His voice wavers. “Youaremy family, baby.”
A sad smile touches my lips. Damn him for making me love him even more. “We can’t survive in the wilds.” It’s the simplest truth there is. We’ve both seen the carnage the rot has taken to the land—him more than me.
“I’ll go anywhere with you.” He cups my cheek and tilts my face up to his. “We don’t have to live in the wilds. There are communities that will take us in.”
“You know that isn’t true.”
“You don’t know that!” The silver of his eyes glows brighter, and he forces himself to take a deep breath. “We haven’t seen them all, Sienna. Therehasto be a place out there that doesn’t care about pack status. The Alphas don’t rule every corner of the fucking realm. We can figure this out.” He leans into me and closes his eyes, whispering a final plea. “Don’t leave me again.”
My heart aches as I force myself to step away. There are too many unanswered questions when it comes to Revyn. Hidden truths that I can’t unbury on my own. If he wants me to stay, he needs to be honest with me.
Testing my theory, I broach a topic Revyn won’t want to discuss. “Why does Alistair Dire bother you so much?”
He visibly tenses, a muscle in his jaw ticking. “Don’t say his fucking name around me.”
“Why not?” I take another backstep toward the door. “Are you threatened by him?”
He chuffs but follows me, taking one step forward for each I take back. “The Dire pack is full of assholes.”
“That doesn’t answer my question.”
Clenching his jaw, Revyn fights for words. “Yes, I’m threatened by him,” he grinds out, “but not for the reason you think. I could snap his pretty boy neck in a second.”
“Then what is it that pisses you off so much?”
“I can’t—” A strangled sound catches in Revyn’s throat. “If I tell you, you’ll leave.”
The hair on the back of my neck rises. He can’t think—no, there’s no way. Revyn couldn’tpossiblybelieve the same lie that Alistair does. They don’t even know each other!
Forcing myself to remain calm, I lace my fingers with Revyn’s to keep him—and myself—talking. “What could possibly be so bad about Alistair that it scares me away from you?” I’ve lived with Revyn for years; if he thinks that Alistair makes him seem cute and cuddly, he’s dead wrong. Being with a wild wolf isn’t a romantic walk through a flowering meadow.
His throat clicks as he tries to form the words but comes short. “Please don’t make me say it.”
“Revyn.” My patience is thinning. “If you can’t be honest with me, things will never work between us.”
“Fuck, okay.” It still takes him a minute to respond. His hands shake so much that I have to hold them steady over my heart.
I’ve never seen Revyn nervous about anything, and that makesmenervous.
If Alistair really is my true mate—and if Revyn knows about it—then that’s another lie wedged between us. If we keep going like this, they’ll stack so high so we’ll die under their weight when they all come crashing down.
Revyn stares at my mouth. “Kiss me first.”
The flicker of fear in his eyes settles around my heart, giving me enough reason to follow through. Lifting onto my tiptoes, I press a gentle kiss to his lips that he immediately runs with, spinning us around and lifting me onto the table. Once he’sslotted between my thighs, he cups my jaw and attacks my mouth, his pulse thready beneath my palm as I kiss him back.
He trembles and pulls away far too quickly. There’s a deep, heart-wrenching sorrow smoldering in the black depths of his eyes as he finally admits the truth he’s been intentionally keeping from me.
“The Dires have been trying to kill you since the day we met.” Revyn brushes his thumb across the bow of my lips. “But Alistair is more than an enemy, Sienna. He’s?—”
The door bursts open and slams against the wall, making us both flinch in surprise. Revyn quickly shields my body, but it doesn’t stop me from having a perfect view of Alistair Dire storming into the room, his eyes glowing bright gold and his teeth bared in a clear threat.
Revyn snarls as he faces Alistair, the sound rumbling like thunder in the compact room. I cling to his shoulders to hold him back. If they fight this close to a full moon, they’ll tear each other apart.
My pulse spikes as Alistair’s eyes meet mine, his overwhelming scent making me dizzy. Memories of the man I kissed on the balcony clash with the alpha standing before me, his entire body shaking as he fights to control his emotions.
There’s only one reason Alistair could possibly care about me being with Revyn.
My world spins. I drag in a breath, but all I taste is the rage boiling between both men. “What’s your fucking problem, Dire?” I shout, affected by both men’s fury. It bleeds through my skin and rushes through my bloodstream, infecting me with the same poisonous anger burning through their veins.
