Page 29 of Broken Forced Mate
“That’s an understatement.”
He pauses in the doorway and glances back at me. “For what it’s worth, I am sorry it came to this.”
“I know you are. But sorry doesn’t undo what you’ve done.”
The marriage certificate in my purse crackles when I move, reminding me of the legal bonds that now tie our lives together. Mrs. Raegan Lemay. Once upon a time, that would’ve thrilled me.
“The visions showed me something else,” I tell him. “This marriage isn’t just paperwork. There’s something supernatural about it, something that’s changed my abilities.”
His face goes carefully blank, but I catch something in his eyes.
“You knew,” I breathe. “You knew this would happen, didn’t you?”
He doesn’t answer, which is answer enough.
“That’s why you were so insistent on the marriage. Not just for legal protection, but because you knew it would change me somehow.” My voice rises with each word. “What else haven’t you told me, Wyn? What other surprises am I going to discover about this bond you’ve forced on me?”
Still nothing.
“Get out.” The words come out low and deadly. “Get out of my room. Now.”
He lets out a long breath, spins on his heel, and walks out. I rush over and slam the door between us.
The guest room feels like a cage despite his assurances about privacy and freedom. Not because of locked doors or barred windows, but because of circumstance. I’m trapped here by the very real danger that still exists beyond these walls.
This morning, I was Raegan Blacklock, engaged to a gentle academic and planning my future in diplomatic relations.
Now I’m Raegan Lemay, married to a man who rejected me once and kidnapped me to keep me alive. My psychic abilities have been enhanced by supernatural bonds I don’t understand, and somewhere in the desert, people want me dead for resources I never knew I had a claim to.
The debt between Wyn and me is real and complex. He saved my life, but he also stole my choice. The marriage protects me, but it also binds me to a man who thinks he has the right to make unilateral decisions about my future.
And when Oren learns what his most trusted advisor has done, there’s going to be a reckoning that none of us are prepared for.
I pull out the marriage certificate and study our signatures—his bold and confident, mine angry and resigned. Whatever supernatural bond exists between us now, it started here, with ink on paper and vows spoken under duress.
Mrs. Raegan Lemay.
The name still sounds wrong, but maybe I’ll get used to it. I have a feeling I’m going to have to.
Chapter 9 - Wyn
I stand outside Oren’s front door like a condemned man walking to the gallows.
The morning desert heat is already building, but that has nothing to do with the sweat beading on my forehead. My hand hovers over the doorbell while I practice explanations that all sound equally insane.
Last night feels like a lifetime ago. Raegan slammed the door in my face after discovering I knew about the supernatural consequences of our marriage. The way her eyes blazed with fury when she realized how much I’d manipulated the situation.
The door opens before I can press the bell. Oren stands there in jeans and a T-shirt, coffee mug in hand, looking like he hasn’t slept.
“Where is she?” No greeting, no pleasantries. Straight to business.
“She’s safe.”
“That’s not what I asked.” He steps aside and gestures me into his house. “Kitchen. Now.”
I follow him through the familiar hallway, past family photos that include shots of Raegan from before she left for Llewelyn. Smiling, carefree, nothing like the furious woman I left in my guest room this morning.
The kitchen smells like coffee and pancakes. A plate sits abandoned on the counter, syrup congealing on half-eaten food.
