Page 54 of His Forsaken Alpha

If I believed in that bullshit.

Believe or not, his body, heart, and soul knew it to be the truth before it had even entered his mind. That thought had Cav reeling, his stomach twisting. He’d spent his life denouncing fated mates as some hypnotic, collective lie they’d all passed down, generation after generation. It was simply giving power to hormones to explain away bad behavior, yet he couldn’t explain the impact of a withering stare, the scent of slick, or the pink heat spreading across Wynter’s cheeks. It had driven him into madness.

That slick? It called to him, knowing his omega’s body ripened for him.

A contact heat? Was that it? That could be the only explanation he could come up with as to why it seemed Wynter was going into an early heat. He’d met his alpha, and his body’s reaction was innate.

He’d done that by remaining close to Wynter.

It was his fault.

Now Wynter would suffer alone.

Regardless of if Wynter’s mate was true or not, the omegawasalready claimed.

Claimed or not, he couldn’t ignore the pull he felt.The firehe felt.

No. I can’t do this to him. He’s been through enough already.Cav lifted his glass to his lips, denying the thoughts racing through his brain. But the more he sat with it, the more it sounded plausible.

His omega… bound to another.

An omega I should never claim.

Maybe it’s for the best anyway.

I have travel ahead and books to write.

I need to stay as far away from Wynter Jaymes as I possibly can.

His mind replayed Wynter’s heart-wrenching tale. Forced to mate with a man who wasn’t his alpha. Forced to bear the bastard’s child. Allowed to suffer with depression and post-partum, to the point he’d nearly taken his own life before the alpha had sought help for him?

The instinct took hold. No one was protecting his omega, because that washisjob. He was the one born to shelter his mate.

A thought hit him. Their car was full of alphas. Would they catch scent and go after his omega?

Cav drained his glass and tossed a fewrenoson the table before marching toward their shared cabin, ignoring the command he’d just made of himself to stay away. He stood outside the door, bracing both hands on either side of the doorframe, and told himself to leave.

They were too close. If he went inside, he’d make a bad situation worse… yet how could he turn his back?

His omega needed him.

“Wynter?” he asked, pressing his forehead against the glass insert.

He heard the barest hint of a gasp. Was the omega pleasuring himself on the other side of the door to fend off the effects of the heat? Cav clenched his jaw at that thought, his balls tightening against the base of his cock.

“Baby, are you okay?” Cav grimaced, the pain mounting. He needed to be inside his omega, easing that need between them. “No one’s in there with you, right?” He lifted his gaze, terrified. “Wynter? Wynter? You’re alone, right?”

“Yes,”came a soft reply before Cav was sure he heard a whimper.

“Oh, baby. It’s going to be okay.You’regoing to be okay.” He screwed his eyes tight, deciding then and there to guard the door. It would be torture, but he’d endure it. One way or another.

No other alpha would touch his mate.

Wynter had already lost too much to being in the wrong place at the wrong time. He’d not suffer again if Cavanaugh could prevent it.

“I’m going to stay outside and make sure no one comes in to bother you.” He stretched his neck, his bones popping, and willed himself to have the strength to not bust down the fucking door himself.

A click sounded. The door opened a crack.

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