Page 59 of Forsaken

Sean laughs. “It may have started with her, but it’s not about Gayle anymore, Mia. She drank the Kool-Aid. She wants Nathan more than anything right now. I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s not already trying to hop on his dick.”

I suck in a breath, my fingers curling into my thigh. “You’re not together?”

“We were. For a long time. After you,” he says, peeking at me like I’m going to give him a reaction. “We pushed the boundaries. We fucked like rabbits. It made me stronger, but Gayle went into a depression. Of course, I wouldn’t let her accept Nathan because I still wanted my plaything, and she still wanted my dick, so….” He shrugs. “Eventually, fate caught up to her. It took her long enough, but she’s most definitely on Team Nathan now.” The hard clip in his voice tells me he’s bitter about this, even though he’s trying to smooth it over like he’s not. ‘That’s why I took desperate measures. I’m not about to be anyone’s bitch.”

“But your wolf,” I throw back at him.

He growls. He seems frayed around the edges, able to cover it up well enough, but alone, he’s a frantic ball of energy. Even while he’s driving, his free foot jumps up and down. His fingers keep playing over the steering wheel.

“Has it been hard for you since he came out to see me?” I ask, voice husky. “Do you hear him in your head?”

“Shut up.”

“Does he claw at your insides?”

He slams on the brakes. “I said shut up!”

My body whips forward, and I grab the dash for support. My heart beats like a bear on steroids as I peer over at a man who seems to be slowly losing it. He cracks his neck and starts the vehicle again. While he drives, I make myself small, thinking about the next steps. Sean won’t let me run. I’m supposed to be in his care, not that that’s worth anything. If anything he’s trying to do the exact opposite.

Eventually, we arrive at his house. I turn around in the seat, frantically searching for the guard who’s been assigned to me. He might be my only hope.

“Get your ass in the house. I’m sure your precious guard will be here. Not that you need it. Oh, I forgot.” He throws his door open, slams it, and stomps around to my side of the car before yanking the door open and grabbing me. “This is the way to do it, right?” He pushes me forward, and I trip, falling to my knees. He huffs, tugs me to my feet, and wraps his fingers around my upper arm, all while forcefully leading me into the house. “I can be chivalrous, Mate.”

There’s such a disconnect between the Sean talking right now and the wolf who met me the first day I got here. I wonder if all the rumors are true about disassociating yourself from your shifter side. You end up being hollow and dark—a mere shell of the person you’re supposed to be.

If he is suffering from that, who knows what he’s planning.

24

Tied up in my ex-mate’s laundry room is not how I imagined I would spend the night before the ball. Sean brought me in here the moment we walked into his house, using rope to restrain me to his utility sink. He’s left me here ever since.

My stomach growls, and my ass aches like it’s been paddled—and not in the good way.

He paces a lot. I’ve heard him traverse around his small apartment like he’s in a marathon. The lone window in this room has a shade pulled down over it, but rays of light are now shining around the perimeter.

I lean my head against the sink. My neck pulses, sore from having fallen asleep bent forward. It’s impossible to find a good spot to sleep in, and I just couldn’t hold it off after the adrenaline crashed. Not even the fear of what Sean might do could keep me lucid. I woke with a banging headache and a neck that felt as if it had been partially severed.

Closing my eyes, I wonder what Nathan is up to. In another reality, we could’ve been mates determined by fate. We could’ve been living amongst our pack this whole time. The Winter Solstice would’ve been a great party, something to mix up everyday life.

Instead, he’s with his mate who suddenly wants to be with him, and I’m with mine, who’s slowly losing his damn mind.

If he would just shift, I have no doubt his wolf would let me out of this. He must have him barricaded so far under that there’s nothing he can do. Or maybe that’s why he’s been pacing. He’s been fighting his wolf.

I can’t imagine being at odds with mine. We’ve always been on the same page ever since I started feeling her. We were devastated at our joint rejection. We were each other’s company through the loneliness. And by some crazy mix of fate, she was on board with Nathan, too. Through the year of being there for me, she felt his true worth.

I gulp, holding back my emotions. If Gayle wants him now, will he still have those feelings for me? What if he does a one-eighty? Mate bonds are strong. They’re supposed to be. They’re the key to our species’ survival.

When I get out of here, I wonder if he’ll still even be mine? It breaks my heart to think that he won’t be.

Footsteps move past my door. “You know,” I shout out, “you don’t have to leave me in here tied up. What am I going to do? It’s not like I can shift and tear your ass apart.” No matter how good that would feel.

Surprisingly, the door to the laundry room opens. Sean pokes his head inside and drops a bowl in front of me. Cereal pieces spill over the rim and onto the white tile. “Why haven’t you shifted?”

I shrug. “I guess I don’t see you as a threat.” Honestly, I didn’t shift because if anyone walked in here, I wanted them to see how I was being treated. It would be another piece of evidence in my favor.

Part of me wishes I had just to give me a better sleeping position, but I’ll take the sore neck if someone finds out who Sean really is.

His dark eyes twinkle. He seems even more out of it than last night. He’s definitely not thinking clearly. I should ask him why he even attempted to restrain me since he should know shifters can’t stay tied up. Because he’s rejected his own animal, maybe he thinks I have, too. Or, he’s just that far gone that common sense is the last thing on his mind.

---