Page 15 of Broken Forced Mate
“Interesting,” he says when Bastian finishes. “And how long has your pack been interested in expanding their diplomatic relationships?”
“Several years now,” Bastian replies. “We believe regional cooperation is essential for long-term stability.”
“Regional cooperation,” Wyn repeats. “Or regional conquest?”
I gasp audibly. “Wyn, that’s enough.”
But for the first time since we walked into this room, he looks directly at me. Those gray eyes that once made me feel like I was the center of the universe now look at me like I’m a stranger.
There’s something in the way he’s staring that makes me feel…betrayed, though I can’t understand why. Not betrayed by Wyn—I gave up that right three years ago when he made his feelings clear—but betrayed by the man whose hand I’m holding, who’s suddenly feeling less familiar by the minute.
Which makes no sense whatsoever.
Bastian tugs on my hand. “Maybe we should go. Clearly, this isn’t the right time for introductions.”
But before anyone can respond, Wyn moves. One moment, he’s standing across the room, the next he’s at the door, blocking our exit.
“Actually, I think now is the perfect time.”
The standoff lasts maybe thirty seconds, but it feels like hours. Bastian and Wyn stare at each other across the spacebetween us, and I feel like I’m caught in the middle of something much bigger than a family disagreement about my engagement.
Then my brother grunts, and Wyn steps aside at the silent order. “Welcome to Grayhide territory, Bastian Corvelli. I hope your stay is…educational.”
Without another word, he walks out of the room, leaving the door open behind him.
The silence that follows his departure is deafening. I stare at the empty doorway, trying to make sense of what just happened. Wyn’s reaction to my engagement, the suspicion in his voice, the way he looked at Bastian like he was sizing up an enemy.
I tell myself I don’t care about his opinion. I tell myself his reaction doesn’t matter, that I stopped caring what Wyn Lemay thought about my choices the night he rejected me in the garden.
But the familiar pang in my chest tells a different story.
I’m starting to think this homecoming is going to be much harder than I thought.
Chapter 5 - Wyn
I’m going to kidnap my mate.
The thought sits in my head like poison as I spread blueprints across my desk. Oren’s house plans, security schedules, patrol routes—everything I need to take Raegan against her will. Three years of protecting her from a distance, and now I’m the threat she needs protection from.
My radio buzzes. “Wyn, this is Control. Status report?”
I key the mic. “All clear on the eastern perimeter. Thornridge scouts have pulled back for now.”
“Copy that. Maintain surveillance.”
If only they knew what I’m surveilling.
Going to Oren with my suspicions isn’t an option. Not when it would mean destroying Raegan.
If I tell Oren that her fiancé is a Thornridge operative, he’ll demand immediate action. Bastian will be arrested, interrogated, possibly killed if he resists. The engagement will be exposed as a deception designed to infiltrate our pack and steal our resources.
Raegan will learn that the man she agreed to marry never existed. That every moment of their relationship was a lie. That she was targeted, manipulated, and used by someone who saw her as nothing more than a pathway to power.
The humiliation would break her.
I know my plan doesn’t make sense. I know I’m about to become the monster in her story instead of letting the real monster be exposed.
But I can’t think straight when it comes to her. I never could.
