Page 2 of Broken Forced Mate
The silence unfolds between us like a chasm. His face goes completely blank, and that professional mask he wears in dangerous situations slides into place. When he finally speaks, his words cut through me.
“You’re mistaken.”
“No.” I shake my head. “I’m not. The bond is there. I can feel it every time you’re near me. The way my wolf recognizes yours—”
“You’re too young to understand what you’re feeling.” His tone becomes clinical, distant. “These aren’t supernatural bonds, Raegan. You’re confusing proximity and protection with something that doesn’t exist.”
The rejection burns through my chest. “I’m twenty years old. I know what a mate bond feels like.”
“You know what you think it feels like.” Wyn crosses his arms, creating a barrier between us. “What you’re experiencing is gratitude mixed with attraction. Nothing more.”
“That’s not true.” My voice cracks despite my efforts to stay strong. “I’ve felt attraction before. This is different. This is—”
“A fantasy. You’ve romanticized a working relationship into something it’s not.”
I think about all the moments that led me here. How he always seemed to appear whenever I needed help, as if some invisible thread connected us. The dreams that started months ago, vivid and real, where we were together in ways that made me wake up aching and wanting.
Those moments felt real. The connection between us felt real. But maybe I’ve been seeing what I wanted to see instead of what was actually there.
The doubt creeps in despite my certainty. What if I have been imagining things? What if the bond I feel so strongly is one-sided, a product of wishful thinking?
“Why are you lying to me? I can smell your wolf’s interest. I can feel how you react when I’m close.”
His jaw works, and for a moment, I see something in those gray eyes. Pain, maybe. Or longing. But then the mask slides back into place like a steel door slamming shut.
“Even if what you’re suggesting were true,” he says, and for a heartbeat I think he’s going to admit it, “you’re Oren’s sister. You’re under my protection. Acting on any attraction would be a betrayal of trust.”
“My brother would understand—”
“Your brother would kill me. And he’d be right to do it.”
The certainty in his tone makes my stomach drop. “That’s not true. Oren wants me to be happy.”
“Oren wants you to be safe.” He takes a step back, putting more distance between us. “And that means staying away from things that could compromise your security.”
I think about the past year again, clearly now. How carefully orchestrated our interactions were. Always professional. Always appropriate. Never alone for more than a few minutes. I thought he was being respectful, giving me space to come to terms with what I felt.
Now I realize he was protecting himself from precisely this moment.
The realization hits me hard. Every careful boundary he’s maintained, every bit of distance he’s kept, wasn’t out of respect for me. It was self-preservation.
“I see.” I force myself to stand straighter, to hold on to what dignity I have left. “So even if you felt something, you’d never act on it because I’m too much trouble.”
“I didn’t say that.”
“You didn’t have to.” The tears come anyway, hot and humiliating. “I understand perfectly now.”
I turn to leave, but his voice stops me.
“Raegan, wait.”
When I look back, his gray eyes hold something that might be regret. For one wild moment, I think he’s going to take it all back, admit that he feels the bond, too. That maybe we can find a way to make this work despite the obstacles.
Instead, he says, “Focus on your studies. You have a bright future ahead of you. Don’t waste it on foolish romantic notions.”
The dismissal cuts deeper than anything else he’s said. Foolish romantic notions. As if everything I feel, everything I know to be true about us, is just some silly girl’s daydream.
“Of course. Thank you for the advice.”
