I grinned. “If you kill me, your son could be like me. Never shifting again. Then how will you parade him around as the false alpha?”
Ace stood so fast that he knocked the chair to the ground. “You don’t deserve the kindness Tyler is showing you.”
Laughter bubbled up in my chest and it came out unbidden. Crazed, insane laughter. “That’s what this is? Kindness?”
“I told him to take you in the field while you were unconscious. He is determined to have you submit on your own.” Ace grinned. “Keep laughing. Tomorrow he’ll be claiming you weather you like it or not.”
That stopped my laughter. I glared at Ace. “Break the bond, asshole. He’ll get his shifting back and I’ll be out of your life forever.”
“It’s too late for that,” he said. “Submit or not. I don’t care how the bond is formed.”
I was left alone in the dark and my chest felt like I had a hundred-pound weight sitting on my ribs. Breathing was hard as dread gripped me. I must have been more out of it than I realized. Tyler had given me a few days, but my time was up. How had time gone so quickly?
The door opened again and a smaller figure stepped into the room. “Lola?”
It was a female voice but I didn’t recognize it. Squinting into the dark, I tried to make out the newcomer. “Who’s there?”
“They sent me to talk to you,” she said, the figure moving closer to the bed.
In the dim light, I recognized Viki, Tyler’s mom. She was a timid woman who always took a back seat to her husband. I rarely saw her, but when I did, she nearly faded into the background. It was common knowledge that Ace wasn’t faithful, but I’d honestly never heard anyone speak badly about Viki. She was everything I wasn’t. Quiet, demure, subservient. I felt bad for her. What had Ace done to break her like this?
“I’m not going to change my mind.” There had to be a way out of here that I wasn’t seeing yet. I was determined not to be forced in a bond I didn’t want.
“They’re not going to let you go,” she said. “And they’re not going to allow death as an alternative.”
My brow furrowed.
“They will force the bond on you. I’ve heard them talking. It’s the only plan. Tyler will claim you and you can either participate or remain tied up.”
“What the fuck is wrong with all of you?” I demanded.
“Tyler isn’t all bad,” she said. “You might come to love him in time. In your own way.”
“The way you are with Ace? No, thank you,” I said.
“It’s different with me and Ace,” she said. “We’re not true mates.”
This surprised me. Not that I knew much about the personal lives of the members of the pack, but I assumed if Ace bothered to settle down, he’d only do it with a true mate.
“I can see you didn’t know.” She righted the tipped chair and sat down. “My father was alpha. No alphas had stepped up to take his place and when he died, Ace was the strongest and I knew he’d protect me. I know it doesn’t seem like it, but there were far worse options than him. I took the lesser of the evils.”
“I don’t want that life,” I said.
“I know. But true mates are different. They’re rare and precious. You probably already feel something for Tyler, even if you’re fighting it. You will be true partners in time. He will treat you well, I believe that,” she said.
“You’re kidding, right?” I stared at her wide-eyed. “How closed off do they keep you? Do you have any idea what he’s done to me over the years?”
She nodded. “I do. And I know why.”
“I’m listening, but I’m not going to change my mind,” I told her.
“He’s felt the bond to you most of his life. Fighting the bond manifests in strange ways. For him, it was to be aggressive toward you to keep the emotions from surfacing.”
“That’s not an excuse and doesn’t make any of it okay,” I said.
“No, it doesn’t. But notice that he hasn’t hurt you since you returned. He’s been in here checking on you night and day. He won’t allow anyone in to hurt you. Ace and I only got in just now because he finally agreed to go to sleep. He’s allowed the bond to form and he has prevented his father from killing you,” she said. “You should have seen him when Ace said he was going to take you out. I’ve never seen Tyler move so fast. He would kill his own father rather than see you harmed. The bond is strong between you.”
“I don’t feel a thing,” I lied. I didn’t feel affection for Tyler, but there was something there and it made me feel uncomfortable and nauseous. Stupid mating bond. I hated it and I hated everything about him and this whole stupid pack.