Page 74 of Cowboy Bull's Promise

My fists unclench.

But my heart?

Still hammering.

Because yeah, I’ve had flings.

I’ve had nights that started and ended in someone else’s sheets. But none of them ever made me feel like this.

None of them ever looked at me the way she does. Like maybe, just maybe, there’s more to me than my past and the beast beneath my skin.

Maybe she can keep the Rut from consuming me. From turning me into a mindless beast hellbent on breeding.

Fear makes me sweat as I think of the implications. As I start to imagine the pure fucking horror of turning into my sire.

“What is it?” Max asks, his voice low, steady.

But I feel the weight of his concern like a damn blanket soaked in lead, pressing down on my chest.

“Nothing.”

The lie tastes bitter in my mouth.

“Lie,” Dante grunts, sharp and immediate.

And yeah. He’s right.

I’m lying.

But I don’t know if I can tell them the truth.

You can. Trust them, my Bull insists.

And for the first time in my life, I throw caution to the wind, and I tell them every fucking thing that has scared me since I was old enough to understand just what I am.

Broken. Monster. Unworthy.

Chapter Fifteen-Kian

I start to pace, the tension crawling up my spine like fire ants.

My Crew’s eyes are on me.

Watching.

Waiting.

But for once, I don’t have a joke to deflect, or a cocky remark to throw like armor.

Just this gnawing fear in my gut.

“Y’all know about me?” I ask, stopping mid-stride, struck by this sudden and honest-to-gods idea that maybe, just maybe I don’t have to carry this alone.

They’ve been my brothers for months now.

My family.

Even if most days I’m the punchline to our collective sitcom.

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