He offered a hand and I accepted. The mating bond roared back to life inside me like a wave, crashing over my senses and sending a shockwave of longing through me. I sucked in a breath and fought against the sensation.You don’t want this.I reminded myself of the awful things he’d done to me, trying to force back the connection I felt between us.
“She feels it,” Tyler said. “She won’t be strong enough to break it.”
“Fight it,” Alec said.
“I don’t want you, Tyler,” I forced the words out, but they were hollow, empty. How could this happen? I glanced over at Alec, his expression was hopeful and encouraging.
Tyler leaned closer to me, his lips brushing against my ear as he whispered. “Complete the bond.”
My breath hitched and I pulled away from him. The bond was there, taunting me, tempting me, connecting me to the male standing in front of me. It would be so easy to let fate win, to surrender. Fighting back was harder. My mind felt fuzzy and for a moment, I wondered why I was pushing back. A mating bond was a gift, wasn’t it? I deserved to be happy. That’s what a mate was supposed to bring: happiness.
That isn’t what Tyler will bring.
My inner wolf was the one who brought me back to my senses. If she was fighting the bond, I knew we could do it.
I closed my eyes, forcing myself to remember the hurt Tyler had caused me. My wolf stirred within me.Is this what you want?She seemed to want to make sure I was ready to break the bond. To live with the consequences of my actions. It was rare to find a true mate. It could bring power and strength and happiness. But that wasn’t what Tyler would bring me. He’d bring me nothing but pain.He has to go.
I opened my eyes. “Tyler, I reject you.”
He snarled, his upper lip curled. “I thought you might say that.”
Suddenly, Alec pushed me aside, and I landed on the ground, no longer holding Tyler’s hand.
Confused, I looked up just in time to see Tyler stabbing Alec with a syringe. Alec’s eyes widened, then he collapsed.
“That was supposed to be for you, but now your feral boyfriend will pay the price.” Tyler’s eyes flashed with hateful malice.
I scrambled to my feet and ran to Alec. I could see his chest rising and falling slowly, but he wasn’t moving. “What did you do?”
“Just some toxin,” Tyler said. “I’ve never given anyone that much. Wonder if he’ll ever wake up.”
“I don’t care if you’re my mate,” I said. “This ends now.”
I sidestepped Alec’s fallen body and punched Tyler as hard as I could in the jaw. Searing pain spread over my knuckles and I winced, shaking my hand out for a moment before throwing another punch.
Tyler stopped me this time, catching my fist. “You are no match for me.”
“Maybe not, but if I die trying, at least I know you’ll never find peace,” I spat.
Tyler pushed me hard and I stumbled, but managed to stay on my feet. He walked away from Alec and charged forward. I put my fists up, ready to defend myself as best I could.
“Lola? Alec? Anyone out there?” A voice called from the distance and I turned slightly, half worried I was hearing things.
“Alec?” Another voice called.
My heart raced. Our friends had found us. “Over here!”
“Enjoy your last minutes with the feral shifter. By the time he’s dead, you’ll be coming for me. You’re never going to break this bond. The harder we fight it, the stronger it gets. So keep fighting it. Then I won’t even have to come to you because you’ll be like a bitch in heat, drawn to me,” he said.
“Fuck you.” I took a step forward and punched him with my other fist.
Searing pain screamed through my left hand, matching the pain I was still feeling on the right. I didn’t care. “You will never win.”
He reached up and touched his eye, which was already blooming with a purple bruise. Too bad it would heal before he returned home.
His eyes went to something behind me, then back to me. “See you soon, Lola.”
Tyler raced off, in the opposite direction from the sound of the footsteps of my incoming friends.