Page 37 of Savage Fate

But what secrets did those deep waters hold beneath the placid surface?

If Fane and I hadn’t already claimed each other, would I be more willing to indulge the thought of being with Saint?

I shook the question off. Fane was my heart and soul—no matter how much I denied it in the beginning—and we’d been through hell and back. Nothing, not even a fated mate, would rip us apart.

“How can we get rid of this bond?” I asked Cirilla, ignoring Saint’s flinch. “Fane and Marissa broke theirs. I know it can be done.”

Lines developed across Cirilla’s forehead, and she swept her long silver hair behind her shoulder. “Of course it can be done. It’s just frowned upon.” She set the mug on the bar. “You’ll have to formally reject each other.”

Saint pushed off the bookshelf, his mouth opening and closing. “L-let’s just calm down for a minute. We don’t want to do anything rash. I-I haven’t even had time to process this.”

“What’s there to process or wait for?” I flicked my hand between us. “This can’t happen. I’m with someone else.”

He jammed his fingers through his hair, breathing rapidly. “I understand this means nothing to you, but I can’t just throw it away so quickly. Give me time,please.”

Heartbreaking sorrow filled the last word. Saint’s panic clogged the small cabin, and I wasn’t sure if I could sense it because I was a shifter or if it was the bond already giving me a direct line to his emotions.

I swallowed hard, resisting the urge to flee from the room and his emotions.

The door suddenly flew open, and Avery bolted inside, his blond hair a mess around his flushed face.

“You can’t just force him to reject the bond, Tate. You have no idea what you’re asking him to do.”

“Calm down, Avery.” Saint rubbed the center of his forehead and groaned. “Just leave it alone.”

“To hell with that.” The beta marched in my direction, but Saint caught his muscular arm and hauled him back. “Saint hasbeen waiting for his fated since he was a kid. You can’t take that away from him like this.”

Cracks spiderwebbed over my heart at the desperation beneath Avery’s anger. “I already have a mate. Waiting will only postpone the inevitable.”

“You don’t know that,” Avery hissed.

Did he think that if I got to know Saint, spent more time with him, I’d realize I wanted to give our bond a chance?

Was that what I feared? Why I was in such a rush? If we didn’t sever this thing right now, would it grow on me?

Cirilla’s cabin suddenly vanished, and I stood inside a rustic bedroom that smelled of pine and felt like a warm embrace. Saint hunched over a small table, dark circles bruising the skin under his sad, tired eyes.

“Another full moon and another pack’s celebration. And still no fated mate.” He let out a painful breath. “Do I not have one? Would I be alone forever?”

The cabin returned to focus as Avery and Saint argued, oblivious to my fleeting daze.

I licked my numb lips, knowing that short scene with Saint had been real. His fear of being alone twisted my insides into knots.

He’d finally found his fated, though, and it couldn’t have been worse.

The Infernal Sol really had given me a connection to fear. I could not only sense it but feel and see it.

Do you think the young alpha would want you if he knew the real you?

The taunting voice made me flinch, and Cirilla, who stood by the bar, calmly sipping from her mug, arched her eyebrow.

I didn’t need this added to the clusterfuck I was dealing with right now.

If Saint knew you still craved me and my terrible power, would he want you? If he knew you longed to suck down fears again and terrorize the masses, would he fight to keep this bond?

I rubbed my temples and gritted my teeth, attempting to drown out the Infernal Sol’s voice.

With me, you’d be powerful enough to sever your bond with him all on your own. You could just snap your little finger and get rid of him.

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