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“You think thatchangesanything?”

“You think I’mashamed?” I bark. “You think Iregretany of it?”

“You should.”

My chest tightens. My fists clench.

“I tasted you, Rhea,” he hisses, stepping into my space. “I took you. I marked you. But the others did it, too.”

He shakes his head from side to side, warring with himself.

“And I hate that it didn’t make me stop wanting you.”

He’sshaking.

Every word is acid in his mouth.

“I hate that even knowing they’ve had you, I still wake up hard from the memory of you being pressed up against that wall, of your lips around my cock. I hate that when I smell you in another room, I go still like a fucking animal. I hate that I already put my bond inside you and it still wasn’t enough.”

His voice cracks-

And then it’squiet.

Only our breathing. Only the burn.

Only the bond, thudding in my chest.

“What is it, then?” I whisper. “What’s therealproblem?”

He doesn’t answer. So Ipress.

“Is it your name?” I ask. “TheVale legacy?Thefamily dynasty?Afraid Daddy won’t approve of his perfect heir sharing a bitch in heat with three other alphas?”

His head snaps up.

“You really think this is aboutthem?” he barks. “You think I give a fuck what anyone outside this house thinks?”

“Yes,” I bite out, stepping close enough to feel his breath on my face. “I think youdo. I think you’re scared. Because deep down, you’re pissed off that you’re not the only one I want. Deep down, you’re angry that you’re not enough to claim me alone.”

Lucian loses it.

He slams me back against the wall so hard the air leaves my lungs in a gasp.

His hand wraps around my throat - tight, hot, and grounding.

His mouth is on mine in a flash - biting, furious, possessive.

And the bond?

It detonates.

Chapter Forty-Six

Rhea

The moment his mouth hits mine, I swear the world splits in half.

We don’t kiss - wedevour.

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