“The bond?”
I walked over to the table and sat down. “When I was in my wolf form, I couldn’t control anything. My wolf sensed Tyler beyond the tunnel, and she was desperate to get to him. She shut me out, she was pure instinct.”
She clicked her tongue. “The magic of the bond still wants out, it seems.”
“What am I supposed to do?” I asked. “I can’t afford to lose control of my wolf. I need to be able to shift, to connect.”
“What do you mean you can’t control your wolf?” Alec stepped back in the room, two cups of coffee in his hands. He passed one to Star, and one to me.
I didn’t really want coffee, but I took a sip anyway. It gave me a moment to avoid answering him.
“Lola, what’s going on? I know something is wrong. Tell me,” he insisted.
I looked over at Star, my expression pleading. She shook her head. There was nothing she could do to help me. I was on my own. The spell she’d done had severed my connection to Tyler while I was in human form, but it was as if all the intensity in my wolf form was magnified to impossible levels. How was I going to do this?
Alec took the coffee cup from me and set it on the table, then he took the chair next to me. “Talk.”
“I fucked up,” I admitted.
“How?”
“I asked Star to remove the bond. It sort of worked, and sort of made things worse.”
“You did what?” Alec turned to Star. “Why would you agree to that?”
“She was desperate.” Star shrugged.
“Don’t be mad at her. She did me a favor. I asked her for help.” I took a deep breath. “The bond was getting stronger. I was feeling sorry for Tyler, and considering what things might be like if I gave in. It was too much.”
A dark cloud seemed to have settled around Alec. I could feel anger and jealousy and hate brewing around him as easily as if it were my own emotions. “I’m going to kill him right now. This has to end.”
He stood and started walking toward the door.
I jumped up from the table and ran to catch him, grabbing his hand, I pulled him toward me. “Wait. Please, don’t go.”
“Look what this bond is doing to you, Lola. He has to go.” Alec’s rage was palpable.
“I can’t risk it,” I said.
He growled. “Can’t risk losing your mate? After everything he’s done to you? After everything he did to me? He nearly killed me. I have every right.”
“I can’t risk losing you, asshole,” I said. “I don’t give a shit about Tyler. I want him gone. But he nearly killed you last time you two fought.”
“I nearly killed him, if you recall. He’s the one who played dirty. I can take him,” Alec assured me.
“Please don’t go.” I reached for Alec’s face and cupped his cheek. He had a short beard from a few days of not shaving. I rubbed my thumb across his cheekbone and his eyes met mine. In that moment, a thrill shot down my spine. It was an intense, almost electric connection that took my breath away. I gasped and lowered my hand.
My breathing was shallow, still reeling from whatever had passed between Alec and me. His eyes were wide, his lips parted. “You can’t kill him, but I can. Unless you can think of another way to get your wolf to cooperate, I don’t have a choice. And we both know you can’t keep putting this off.”
“Not you.” I wasn’t sure why I was so desperate to keep him safe, but I couldn’t stand the thought of anything happening to him. I didn’t want any of my friends at risk, but Alec had nearly died to protect me from Tyler.
“If you go slowly, ease into it, you might be able to retrain your wolf, get her to earn your trust,” Star offered.
“Would that work?” I wasn’t sure if it was possible. Star wasn’t a wolf, but it wouldn’t surprise me if she knew more about this than I did. It wasn’t like I was taught a whole lot about being a wolf shifter growing up.
“It might,” Alec said. “If you’re with someone your wolf trusts.”
“Like you?” I asked.