Page 83 of Heart of the Rebel Mate

I arch a brow. "Enlighten me."

She hesitates, but only for a moment. Then she pushes off the rack and closes the space between us.

"You don't trust Cassian," she says, searching my face. "But it's more than that. You don't like that I do."

The air between us shifts.

I hold her gaze, feeling something hot coil low in my stomach. "Is that what you think this is about?"

Her jaw tightens. "Tell me I'm wrong."

Silence stretches between us.

She lifts her chin slightly, a challenge in her stance. "You want me to be honest, Adrian? Fine. I saw the way you looked at him tonight. Like you were daring him to give you a reason."

My fingers curl into fists at my sides. "He already has."

Her eyes flash. "And if he has? If you're right, and I'm wrong? Then what? You don't think I can handle it?"

"That's not what this is about."

"Then what is it about?" she presses.

I exhale sharply, running a hand through my hair. The words are on the tip of my tongue, but saying them out loud feels like giving something away—something I've spent too long keeping buried.

Elara watches me, waiting.

I shake my head. "You really don't see it, do you?"

"See what?"

I look at her then, really look at her.

How do I explain the weight in my chest every time I think about what the Council could do to her—to us? How do I tell her that Cassian isn't my biggest concern, that he's a distraction from the real threat?

"Elara," I say quietly, voice rougher than I intend. "The Council isn't just our enemy. They're watching us."

Her expression flickers, something guarded creeping in. "I know that."

"No, you don't," I say. "Not like I do."

She crosses her arms, but I can see the tension in her shoulders, the way her breath catches.

I take a step closer. "The mate bond—it's not just some fated connection. It's leverage. It's something they can use against us."

Her brows pull together. "Use against us?"

I nod. "They'll twist it. Make it a weakness. And if they can't break it—" I hesitate, jaw clenching. "—they'll exploit it."

Something shifts in her face, something uncertain.

"You think they'd manipulate us like that?" she asks, quieter now.

I let out a breath. "I know they will."

The silence stretches between us, heavy with things unsaid.

Then—

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