Page 17 of Run Free

“And that is exactly why I asked Dave to talk to you about helping. This was probably the most damaged habitat in the entire park from what I’ve seen, and it needs to be perfect.”

I couldn’t see who was speaking, but I knew that voice. It gave me chills and spoke to me every night in my dreams.

Gage.

“Anything to make Clara happy,” Miriam teased.

“I told you, this isn’t about Clara. Stay focused,” he said. “We’re close and once the tigers are in place we can get the hell out of here.”

“After you tell Clara it was all your idea and she falls madly in love with you,” Alfred teased.

Gage stepped into my view and my breath hitched at the sight. His brown hair hung just into his eyes. His beard had been trimmed closely. He was sweaty, and shirtless, rocking a dark tan. How many days had he been out here? My mouth watered at the sight.

“Nobody is going to fall in love with anyone. I told you that. And you. . .”

“Aren’t to tell her you’re here,” they cut him off and chanted in unison.

The happiness at seeing him instantly changed to devastation. Why was he here if he didn’t want me?

“Why are you here then?” Miriam asked the question I desperately needed an answer to.

“I told you already,” Gage huffed. “I can’t just leave her in this place. So, the faster we get done, the faster she’ll move on, and then I can move on and put all of this behind me.”

Miriam and Tatum looked at each other and burst out laughing.

“Gage, if you wanted to leave her behind, you’d be gone already,” Tatum pointed out.

He shook his head. “You don’t understand. I can’t. I just can’t. I tried. I can’t stand to even think of her in this death trap. I won’t be able to move on until I know she’s gone from here for good.”

Alfred shook his head. “The bond doesn’t work that way, Gage. And if your wolf has already connected with her, then that bond isn’t going to just go away. You need to break it before you leave that poor girl unresolved. She already knows she’s your true mate. You should see her, she’s absolutely miserable.”

“I saw her when she put the monkeys in their cage. She looked happy, not miserable.”

“One moment of happiness isn’t the same. Trust me, she’s not happy,” Alfred insisted.

He was right, I wasn’t. I’d waited a lifetime for a mate, even willing to settle for a compatible one. I’m lucky enough to find my one true mate, and he didn’t want me. That knowledge ripped a hole in my chest. I didn’t know how a bond was broken, but I was going to find out. I couldn’t live the rest of my life like a shadow of myself. I’d seen Lizzy go through it and I wasn’t going to let it happen to me. I wasn’t strong like her. I didn’t think I could survive it.

“I don’t want to hear she’s not happy Alfred. She’s still young and beautiful, she’ll find a mate. It just can’t be me.”

“But why not?” Tatum asked.

“Because I’m not good enough for her!” he yelled, silencing them at last. “Look at her. She’s smart and driven. She helps people in need. She rescues animals. She’s a freaking doctor. I’m no one. And she’s seen the videos. She knows how weak and pathetic I am. She’d only ever look at me with pity and I can’t live that way.”

They were all stoic and I wanted to scream, “That’s not what I think at all!” But I could feel his resolve. He was going to leave me, so all I could do to save myself was find the cure to break the bond. If nothing else, I knew the Verndari had a drug that would temporarily sever the bond. If I had to take shots of it every single day for the rest of my life, I would, before living the way Lizzy had all those years.

As they got back to work, I turned and headed for the clinic, abandoning my plans for a shower. It wasn’t like I had anyone to impress. I was destined to be alone in life.

I settled into my office and pulled out my cell. I called Lizzy. She was the only one I knew who could understand what I was going through. She picked up on the second ring.

“Hello? Clara?” she asked.

“Lizzy, I need to talk and I don’t know who else to turn to,” I said as tears started streaming down my face.

“Are you crying? What’s wrong? You never cry,” she reminded me. It was true. I could usually turn my emotions off and on like a faucet, but not this time.

“I’m okay, I guess. I just don’t know what to do,” I admitted.

“Are you home?”

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