The strong breeze was carrying his scent directly to me, and it overpowered my senses. Every part of me responded. My god, he was beautiful—so beautiful I almost couldn’t stand it. He was perfect. He was everything. A whimper, more wolf than human, slipped from me as I fell to my knees. I needed him to fuck me right then and there, and—
No. No.
That was the bond talking. It had almost wiped out all my rational thought in a matter of seconds. How had I resisted him for three whole days last time?
Before Elias reached me, Carter stepped between us and stopped him with a hand on his chest. Then the demon guided him a few feet away and told him our plan. It looked like he handed Elias something at one point, but I couldn’t be sure about that.
While they were talking, I stood up and repositioned myself so I wasn’t directly downwind of Elias. It helped a little to not be bombarded by his scent, and as my head cleared, I studied my mate.
At six-foot-two, he had a solid five inches on me, along with a powerful, muscular build. He looked like he was in his early thirties, although he was actually pushing two hundred. And he was absolutely stunning, with chiseled features, dark eyes, and thick, black hair that grazed his collar. I wondered if he’d still seem as gorgeous once the mate bond released its hold on me.
When Carter finished explaining the logic behind suppressing our bond, Elias snapped, “Absolutely not.”
“Why not?”
“Because he’s my mate! We’re meant to be bonded. There’s no point in wiping it away for a week to see if we get along without it.”
Carter said, “Do it for Mateo. Show him he can trust you, and take the time to get to know him. I realize the bond’s going to override everything else when it returns, but this is important to him.”
“I just spent the last century without my mate,” Elias told him, “all because he was too stubborn and willful to accept the inevitable. Now we’re finally together again, and the first thing you want to do is tamper with our bond. That’s bullshit, and I’m not doing it.”
“I won’t force this on you,” Carter said, “but I’m also not going to force Mateo to stay here against his will. You have two choices, Elias—accept this or say goodbye, because I’m prepared to take him back to the mainland.”
Elias exclaimed, “That’s no choice at all!”
Carter looked apologetic as he shrugged, in a gesture that tried to suggest this was beyond his control. “Take it or leave it.”
Elias ground his teeth for a long moment before snapping, “Fine. Do it now, before I change my mind.”
Carter held his hand out to me, and I hurried to his side and took it. He knit his brows in concentration as he gripped his friend’s shoulder.
I glanced at Elias and found him staring at me, so I held his gaze unwaveringly. In the context of omegas and their alphas, that was actually a huge act of defiance, which showed just how fucked up this whole thing was. A few seconds later, a shiver passed through me, and I drew a sharp breath. I felt empty all of a sudden, and it was horrible and deeply jarring.
Carter let go of both of us and said, “Okay, I think it’s done.”
I whispered, “It is,” and took a step backwards.
Elias looked as lost as I felt, which was a big change from his usual brash confidence. He walked to the edge of the field and stood with his back to us as Carter asked me, “Are you alright?” I nodded, and when the wind started to pick up, he said, “I’d better go before the storm hits.” He took a business card from a thin, silver case and handed it to me. “Call me from the satellite phone if you need anything. I’ll be back a week from today to restore the bond and take you wherever you want to go. In the meantime, I hope you two find some common ground.”
I stuck the card in my pocket as I said, “Thank you, Carter.” It was probably weird to thank someone who’d kidnapped me, but I liked him despite myself.
He gave my hand an affectionate squeeze as he said, “Good luck.”
I retreated to the back of the house while he returned to the helicopter. The blades began to spin, whipping the dead grass, and soon it rose into the pale gray sky. I raised a hand to wave goodbye, then watched until it was out of sight.
Elias was about ten yards away, and he turned to me with a look of determination. I squared my shoulders and waited to see which of us would make the first move.
Chapter 4