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“They’re not looking for me. They think I’m dead,” I clarified.
He looked over at me. “Did you break the mating bond before they threw you in the cave?”
I blinked a few times, thinking back to those last moments. I didn’t know all the steps necessary to break a bond, but I was pretty certain we hadn’t done them. “No.”
“Then he’ll feel you. He knows you’re alive. If he’s not looking for you yet, he will.”
“Why would he care? He didn’t want me,” I said.
“Once you connect to your wolf, you’ll understand it better.”
“Explain it to me,” I challenged.
He looked annoyed. “Your wolf and you are two halves of the same whole.”
“I know that,” I said.
“Despite that, there are still things one half controls more than the other. Your survival instincts, for one, come primarily from your wolf. That’s why you’re alive.”
“So?”
“The bond you share with your mate is also driven by your wolf. The part of us that’s more instinct than brain. He’ll feel compelled to find you. It might even drive him to start wanting you. Breaking a bond isn’t easy, but if it’s not done quickly, the bond can get more intense, making the mate hunger for the other.” He lifted his chin. “You might find yourself wanting him.”
“That is never going to happen,” I assured him.
“Your mate will be looking for you soon enough,” he said.
“He’s not my mate,” I said through gritted teeth.
“You might not want to be paired with him, but that doesn’t change the fact that the fates put you together. Sometimes, the fates are cruel.”
“You sound like you have experience in this matter,” I mused.
“I had a mate once,” he said.
“And?” I pressed.
“She was killed. Taken from me. It was the worst pain I’ve ever felt.” He looked down at his hands.
Guilt swirled through me. “I’m sorry.”
He stood. “If you’re not going to sleep, I will. Wake me in four hours.”
I watched him as he walked to the sleeping bag. He climbed in and turned on his side. How could he possibly go to sleep while a stranger was taking watch? Either he trusted me or he was so determined to end the conversation that he’d feign sleep. I wasn’t sure which it was, but I wasn’t about to go poke him and see if he was really sleeping.
I turned my attention back to the woods, breathing in the fresh air and enjoying the peace of the night. I might not have my supplies and I might be stuck in the middle of who-knew-where with strange shifters, but I was alive, and for this moment, I was free.
