He spun around. “Then I don’t leave either, all right? That’s your goddamn Plan B. I go down with you.”
Karl stared at him. “That’s not a plan. That’s—”
“I don’t care.” The words came hard and fast now, like pressure released. “You getting left behind isn’t part of the plan. Youdyingisn’t—”
He broke off. Something hot surged in his throat. He couldn’t. Hecouldn’t. Karl’s voice so damn calm, asking for contingency plans like the piece to be sacrificed was anyone buthim.
Leon had known from the start that he wasn’t going to walk out of here without Karl. He just hadn’t let himself understandwhy.
Because if he did—
If hedid—
Then it was real, what this damn wolf had come to mean to him. An emotion he refused to name had rooted in Leon without his permission and against his will, just as stubborn and impossible as Karl was.
“I’m not leaving you. Not foranything, you understand?”
He flinched the second it was out, wishing desperately he could unsay the words, stuff them back in, make it so Karl had never heard them. But the words hung there, undeniable and true.
Leon couldn’t look at Karl. Couldn’t evenbreathe.
Of course Karl didn’t say anything. Why would he? What was there to say when someone he didn’t evenlikejust admitted they hadfeelingsfor him? He was ready to die right now of embarrassment and mortification. It’d save Michael a job.
Silence stretched between them like wire, and with each second, Leon could feel it cutting deeper. Maybe Karl was trying to find the kindest way to let him down. Maybe he was trying to decide whether Leon was losing it, making a declaration like that to someone he’dloathedonly days ago.
Because really, Leonhadlost it—he had no semblance of control left. He’d had a momentary breakdown the previous day when he’d thought Karl was dying, but anyone would, when it was someone they knew. Maybe he’d even prayed for him, but that didn’t mean anything.
But now, all the reasons he’d fought this, stuffed it down deep inside, shoved it aside—and yeah, he couldn’t do both those things at once, shutup—had gone. It boiled down to the fact he couldn’t leave Karl. He couldn’t even imagine it.
Didn’t matter that his brain still insisted cats and wolves couldn’t be mates. His cat clearly hadn’t got that memo. It was happy now, curling close inside him.Mine.
Leon swallowed hard, still not looking at Karl. “You want to know why there’s no Plan B?” he asked, voice low, flat. “Why I’d rather die than leave you behind?”
He turned, finally, and looked at Karl. Or rather, the wall behind his ear because he couldn’t say this if he met his gaze. He wasn’t sure he could say it anyway.
“It’s because…” His throat closed up. “Because I think you’re—”
He broke off. Tried again.
“You are. You’re my mate.”
His cat was smug, stretching lazily in his chest, but Leon was already bracing for the fallout—mockery, or a snarl, or just a pitying look.
None of that would change what he’d finally admitted. Not just out loud, but to himself. He didn’t want to pretend anymore that he didn’t want this. He just wantedKarl.
And he had no idea what the hell to do about it.
Chapter Twenty-six
KARL
Mate. Karl flinched like the word had hit him physically. He shoved it away, ignoring his wolf’s sudden alertness. His wolf didn’t know. It still didn’t understand what had happened last time, when Leon had lied, and Karl had been drugged and wrecked enough tobelieve him. He’d never felt so stupid. Never felt soexposed.
He stared at Leon, waiting for the inevitable follow-up, cat-like and sharp enough to draw blood. But Leon wasn’t smirking. He wasn’t looking at Karl at all.
“What the fuck?” Karl said. Or maybe whispered. He wasn’t sure the words made it out right.
Leon didn’t answer, his gaze glued to the wall in front of him. He looked like he’d just peeled his own skin off, leaving him agonized and defenseless, so unlike Leon’s usual self that he was almost unrecognizable.
