"No. Damn you, Mida. Damn you for making me love you. Damn you for leaving. And damn you for being my only damn mate."

"Mate?" I whispered weakly. Staring at the bedding sadly.

"Yes, Mida. You're mine."

"No, Jared. I'm not. You're a sociopath."

He scoffed. "No, I'm not."

I looked over my shoulder at him. "Everything you do is strategic. You knew exactly what moves to make to make me love you. You'd have killed me without blinking. That's why I left...You're a sociopath."

He laughed coldly. His shoulders shaking with icy mirth. "Is that what you tell yourself?"

"What's so funny?" I glared wearily at him.

"That you can't see it. It's ironic."

"What?"

"You're the sociopath." He declared.

***

"No, I'm not." I argued. Brow knitting that he'd dare say that to me.

"You are. Everything I learned, I learned from you."

"Not fucking!" I snapped. "You clearly knew how to do that."

His square white teeth were too perfect in that broad grin. "No, Mida. I didn't. I was too big, too damn ominous and women wanted nothing to do with me. But you did. Because you're my little sociopathic mate. You weren't afraid because you feel nothing."

I shook my head.

"You think me cold and strategic because you recognize your own behaviors reflected in mine. You trained me to play sociopath to tolerate your cruelty."

"That's a lie!" I argued vehemently.

"You haven't feared me coming to you at night. You didn't fear me hurting you. Because you don't care. You feel nothing." His voice rose. "I'm the poor sot in love with a sociopath."

"They sent you in on all the death missions because you'd walk in fearlessly. Kill mercilessly because you don't care for anyone or anything."

"What are you saying?" I glared at him.

"You don't love this man you've been dallying with, do you? Have you cared a wit for any of them?"

No. I hadn't. But only because I knew Jared could come at any time and kill them or me.

"No." He answered his own question. "You don't. Because you're not capable. You don't care for me either. But at least you find me interesting which is more than this boring existence you've been in."

"You could've killed them." I said in way of explanation. As to why I hadn't come to care for the men I'd dated.

"Mida..." He chided. "You know better. I've never killed anyone you didn't ask me to. You only think I'm here for such a reason because it's the only reason you'd come to me."

"Then why are you here to kill me now?" I demanded. Nearly yelling in denial of what he was saying. "Because CORE told you to!"

"No." He sobered and shook his head. "I don't belong to CORE. I belong to you."

"CORE found me as a cub and knew what I was. They stole me to work for them but couldn't control me. And it got worse the older I got. I was defiant, strong, and shredded every room they locked me in. But I caught one whiff of you walking down the road years ago and declared I wanted you."

"They brought you in then as a means to control me. And it worked. You just so happened to be a perfect little sociopathic weapon."

"If you're not here for CORE..." I said quietly. "Why are you here?"

"To take you. I've been telling you. Over and over. You're mine. You're my mate. And I've come for you."