He doesn’t answer. Won’t even look at me now.
Realization crashes over me like ice water. “You were never going to tell me, were you?”
“Violet—”
“Were you?” My voice cracks.
He hesitates, his mouth opening and closing but no sound coming out.
I take a step back. Then another. “I couldn’t tell it was the bond. Because my wolf is so weak, so broken. I couldn’t feel it.” I shake my head slowly. “And you planned to take advantage of that. You were never going to tell me.”
Guilt flashes across his face, stark and undeniable, and something inside me breaks. I can feel it, a physical sensation in my chest like my heart is being ripped apart by claws.
Numbness spreads through me, coldyet merciful.
“I’m good enough to fuck,” I say quietly, resigned to the truth, “but not good enough to mate.”
“We’re stepsiblings.” The words burst out of him, desperate and jagged. “If I follow the fated bond, my father won’t let me be alpha. Don’t you understand? The pack will suffer if Zion takes over. I can’t—I can’t let that happen.”
I meet his eyes, saying nothing.
Once again, I come second. Even in the eyes of the man the fates chose for me. Even destiny isn’t enough to make me worth choosing.
A bitter smile curves my lips. It feels wrong on my face, like I’m wearing someone else’s expression.
“I wouldn’t expect anything less from the alpha heir.”
“I’ve been trying to figure out a way,” he says, moving toward me. His hands lift but stop midair. “It’s complicated, Violet…”
“You’re right. It’s very complicated.” I clutch my hair, pulling hard enough that it hurts. “Do you know what’s really funny? Do you want to know what I’ve been thinking was going on?”
He goes very still.
“Ever since I came back. These past few months.” The words spill out faster now. “I thought I was sick. Twisted. Wrong. I was attracted to my stepbrother! My own stepbrother! I hated myself for it. Every time you walked into the room, I couldn’t breathe. Every time you touched me, even accidentally, it felt like lightning.”
“Violet—”
My nails dig into my palms. “But you knew. You knew the whole time that it wasn’t my fault. That it was the fated mate bond. And you let me suffer. You let me think I was broken.”
His face has gone pale. “I didn’t know you felt that way. I thought—I thought since you couldn’t feel the bond, you wouldn’t…” He trails off.
“Wouldn’t what? Wouldn’t want you?” I shake my head. “I wanted you every goddamn day. And you used me.”
“I never used you.”
“The apartment, Darius.” I advance on him. “Let’s talk about the penthouse.”
He tenses.
“I thought you loved me. I knew it was wrong, but you were the only one who seemed concerned about me. I thought that maybe, finally, someone cared about me enough to make sure I was safe and comfortable.” Another step. “But it wasn’t love, was it? It was guilt. Obligation. You were taking care of your mate because your wolf demanded it, all while making sure no one would ever know.”
He says nothing. His guilty eyes track my every movement.
“You set me up as your…mistress!” The word cuts through the humid air. “That’s what this is, isn’t it? The perfect arrangement. An apartment for me far enough from the estate that no one will see you coming and going. Close enough to your place that you can visit whenever you need to scratch the itch your wolf has for its mate.”
“Stop.” His voice is rough, strained.
“Why? Because the truth hurts?” I’m in his face now, close enough to smell the guilt rolling off him. “You wanted to keep me close enough to fuck but far enough away that no one would know. Your dirty little secret.”
