Something flickered across her face.Surprise?Confusion?I didn’t give you anything this time.
That stopped him cold.
If she hadn’t administered a counteragent, why was he coherent so quickly?His mind raced through possibilities, none of them good.
Not the twin bond—if that was the case, Nadine wouldn’t be awake.
Enhanced metabolism from the mate bond?Some kind of immunity building up from repeated exposure?Or something far worse—had their captors wanted them awake?
The worry crawling up his spine intensified.This felt like a setup.Like a trap within a trap.
Who were they?he asked, pushing the worry aside for now.
Not Chimera.She tested her injured leg, face carefully blank.Professional assessment mode—he recognized it from his own training.Different equipment.Different tactics.Professional, but not military.
Corporate?
Maybe.Or private contractors.Her gaze sharpened, focusing on him with uncomfortable intensity, seeming to see straight through him, past all his defenses.How did you find me?
How could he explain that he’d followed the mate bond like a compass?That every cell in his body had been screaming her location for days?That leaving Quinton behind—betraying their lifelong partnership—had felt inevitable once his need for Nadine became too strong to resist?
Lucky guess,he lied.
Her laugh was cracked, brittle.Right.And I suppose it’s just coincidence that you showed up exactly where I was hiding.
Heat crawled up his neck.She was right, of course.The mate bond had led him straight to her like a bloodhound following a scent trail.But admitting that meant admitting how completely the connection had compromised his judgment.How it had driven him to abandon everything he’d believed about himself.
Look, we can argue about this later.Right now we need to focus on getting out of here.
We?Her voice dropped to a dangerous purr that sent a jolt straight to his groin despite everything.There is no ‘we,’ Stewart.Just because we’re stuck in the same cell doesn’t make us allies.
The bond connecting him to her ached with frustrated longing.
She was three feet away—close enough to touch, close enough that her scent filled his lungs with every breath—and she might as well be on another planet.The distance between them felt like physical pain.
His wolf whimpered beneath his skin, confused by the rejection from what it recognized as their mate.The animal within didn’t understand human complications like murder accusations and family loyalty.
Mine.Ours.Why won’t she accept us?
Because she thinks you killed her father, Conall reminded himself grimly.Because she’s building a case against you and Quinton.
Because every instinct she has screams that you’re the enemy.
And yet she’d saved his life.Twice now.
Your father,he said suddenly, the words spilling out before he could stop them.I want to understand what happened to him.
She went very still.Predator-still.The kind of motionless that preceded either flight or attack.Why?
Because someone’s gone to a lot of trouble to make you think we killed him.He leaned forward, letting sincerity bleed into his voice despite knowing it might be futile.Because I think we’re both being played.
The silence stretched between them.He could practically see the wheels turning behind her amber eyes—calculating, assessing, weighing options.She was deciding whether he was worth the risk of honesty.
When she didn’t speak, he took another tack.You protected me in that ravine four days ago.Led them away even though you think I killed your father.Why?
She was quiet for so long he thought she wouldn’t answer this question either.When she finally spoke, she turned her head away from him, and her voice was barely audible, cracked with something that might have been despair.
I don’t know.
