He was faster than I’d expected, which was stupid of me because the alpha gathered power from those in his pack. I should have gathered it as well, but because I refused to truly seal the bond—i.e., have some really bad sex—I was cut out of the share of power.

“Why do you hate me so much?” Torin shouted, clawing at his hair and face in frustration, cutting lines across his skin that healed instantly. “Sure, I didn’t treat you that well after your father’s sin, but I was never the worst. Jaxson and I stopped you from being raped. We stopped the members of the pack we could control from stepping over the line. You would have died a million times over if it wasn’t for us!”

He was shouting in my face now, his cheeks red, his eyes burning into me with intensity. “And yeah, I rejected you, but I reclaimed you as soon as I came to my senses. You have to understand, I never expected you were anyone other than Jax’s. When I was the chosen one, I panicked and acted like a stupid fucking moron. I’ve regretted it ever since.”

He was saying all the right words, but that was seriously all they felt like to me. Words. Empty, meaningless, say whatever to get his own way words.

“Being with you feels wrong,” I said, needing him to understand.

That statement hurt him, his eyes shiny as he stared at me. “We’re true mates,” he whispered, like those two fucking words solved all the problems in the world.

“We’re not.”

He blinked about a million blinks. “What the fuck, Mera? Are you insane? We have a fucking true mate bond, and that means you belong to me. Your heart. Your soul. And your goddamn body.”

I had been starting to feel sorry for him, but as always, his stellar personality took care of that. “You know I’m right,” I said shortly. “There’s no true bond between us any longer. You should make it official with Sisily and save yourself the rejection.”

Torin shook his head, coughing out laughter through his growls. “You never were one to mince words. Throw your every thought out there and deal with the consequences later.”

I shrugged. “Yeah, that’s what happens when you stop expecting to live past your next birthday. There was never any point in curbing my words. It made no difference to how the pack treated me.”

“Your father is to blame for that,” Torin shot at me. “Not me. I refuse to be punished for actions that weren’t my own.”

Oh, the irony.

“I heard a story about why my dad attacked yours.”

Torin stilled. “What did you hear?”