him. “Don’t.”

His jaw shut.

Evelyn’s gaze flicked to him, then back to me. There was pain in that look. Real, I thought. Unless she was better than Grant, and I was willing to admit the competition was not stiff.

“This ceremony was supposed to join our packs,” she said. “Ian and I didn’t choose each other for romance, but we understood what was required.”

“How…touching.”

Her face colored.

I should have felt bad, really, but I didn’t.

She continued anyway. “You crossed into a rite no human should have been able to enter. You were hurt because of laws you didn’t know. I understand why you are angry.”

“Do you?”

Her hands tightened once. “I understand being placed in a circle for other people’s peace.”

Evelyn took a careful breath. “I asked to speak because the council will not be gentle with you, and I thought you should hear one truth from someone who is not trying to frighten you into obedience.”

Ronan’s eyes narrowed. “Careful.”

Evelyn lowered her head. “I mean no disrespect.”

“Then continue with less of it.”

She looked back at me.

“The mark is killing you,” she said. “Even if it has slowed, you are suffering because wolf magic has been forced into a human body. Our laws are cruel, but they are not always wrong. A bond like this can become a cage before either person understands the lock.”

I looked at Ian, he had gone pale under his tan.

Evelyn’s voice softened. “If there is a way to end it before the full moon, you should demand it.”

“Demand it from whom?” I asked.

“Ronan. Sava. Ian.” Her gaze flicked toward him again. “Especially Ian.”

Ian’s eyes had gone gold at the edges, which Evelyn saw. She steadied herself, but she saw.

“Ian does not want this,” she said.

I smiled a little. “You sure?”

The question struck him. I felt it through the mark, a hard pulse of guilt and denial and something darker that he buried fast.

Evelyn looked between us. Something in her face sharpened, then smoothed over.

“Yes,” she said. “I am sure.”

Lie? Maybe. Not a full one though, something adjacent? Something polished thin enough to pass through polite company.

She looked at my bandage again.

This time, I noticed what bothered me.