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"Ella, I only want what's best for you. I understand that you have feelings for the omega. It's only natural, what with the true mate bond coloring your perception, but I think you're making a mistake by choosing him over me."
I shook my head, feeling exasperated. "Neil, you can't force someone to love you. It just doesn't work that way."
"Maybe. But I believe that if you gave me a chance and opened yourself up to the possibility of being with me, you would learn to love me."
I sighed, feeling tired. "Neil, I don't know what to say. I appreciate your honesty, but I just don't see us ever being together. Thanks for everything, but I think it's time for me to go."
I went to put on my jacket, but Neil grabbed my wrist before I could open the closet door.
"Ella, what am I going to do with you?"
I jumped, startled by how close he was. His face wasinches from my ear, causing his whisper to sound eerie. “What do you mean? Let go of me.”
“I tried to let you come to the right conclusion on your own, but maybe you need a firmer hand. I can do that for you, Ella. I can just tell you what to think, how to act. Whatever you need, I’ll provide it.”
“What do you mean? I told you this wasn’t what I wanted, and I meant it, Neil. If you don’t want to drive me back to the bakery, that’s fine. I’ll just call someone else.”
Neil spun me around so that we were facing each other and brushed a lock of hair from my face. His chuckle felt warm against my cheek. “Oh, Ella. You still don’t get it. You won’t leave this house until you have time to reconsider my generous offer. Don’t worry. I can be a patient man, too.”
Chapter 13
I shouldn’t have come; that much was obvious. It was also becoming painfully clear why everyone had warned me about Neil in the first place. I hadn’t listened, and now I was locked in one of the upstairs bedrooms trying to figure out what to do next.
Maybe I could shift and try to break down one of the doors? That might work, but I’d have to wait for him to leave in order to stand a chance at getting out of the house. With Jeremy “out of town,” who knows how long I might be stuck in that room.
I cursed myself for asking Gabe to break our telepathic connection. I would’ve had to wait until one of us was asleep to use it, but it was better than nothing.
The thought caused a new idea to grow in my mind. Just because I knew the connection wouldn’t work didn’t mean Neil had to find out. The wheels in my head were still turning when I heard the key fit in the doorknob.
“Enjoying the room?” Neil smiled and greeted me as if we were on vacation together and he had just stepped outside to get some fresh air.
I snorted. “Do I even want to know why this room locksfrom the outside? Have you kept other members of the pack locked away before?”
His face crumbled, and he grabbed his chest in exaggeration as though I had offended him. Clearly, I hadn’t. “I had to switch the handle around before picking you up from work. I was hoping you’d listen to reason, and this wouldn’t be necessary, but it’s fine. I’ll meet you where you are, Ella, and you just need a little time and encouragement.”
The smile on his face didn’t reach his cold eyes once again, and I was reminded of the times he had given me a similar look.
“You did something to my car. So I would have to spend time with you that night.”
Neil shrugged. I’m guilty but charming, his upturned hands and smirk said. “You were going to put me off for a week or more. I needed to speed things up, Ella. Don’t worry; you’ll thank me later.”
“What exactly is your plan here, Neil? Keep me locked up in this room until I change my mind? No way is Jeremy going to be cool with this when he gets back, and Heather knows I’m with you. If I don’t show up to work tomorrow, she’ll know something’s wrong.”
“Anything else? Or are you done?” Neil raised an eyebrow as though my words were boring him. This enraged and emboldened me. Time to go for the throat.
“Even though Gabe and I haven’t completed the mating bond, we have started to see each other’s thoughts and feel each other’s feelings. He’ll be able to tell where I am, and we can communicate even without my phone.”
Neil sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose like hewas experiencing the start of a headache.
“If you don’t believe me, ask Jeremy. Mariam started to experience the same thing when Trace was searching for her and—”
“Enough,” he snapped. “I know all about that. You can see each other when one of you is asleep. It just means that I need to speed up the timeline a little bit, that’s all.”
I frowned. “What do you mean ‘speed up the timeline’?”
“I told you I’d be patient, but it seems we don’t have that luxury since you didn’t follow my advice and break off that stupid bond earlier. It looks like we will need to break it before one of you decides to take a fucking nap.”
He started loosening his tie and removing his suit jacket. I paled, the horror of what was going to happen washing over me.
