Axel

I stare at Evalyn. I shouldn’t be as shocked as I am that she figured out the mate bond. Wolves are known in the human world, even though we mostly live separately from each other. Most wolves live in rural areas where they can hunt and run freely. It’s only outcasts, like me, who live this deeply among humans. Most of the wolves who live in cities have been shunned or banished from their packs.

Even though humans know about werewolves, most of them aren’t that well-versed in the lore. Most of them don’t even know what a mate bond is. I’m completely unprepared for Evalyn to confront me on it.

She smirks at me. “What, no comeback?” she asks.

She’s right. I don’t have a comeback. I almost always do—I’ve never been the silent type. I’m a talker, and I was the same way with Evalyn that night seven years ago. Even though I kept details about my own life quiet, I couldn’t stop talking to her about hers. But right now I don’t know what to say.

Evalyn rolls her eyes. “I knew wolves could be moody, but this is obnoxious.”

That makes me angry. “What do you want me to tell you?” I snap. “That I’m an outcast? Like every other wolf living in the human world? That I was banished from my pack? Is that what you want to hear?

“If you were expecting sympathy, you should have known better,” Evalyn says. Her face remains neutral, her eyes cold and emotionless.

The sight hits me in the gut. She was so expressive when I met her. She wore her emotions on her sleeve, all of her thoughts moving so clearly across her face that I could almost read them word for word. This new Evalyn is distant, and it makes something deep inside of me ache.

“I wasn’t looking for sympathy,” I tell her. And I mean it.

“What kind of wolf are you?” she asks. “Mates are supposed to be a ‘blessing from the moon goddess,’ aren’t they?” She takes a step toward me. “A gift. You knew what we were the day we met. And you knew I was human.”

“Yes,” I tell her.

She looks hard at me. “That’s why you rejected me, isn’t it? Because the mate bond never happens between wolves and humans. Because wolves who mate with humans are looked down on.”

I want to yell that she has it all wrong, that it was so much more complicated than her being human. That it had to do with loyalty and obligation and family. And none of those things have gone away. If I get close to Evalyn again…

I can’t. It’s too dangerous. For both of us.

I could barely walk away the first time. I don’t know if I have it in me to do it again.

The only way to survive this is if I make her hate me. To keep her far enough away to protect both of us.

“Yes,” I say. “It’s because you’re human.” I think I see something pass over Evalyn’s face, some hint of pain. My entire chest constricts. I swallow hard. “And it’s not just that,” I continue. “I wasn’t expecting to meet my mate. I didn’t have time for romance then and I don’t have time for it now.”

Evalyn takes a step backward from me and leans against the wall, her hands behind her back. “Here’s what I don’t understand,” she says. “Are you an asshole or just a coward?”

I blink at her. “Am I…what?”

“If you just played with my emotions that night…if you slept with me just to reject me and leave me, then you’re an asshole.” She narrows her eyes at me. “And if you wanted to be with me, and just didn’t have the balls for it, then you’re a coward.”

Her words cut right through me. “I don’t need to explain myself to you,” I growl.

“I mean, honestly, it could go either way,” Evalyn continues. “You’re acting like an asshole now. But you also don’t seem to be capable of manning up and figuring tough shit out with your mate.”

When she says the word mate, my wolf almost whimpers with longing. But whether she thinks I’m an asshole or a coward doesn’t matter—as long as she thinks there’s no chance for us. “We weren’t right for each other then, and we’re not right for each other now.”

Evalyn raises her eyebrows at me. I hate the heat that it sends through me. “Isn’t that literally what mates are?” she demands.

I glare at her. “What are you doing here?” I demand back. “Are you trying to get me back? Convince me to embrace my destiny? Well, news flash, lady. Once the mate bond is severed and rejected, it can never be repaired. And I’m not fucking interested.”

It almost physically pains me to tell the lie. My wolf is running circles in my mind, howling out objections. But I shove my wolf’s agitation down. I can’t deal with these feelings right now. And I’m not even supposed to be having them—the thing about the mate bond not being reparable is true. So I don’t know why the hell she still smells so fucking good, why her skin makes me ache, why the sound of her voice makes my entire spine come alive.

Evalyn laughs hollowly. “Did you seriously just ask if I’m here to try to get you back?” she says. “Are you truly that conceited? No, Axel. I am not here because of you.” My heart jumps at the sound of my name in her mouth. She pushes away from the wall and steps toward me again. “I never looked for you. I never cared to look for you. And I don’t give two fucks what you’re doing with your life now.” She gets closer to me with every sentence, until she’s standing right in front of me, chest heaving, smelling like sugar and violets. But her words come out in a hiss of anger. “So you can shove that arrogance up your ass and leave me the fuck alone.”

I stare down at her. I’m suddenly acutely aware of how much bigger I am than she is. If any of the other guys on the team had bad intentions, she wouldn’t be hard to overpower. The thought makes my blood boil. “This is not your world,” I say. “You shouldn’t be working here.”

“That’s not up to you. I’m not your mate, so you can fuck off.”

This isn’t working. I need her out of this arena. I need her out of my life. I lower my voice to a threatening rumble. “I can make your life hell here,” I say. “If you don’t quit.”

“Ha! Go ahead!” Evalyn laughs. “You’ve done it before. I can survive.”

We glare at each other, and her warm brown eyes seem to be boring down into my very core. I don’t know how long we stand like that, facing off, before another male voice interrupts us.

“Ready for the dinner?” Blake says. He steps into the room and crosses to Evalyn. “And what were you saying about surviving?”

She doesn’t break eye contact with me, even when Blake throws an affectionate arm around her shoulder, filling me with possessive rage. “I was just saying that I can survive whatever anyone throws me,” Evalyn replies.

“Of course you can,” Blake says. “You’re the strongest person I know.” He squeezes Evalyn to his side in a brief hug, and for a moment, I contemplate ripping his head from his body. But seeing as Blake owns the hockey team, I restrain myself.

Evalyn finally turns her eyes to Blake. “I’ll be ready for the dinner in a few,” she says. “I just have to go home and change.”

“I can take you,” Blake says, pulling out his keys.

“But what about my car?” Evalyn asks.

Blake shrugs. “I’ll have one of my guys bring it to you later. Or you can pick it up when you get back to work—I can send a car to get you in the morning. Or did you want to be alone…?”

Evalyn’s eyes flick to mine for the briefest of moments. “No, I’ll take the ride,” she says, smiling warmly. “Thanks for the offer, Blake.”

I hate hearing her say his name. Especially after hearing her say mine earlier. I want the syllables of my name to roll off her tongue day and night. I want to hear her screaming it again like she did that night seven years ago.

I want a lot of things that I cannot want.

I feel a hand clap down on my shoulder and turn to see Blake standing next to me. “Did Evie get you all stitched up okay?”

I nod. I’d almost forgotten the reason I was here in her office in the first place. My temple doesn’t even hurt anymore.

“You’re coming to the dinner tonight, too, right?” Blake says. I catch his wintry blue eyes staring into my face. “You won’t want to miss what’s coming.”