Page 9 of Collar Me Crazy
But he was already backing away, shaking his head like he could deny what had just passed between them. The pull stretched between them, and Sonya felt an actual ache as he moved farther from her.
"You need to leave," he said, his voice raw with something that sounded like panic. "Now. Go back to town and forget you found me."
"I can't do that." She took a step toward him, noting how he flinched. "My visions?—"
"I don't give a damn about your visions." His tone turned cold, but she could see the fear underneath. "Whatever you think you saw, whatever brought you here, you're wrong. I'm not who you're looking for."
"You are, though. I've been seeing you for weeks. You, this place, that feeling..." She gestured between them, where the air still hummed with supernatural energy. "You felt it too. I know you did."
"I felt nothing."
The lie was so blatant that Sonya almost laughed. Almost. But the stark terror in his eyes stopped her. This wasn't simple denial or stubbornness. This was a man convinced that what had just happened was somehow dangerous.
"I'm not going to hurt you."
"Stay away from me. I mean it. Whatever game fate thinks it's playing, I'm not interested," he said with desperate finality
He turned and walked away, not quite running but moving fast enough that she'd have to chase him to keep up.
Sonya stood alone on the lakeshore, watching him disappear into the trees. The sunset painted the water in shades of gold and crimson, and somewhere out there in the distance, a wolf howled. Lonely and wild and heartbroken.
"Well," she said to the empty air. "That could have gone better."
But even as disappointment settled in her chest, she felt something else. Hope, maybe. Or just stubborn determination. Ryker Dusk could run from her, could deny what had passed between them, but he couldn't undo the recognition.
The potential was real. She'd felt it, he'd felt it, and all his terror and denial couldn't change that fundamental truth.
Now she just had to figure out why the idea of having a fated mate scared him enough to run and why her vision had brought her to him. It was more than this, she already knew that.
Sonya looked out over the lake, where ripples from Ryker's stones were still spreading across the water. Somewhere in the forest, the most beautiful man she'd ever seen was probably having a panic attack because fate had decided they belonged together.
6
RYKER
Ryker made it halfway back to the sanctuary before his legs gave out. He collapsed against an oak tree, pressing his palms against the rough bark while his wolf howled in protest beneath his skin. The animal wanted to go back, wanted to track down the woman with the ebony hair and claim what was rightfully theirs.
"Shut up," he growled aloud, earning a concerned chirp from a squirrel overhead. "Just shut the hell up."
But his wolf refused to be silenced. It paced and whined, flooding him with pictures of brown eyes and the scent of jasmine and magic. The recognition had been instant and absolute. Mate. His wolf knew it with a certainty that made Ryker's bones ache.
Which was exactly why he had to stay away from her.
His phone buzzed. Text from Varric: Everything alright? Sensing some disturbance in the local magic.
Ryker stared at the screen, his hands shaking slightly. Of course Varric could sense it. The elder wolf probably knew exactly what had happened the moment Sonya touched him.
Fine. Just dealing with a difficult patient.
Not entirely a lie. His wolf was definitely being difficult.
If you need to talk, you know where to find me.
Ryker pocketed the phone without responding. Talking was the last thing he needed. Talking led to explanations, and explanations led to hope, and hope led to destruction.
It always did.
He forced himself to his feet and continued toward the sanctuary, but his mind was already dragging him backward through time. To a night twenty-three years ago when hope had died in blood and moonlight.
