Page 36 of Forbidden Daddy Mate

He was right. Why had I wanted to in the first place? I couldn’t remember. But whatever it had been must have been silly.

“You’re happier being human,” he said.

I was. My hands turned back to fingers, my teeth going back to normal, the fur receding.

“You don’t want to make any trouble,” he said. “You want to show us you mean no harm, don’t you?”

I nodded.

“The best way to do that is to put your hands behind your back, right? Go ahead.”

I complied, barely registering that something had wrapped around my wrists.

“You’re going to come with us quietly, aren’t you?” he asked.

Cold iron snapped around my neck, and clarity broke through. Snarling, I shook my head, trying to bring my mind back to myself. I jerked myself back to reality, panting and forcing the stone wall back in place. But it was too late. I knew what the collar around my neck was. Every shifter did. It prevented us from shifting. As long as it was there, our connection to our wolf was dampened. I could barely sense her now.

Panic raced through me, and I tried to jerk my shoulder out of Tyr’s grip as he smirked down at me, knowing he’d won. As I began to flail, I noticed with a sickening punch to the gut that I couldn’t move my arms.

Something held my hands in place, and I turned just enough to see a rope. My heart thudded, and I desperately tried to break out. It was just rope, and it should have been easy. But every time I tried to free my hands, the rope tightened, digging deeper into my flesh.

“Magic,” Varin explained, seeming to revel in my panic and confusion. “The more you fight, the tighter it will get.”

My shoulders sagged as the ropes bit deeper into my wrists, the truth of the situation washing over me. There was nothing I could do. I was trapped.

Tyr must have seen the defeat in my eyes because he grinned. “See?” he said. “Still weak. You might have learned a few new tricks, but that isn’t going to be enough. It just means I might have to try a little harder.” He paused, then added, “For now.”

For now? “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

He shrugged, the only answer his widening leer.

“We’ll worry about that later,” Varin said, shooting Tyr a look that told him to shut up. “For now, all you need to do is come quietly. It will make your life a lot easier.”

I thought about screaming but knew it wouldn’t do any good. No one was around to hear. I couldn’t get away even if I wanted to.

Nails digging into my shoulder, Tyr pushed me along, not giving me another chance to protest.

Chapter 17 - Malcolm

I stood frozen in the foyer for what felt like ages, staring at the door long after Freya had left. I stewed over her words, trying to sort them out.

Had she been right? Keeping things to myself and not letting anyone in had saved my life more than once. It had protected me. Except the rage and fury I had seen in Freya’s expression had unsettled me. There had been hurt mixed in with her expression, and that had dug under my skin more than anything else. The thought that I might have hurt Freya was something I couldn’t handle. I cared too much about her.

Playing my cards close to the chest had always seemed the right move in the past. But had hiding things actually made them worse? Just like I’d kept my feelings from Freya hidden. Not just hidden but pushed to the side, buried deep so no one would notice them. Freya included.

If I’d been more open with her, more honest, would she have stormed out the way she had? Or could I have convinced her to stay?

What was more, I was surprised at just how much I wished she was here. How angry I was that she had stormed off—not at her, but that I’d driven her to it. I hadn’t expected the look of betrayal on her face to hit as hard as it had. But it had gnawed a pit in my stomach, and I knew that the disgusted look she threw at me before she left would be ingrained in my memory for the rest of my life.

I’d kept her at arm’s length to protect a secret. Because I worried it was inappropriate or that it was a mistake. That had driven her away just as much as the rest of it. And it had been a way for me to ignore my own feelings.

Because what I felt about Freya went far beyond just sexual attraction.

It was the first time I had actually admitted it to myself. I should have known for a long time, but it had been easier to deny it. She was smart, strong-willed, and kind. She could handle things better than a lot of people I knew, even if she didn’t know it. I enjoyed spending time with her. I wanted to be with her. More than that, I was in love with her.

And I’d nearly thrown it all away out of some stupid belief that I needed to conceal everything from everyone. I wasn’t going to let that happen any longer.

I made up my mind. I was going to be open with Freya. I would tell her everything and anything she asked. Because I couldn’t keep it a secret any longer. I didn’t want to keep it a secret. I was in love with Freya.

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