An Alpha's Choice (Talon Pack #2)(36)

Deafening silence.

What.

How.

No. That couldn’t be true.

She was mistaken. That had to be the only answer to this because he didn’t understand her words. She had to be joking. This was just a cruel taunt and a way to push him away because she couldn’t stand him. That’s all he knew. She hated him. Hated being around him. She pushed and growled and wanted nothing to do with him. She’d slapped him when he’d kissed her. She’d denied her attraction to him because he wasn’t worth her time. That was the only explanation. He’d stayed away and not pursued because she wasn’t his. His wolf hadn’t told him. His wolf hadn’t done a f*cking thing. He hadn’t wanted to one day meet his mate and yet have feelings for Brynn. He’d done all of that because he hadn’t felt the potential mating.

This couldn’t be happening.

All of these thoughts happened in a moment’s time, all at once, crashing into him. He struggled to breathe, to think, to remember that he was the Heir and needed to remain in a form of control.

His limbs felt numb, his fingers tingling as if they couldn’t quite keep the blood flowing.

He didn’t say anything, but she continued.

“Or rather, you’re mine. I can feel the potential bond with you. I’ve been able to feel it since before Gideon and Brie’s mating. My wolf wants you, craves you. And the woman? She wants you, too. I’ve seen your strength, your compassion. But I know you don’t feel the same. I know you want me because you’re a man and you are attracted to me. But I know. I know that the moon goddess f*cked up. Either your wolf doesn’t want me at all and the mating is truly one-sided, or something happened and you can’t feel it.”

His mouth opened once, twice, but nothing came out.

Tears slid down her cheeks and she gave him a sad smile. “I know you’re mine down to the very depths of my soul. I know that my wolf wants you with every breath she takes. Yet I know I’ll never have you because you don’t feel the same.”

“Brynn…” he whispered.

She shook her head. “I know it’s a lot to take in. I never told you before because I couldn’t be weak. I couldn’t open my soul like this, bleeding out in the open for you to take advantage and see me as nothing but a weak wolf. But it’s killing me, Finn. I’d rather you know now, know my pain, than stand beside you in silence because I was too afraid.”

He reached out for her, his fingers a breath away. He opened his mouth, but he didn’t know what to say. It didn’t matter though.

At that moment, the explosion burst near his ears and Brynn screamed. They both flew back as the wards rocked. The fire licked the wards but didn’t come through.

However, the large tree that had been rooted for over a century on the other side of the wards cracked. The sound was deafening. He crawled in the dirt toward Brynn and brought her close, covering her body with his.

The tree that had once stood tall, its branches reaching far into the heavens fell on the wolf side of the wards, landing with a thundering crash.

Someone had bombed the outside of the den, and yet it was the bomb that had fallen just mere moments earlier that made his mind whirl. One word slammed into his mind over and over again.

Mate.





Chapter Ten


Brynn’s body shook, but she didn’t know if it was from the shock of the explosion or the fact she’d just confessed her deepest secret to the one man she shouldn’t. She stood in her kitchen, another pair of shorts and tank thrown on as soon as she’d stepped inside. She’d handed Finn an extra set of sweats and he’d covered up, though he still stood shirtless in her dining room, looking as shell-shocked as she felt.

As soon as she could open her eyes when they’d been in the forest, she’d pushed Finn off of her. Both of them had jumped to their feet, claws at the ready. They couldn’t see a single person near the wards, but they’d searched. Both had been bleeding and bruised from the debris, but it hadn’t mattered. Her den was under attack, and she couldn’t save them all on her own. Finn had risked his life for her people, and she would never forget the feeling of him by her side as they’d searched for the perpetrators.

Kameron and the men and women under his command had shown up soon after the explosion. Her Enforcer brother had felt something off a mere second before the bombing but hadn’t been able to pinpoint its location fast enough.

No one had died. No one was hurt other than the scrapes and bruises Finn and she held on their skin. From the look of it, the bomb had been on a timer, the humans long since gone from that part of the den area. They couldn’t even find their clear scents as the rain earlier in the day had washed it away. But she knew it was humans, just as the rest of them did. There was a feeling that wouldn’t go away.

Her den had been attacked and there was nothing they could do because they didn’t know who had lit the fuse.

Kameron had told her to go home and clean herself up, the curiosity in his gaze at Brynn’s running partner blatant. She didn’t answer her brother but she hadn’t wanted to stand naked in a forest with the devastation of that section of the forest, her brother, and the man she’d revealed she held a potential mating for.

It was enough to push anyone toward a drink.

In fact, that sounded like a damn good idea. It would take a few bottles to get drunk thanks to her metabolism, but she could at least pretend the burn would lead to the numbness she so desperately needed.