Page 59 of The Alpha's Fake Mate
I put out a hand to his lower back, not quite touching, but there in case he needed my support.
Holland let out a stifled grunt.
I said, “No. He’s not deceased. The bond may have been formed when he was in an altered state and Holland was unconscious.”
Blunt, the doctor asked, “It was forced?”
It wasn’t my place to answer. I glanced at Holland.
Holland opened his mouth. “I did not consent.” His chin moved forward and back as he clenched and unclenched his jaw.
As if he were lecturing a room full of students, the doctor began. “The properties in the blood that show a mate-bond reflect chemical changes in the body and brain. These are present in the sample, but diluted. That’s why I wondered if the Alpha was dead. We see that when mate-bonded pairs lose a mate. But if he is alive, then where is he? Why is he not here with you?”
I bristled at the question. Holland had already answered. “He told you,” I said. “He didn’t consent.”
“It is very difficult if not impossible to form a bond by rape. Did he knot you?”
The question horrified me.
Holland’s face went even paler.
“He told you he was unconscious. How would he know?”
For my whole life, Doctor Wilde had seen me. He’d been gentle and kind. But right now, I didn’t like him one bit. He seemed unconcerned that Holland had been raped, or that even now he suffered.
“It is a fact that sometimes my patients lie. I’m not saying this is the case here—“
“How do I undo it!” Holland’s clipped voice interrupted, and he actually took a sudden half-step toward the doctor.
“Undo? But the mate-bond is sacred.”
Holland faced him now, and I saw his eyes flash. “This is not sacred!” His lips curled.
Doctor Wilde looked at me as if I should control my Omega. But he wasn’t mine to control. I might want Holland as mine, but I had no fantasies of ever controlling him. I liked that he was bold and strong and challenging. If I tried to subdue him, or diminish his anger, what would that make me? Why would I want to destroy that very fire in him that made him into more than a survivor, but a human who deserved respect?
I met Doctor Wilde’s eyes and took a half-step back.
“These are things not talked about or widely shared, especially with Omegas,” Wilde said.
“You will tell me.” Holland’s fists pressed against the outsides of his thighs.
Wilde glanced again at me.
I raised my eyebrows and smirked.
Holland spoke again. “I tried to look it all up on the Internet. There’s no information. It’s censored. Why the secrets? Even from other Alphas?”
“Because there really are no real scientific ways to dissolve bonds. Not really. It’s just not done. The bond is more mystical than anything-- it’s not scientific in the sense that you can take a pill and have the bond removed.”
“What does that mean?” Holland was relentless. “Don’t couples get divorced?”
“It’s rare but it happens. Usually they find another to bond to. That second bonding will always dissolve the first. There are rare cases where two Omegas can be bonded at once to one Alpha. But two Alphas cannot claim the same Omega. Not that I’ve ever heard of.”
“So you’re saying I must bond with someone else to dissolve this current bond?”
Wilde nodded. “It wouldn’t be difficult since this is weak. The factors that lead to a bond are, as I said, diminished in your blood, meaning they are still new, not fully formed. But they will form over time if you do nothing. They will get stronger. And you will feel a call to him, especially if he enters the Burn.”
Holland’s mouth fell open. Air came out in a rush. He looked like he might be sick. “It’s been more than seven months. I never felt any call. Don’t Alphas have a Burn about every two months?”
