Benjamin.
I should have known it would be him when the display said it was an unknown number. I should have let the call go to voicemail instead of answering it and being forced to hear his voice again.
Conrad growled, low and dangerous, and I leaned forward to bury my face against his chest. The phone stayed pressed to my ear.
“Oh, is your boy toy angry?” Benjamin laughed. “Doesn’t he realize you’re mine, and I can call you whenever I want?”
His emotions toppled my barriers, battering me. I’d thought I would be strong enough to face him, but I wasn’t. Not when he brought up all the memories. Not when my emotions were so intense and so fresh.
I was furious, betrayed, sad, upset, disappointed. All at once. His void of dark, depraved feelings piled on, leaving me with a pot of negativity that threatened to boil over.
Tears streamed down my cheeks, and I whimpered.
Conrad held me tightly with one hand, trying to take the phone from me with the other.
I held on because as horrible as this was, I needed this. No therapy session could predict every bit of how I would respond when hearing Benjamin’s voice again, but this was the real deal. I’d learn how he would taunt me and how it would affect me.
Maybe I’d learn something about how to find him.
This was as safe as I would ever be, because Conrad was right here.
“I was expecting more cursing of my name, honestly,” Benjamin said. “This quiet whimpering is pathetic.”
“You’re a fucking monster.” I managed to choke out.
“Good job finally realizing it, babe. I didn’t expect to keep up the con for so long. It’s a shame you had to catch me with that bitch, or I would have had you fooled all the way down the aisle for our bonding ceremony.”
Looking back, that sickly sweet apple pie scent had saved my life.
She might be a bitch for stealing another woman’s alpha, but Benjamin was right. I would have followed him down the aisle still believing in a scent match’s unconditional true love; still believing inhim. She’d done me a favour, and I hoped she’d gotten far away from that psychopath by now.
“What do you even want from me?” I asked.
Conrad rubbed circles onto my back, his lips pressed against the top of my head. His chest rumbled with an attempt at a purr—though it sounded half like a growl. I pressed closer, needing his touch to get me through this.
I needed to know what Benjamin wanted.
Did he call just to torment me?
Or did he need something that only I could give him? Was he intending to draw me out?
“Can’t I chat withmyomega?”
“I’m not yours,” I snapped.
“That bite mark on your neck says differently. This bond between us speaks for itself.”
He pushed more of his emotions down the bond. He was gloating; he thought he’d won. I would never, ever let him.
“The bond meansnothingwhen I don’t love you.”
“Yet, our lives are wound together. Forever. Don’t worry, I’ll let you keep your precious pack for now. But when I need you, Talia, they’ll have to go. Maybe I’ll kill them all. Maybe they’ll flee and leave you behind, saving their own lives and leaving you with nothing.”
“Never,” Conrad snarled. “If you want her, you’ll have to go through us.”
Benjamin laughed. “That won’t be difficult. Ah, well, I just wanted to check up on you. I’m glad you made it home alright, babe. Better keep enjoying those garden paths while you can.”
Conrad lifted me from the stone wall at those words. I clung to him with my free hand, legs wrapped around his waist, and looked around us.
