His indifference to Conall’s previous romantic relationships had been rooted in the understanding that none of those women could compete with the twin bond that defined both their lives.
But a mate bond was different.Permanent.Potentially stronger than even their shared connection.
This isn’t about jealousy,Quinton said, but the words sounded hollow even to his own ears.
Isn’t it?Conall stepped closer, and Quinton could see the pain in his brother’s expression—not just from the possibility that his feelings had been manufactured, but from the growing realization that Quinton’s motivations might not be purely protective.Because it feels like you’re more concerned with keeping me isolated than keeping me safe.
The words were so close to what Nadine had said moments before.
That’s not true,Quinton insisted.
Then why does the thought of me having a mate terrify you so much?
The question cut straight to the heart of Quinton’s fears, voicing what he’d been unwilling to acknowledge even to himself.The terror that Conall would find someone who could provide what the twin bond couldn’t.The certainty that any mate worthy of his brother would demand emotional territory Quinton had always occupied.
Because mates leave,he said finally, the words torn from some deep place he’d never examined too closely.They choose other priorities, other loyalties.They take pieces of you that you can’t get back.
Conall went very still.Is that what you think would happen?
I think mate bonds consume everything else.I think you’d disappear into that connection until there was nothing left of the person I’ve known my entire life.The admission felt like bleeding out in public, raw and vulnerable.I could lose my brother, only to see him become some mate’s secondary consideration.
It wouldn’t be like that,Conall said quietly.
Wouldn’t it?Quinton met his brother’s gaze directly.
Anyway, maybe we’ve been too insular, too dependent on each other.
Or maybe we’ve been exactly what we needed to be.Quinton’s inner wolf paced restlessly, agitated by the threat to everything that had always defined him.Partners.Brothers.Two halves of something larger than either of us alone.
And if the mate bond is real?
The question cut straight through Quinton’s arguments, forcing him to confront the possibility he’d been avoiding.
What if Nadine wasn’t an asset, wasn’t manipulating Conall through artificial means?
What if the connection between them was genuine—and Quinton was trying to destroy something precious out of jealousy and fear?
I don’t know,he said.
Because you don’t want it to be real.
The accusation carried more truth than Quinton was comfortable acknowledging.He didn’t want the mate bond to be genuine, didn’t want his brother to find the kind of connection that could compete with their twin bond.
It made him selfish.Possessive.Everything he’d always prided himself on not being.
I want you to be safe,he said instead.I want you to make choices based on clear thinking rather than biological compulsion.
And if clear thinking leads me to the same conclusion?
Then I guess we’ll find out what matters more—brotherhood or biology.
Conall’s shock at the ultimatum Quinton had just delivered jangled through their bond, leaving it vibrating between them with the unspoken word.
Choose.
The pack and their shared history, or the mate bond that threatened to reshape everything.
That’s not fair,Conall said.
