“You still haven’t told me,” I say without looking at him.
“Told you what?”
“Whyyou forced your way into the bond.” I do look at him now, pushing through the discomfort to make myself meet his eyes. I can’t help but wonder if that’s also an effect of him being a dragon, the resistance I feel whenever I meet his gaze, but he doesn’t seem to appreciate being reminded of what he is, so I don’t ask. “You said I’m your fated mate. You said you did it to protect me. From yourself, of all things. But that’s not actually an explanation.”
“Is it not?”
“No. It’s not.” I set down the exams. “You’re the most powerful being I’ve ever encountered. You could have kept your distance when you recognized the mate bond, but you didn’t. You wove yourself into my pack bond, into mysoul, and you won’t tell me why.”
His expression doesn’t change. It just remains that perfect mask of composure that I’m starting to think isn’t composure at all, it’s…
Armor.
“I told you the truth before. Dragons are selfish, greedy monsters,” he says quietly. “We see what we want and we take it. Usually the simplest explanation is the correct one.”
He says it so matter-of-factly, but my intuition tells me this is the first time in this conversation he’s lied to me.
“You expect me to believe that? That the great Professor Villeneuve, master of subtlety and manipulation, just couldn’t help himself when it came to his fated mate?”
“I don’t expect you to believe anything.” He moves toward the door. “You asked a question, I gave you an answer.”
“That’s not?—“
But he’s already gone. The door swings shut behind him, leaving me alone with a stack of exams and more questions than I started with.
I stand there for a long moment. Staring at the closed door.
He wants me to hate him.
The realization settles in alongside the uncomfortable weight of Killian’s illness. All the distance, all the cryptic non-answers, all the times this man has positioned himself as the villain of his own story…
It’s like he’stryingto make me distrust him. Trying to give me reasons to push him away.
Dragons are selfish, greedy monsters.
He said it like a confession. Or maybe an admission of guilt for a crime I didn’t accuse him of.
But that’s the thing about people who genuinely want to hurt you. They don’t warn you first. They don’t give you reasons to stay away. They draw you close and make you comfortable.
And then they strike.
Kyle never told me he was dangerous. Kyle told me he loved me, that he only wanted what was best for me. All he ever wanted in return was my absolute devotion.
And Villeneuve wants me to hate him.
Unfortunately for us both, that only makes it harder.
Chapter
Thirteen
SEAN
Okay, this is getting fucking ridiculous.
I’ve been watching my pack mope around Villeneuve’s big fancy room for two hours now. Regina’s curled up in an armchair with a book, staring at it so intensely I’m thinking about putting a cover on my dick just to get some of that attention.
Seems like it might work.
