Victor whispered in my ear as I stared out the window. The sun was setting, and his “honeymoon” was over.
“Sage, darling, you need to drink your Sanguis Vita while I’m gone, okay? That’s all you need to do today.”
I didn’t reply.
Victor had explained, over and over, that his marriage was purely political. That his new wife was the werewolf Premier’s cousin, and he’d made the arrangement to keep Fenmoor appeased after the suspicious death of their leader.
The new Premier, Thangmar Ulfic, was more than happy to have his brother out of the way, but werewolves were still out for blood, and they needed a distraction. That distraction camein the form of a wedding between the most eligible bachelor of Lundaria and the “princess” of Fenmoor, Accalia Ulfic.
Logically, it made sense. But I was already irrevocably damaged, and logic wasn’t going to fix me. Our bond had been cracked from the beginning, but watching him kiss his wife on TV was what had finally shattered me completely.
It was so strange, because what I felt wasn’t rational. Not just because of his explanation, that the marriage was all for show, but because I didn’t even like Victor very much. I certainly didn’t love him.
If he would just let me go, I would happily go on my way.
But no. He’d forced this connection on me, forced me to want him, to submit to him, to be this perfect little omega for him, and yet he was a terrible alpha. He claimed he’d never slept with any of the women he was dating—or marrying—but it was still unconscionable to do that to a mated partner. The mate bond was so sacred it was actually one of the few reasons you could get divorced and no one, not even your spouse, would blame you.
Mates were supposed to be honored and cherished, but I was hidden away like his dirty secret. A skeleton in his penthouse closet.
I was kept in the dark about all of Victor’s doings. And now he’d even taken the TV to make sure I’d never find out what went on in his world outside this apartment again.
“I’ll be back this morning. I mean it, Accalia knows this marriage is for show. She doesn’t know about you specifically, but I’ve made it clear that I have no interest in sharing her bed, and she’s fine with that.”
I blinked slowly, and he sighed. “I love you, Sage.”
The front door clicked closed, and his absence ate at me like acid.
Nothing would stop the pain.
I got out of bed and smashed the ceramic decorative heart on the floor. Grabbing the sharpest edge I could find, I entered the bathroom and turned on the faucet to fill the tub.
I just wanted this to end.
* * *
“I’ve never seen anything like this, sir. It’s unprecedented, to say the least.”
“And what is that supposed to mean?”
“I mean I’ve been studying mate bonds for over thirty years and not once have I ever seen a mate withdraw from their partner. In fact it’s almost always the opposite—I’ve interviewed Magiks who used to be depressed and then the mate bond made them better. Never the other way around.”
A growl caused the door to shake.
“I ask you again… what is that supposed to mean?”
The woman sighed. “I understand you’re feeling protective, but I’m going to have to ask for you to calm down if you want to hear my real, honest diagnosis and advice.”
I stared at the bandages wrapped around my wrists. Izack had come in to remind me to drink the blood supplements just as I’d finally started to lose consciousness.
I’d been so close.
Since then, Victor had me seeing Dr. Willow Vexalis, the foremost expert on mate bonds in Lundaria. Thankfully, most of her examinations with me were physical and magical, and our sessions consisted of me lying still while she hovered her hands over my body. There wasn’t much I could or even wanted to say.
“I’m sorry, doctor. It’s just that the few people I’ve confided in simply tell me she’ll eventually feel the bond snap into place and everything will be okay. But that’s obviously not happening. Something else is wrong.”
No shit. I was a square peg Victor had been trying to force through a round hole for years now, convincing himself I would eventually fit.
Instead, I just broke.
