“Please. You can’t do this to me,” I whispered, pleading for him to
 
 declare it was all a lie.
 
 His eyes flashed with anger. “Do this to you? Do you think I’m any
 
 happier about this than you are? Do you think I want this? Because I don’t.”
 
 His words were a slap in the face, and resentment welled up in my heart.
 
 So that was how he truly felt. I should’ve known.
 
 I knotted my fists and vowed to find a way out of this fucked-up mess.
 
 “So this is like some sort of curse? There must be a way to break the bond.”
 
 His jaw tensed, and his eyes flashed a honey-gold. “I don’t know. Maybe
 
 if we find a way to cure your lycanthropy…”
 
 “Fuck! You can’t be serious!” I clenched my fists, and the bitter truth
 
 dawned on me. “Is that why you were so eager to see Alia? To find a cure?
 
 Because of this?”
 
 His silence was an answer in itself.
 
 Of course he would be desperate to get rid of me. I was a dirty LaSalle.
 
 Jaxson raised his hand, but I started backing away. “No. This is too much.
 
 No one has the right to control my body or my heart. Not the sorcerer, not
 
 you, not my wolf, and not the fucking fates.”
 
 “Savannah, I know this is a lot. Calm down. We can talk this through.”
 
 Talk me through losing my right to choose my own partner? Talk me
 
 through being fated to someone who despises me and my family?
 
 Anger burned in my chest, and I wanted to scream—at Jaxson, at the
 
 fates, at everything.
 
 “No. I will not calm down.” I rubbed my throbbing temples. “I control
 
 my own fate. Nobody else. I’ll decide if I’m your mate or not, and I’m not.
 
 No fates or magical bond can make me. I reject this.”
 
 His eyes blazed with resentment and rage, like my words had been a
 
 blade rammed into his chest, cutting out his soul.
 
 It made my heart ache—but was that really my heart feeling for him, or
 
 was it a product of our so-called bond? Were any of my feelings for him real?