Page 57 of Cupid's Pack

“I can’t.”

I’m overwhelmed by the sick feeling in my gut as I realize I'm going to have to make the choice between fight or flight. Whatever is keeping Jakob off neutral ground apparently isn’t a qualm this guy shares.

If I try to defend myself for real, I could be risking the heart stones. I think I have to run.

“Don’t run.” He puts his hand up as if reading my mind, and my heart beats a double-time cadence in my chest, leaving me feeling dizzy. His voice dips, going somehow gruffer with his plea. “Please.”

“Who are you?” I repeat my initial question since he still hasn’t answered it. His mouth twists unhappily, as if neither of us will like the answer. I already know I won’t, but I need to hear him say it. I need my wolf to hear him say it.

He runs his hand across his jaw and speaks in a tight voice. “I’m Kristoffer MacKay. Jakob is my—”

“Your brother,” I finish for him, stomach turning. It’s easy enough to see and something my gut was already telling me. The features are just similar enough that they would share a set of parents. Where Jakob’s face looks like a sculptor had the vague idea of what a classically handsome man might look like, Kristoffer’s features are finer. More sharp and refined. But it’s there. The family resemblance is undeniable, and if he’s anything at all like his brother, I’mnotsafe.

“You need to leave right now.” Fear clutches my chest with the realization of how vulnerable I am. I take it back. Maybe I am stupid. How could I have put myself into another situation like this? Mason might actually kill me if I make it out of this unscathed.

I’m about to call out across mind link for Sailor, hoping he’s within range, when Kristoffer stumbles forward and takes my free hand in his.

My wolf calms. My heart rate slows enough that I’m able to get a deep breath of air in without being at risk of hyperventilating. And Kristoffer holds eye contact with me until I feel my wolf urging me to mark him, right here, right now. Like I don’t have four mates already waiting for me.

Absolutely not, I tell her. It’s the most ridiculous thing I think she’s ever asked for.

I tear my hand out of his and cross my arms defensively, tucking the stones in the crook of my elbow. “I’m not going to fall for this. Your brother should have picked someone else to do his dirty work.”

Kristoffer recoils with a look of disgust on his face. Hope blossoms in my chest for a moment, but I crush it. Hope is not something I should be associating with this man. “I have nothing to do with my brother’s shit. I only came here to try to get my pack members to come home. Jakob’s using resources we can’t afford to have away from the main pack for this long.”

I take a few more steps backward, bringing myself even with the corner of the building as I consider the information. Maybe Jakob’s insane mission to kidnap me and force me back to his pack land isn’t sanctioned by his Alpha and maybe I can use that against him. I think back to what I’ve heard about the Red Ash Pack over the past couple of weeks, and I know this hopeisdangerous. I have to trust my gut right now. All I have to do is turn and I’ll have a chance to make a run for it.

“If you’re here for the pack, then I’m sure you’ve realized they’re not inside the campground. There’s no reason for you to be here, and this is neutral territory.” There’s a warning in my voice as I emphasizeneutral.

“I know.” He drops his gaze for a moment, but it’s not long enough for me to make a run for it. My hands shake around the stones clutched in them as they drop to my side. “But I caught your scent and my wolf…” He trails off.

Even if he’s telling the truth, he has to know this is a hopeless situation he’s stumbled into. He clearly knows what his brother is doing here. There’s no way I would ever let a MacKay mark me, no matter what my wolf tries to say. She might operate on instinct, but the rest of my mind still has free will.

“Answer me one thing,” Kristoffer pleads.

“I don’t owe you anything.” The only reason we’re still talking is because I’m waiting for the best chance to make a run for it.

“I know.” He looks so solemn it makes my chest feel funny. “But I need to know—is my brother wrong about your mate bond? Has he made it all up in his head? Because I see you andyou’re mine.” He clears his throat uncomfortably as if that last part wasn’t meant to slip out.

There’s a long silence while he waits for me to answer. I chew the inside of my cheek as I struggle through the best way to handle the man in front of me. Will he flip out when he finds out the truth? Step forward to close the distance between us and wrap his hand around my arm like his brother had the first time we’d met, attempting to drag me into the woods and mark me? It feels irrational, but I’m pretty sure the fear is the only thing that will keep me running at this point. It’s all I have that overrides my wolf’s insistent urge to step forward and let him claim us.

“No,” I say after a moment. Something deep inside of me twists as his face falls, but I push it down even further. “He’s delusional but not about that.”

“Then how can I feel so sure that you belong to me and not him?” Kristoffer punctuates his words with a sharp growl. I startle at the sound, but it’s obviously not directed at me, not with the way his face softens with a wince when he glances at me.

The sorry seems to be on the tip of his tongue, but I jerk my chin up, cutting him off. “The mate bond doesn’t mean anything unless a mark is exchanged. And I don’t belong to you—or your brother. I have other mates, mates that don’t see me as an object to be acquired.”

Kristoffer frowns deeply, his eyes wide with horror. “Are you insinuating that’s how I would see my mate?”

“I think your brother has shown me well enough what kind of family and pack you come from.” I keep my chin up even as my wolf tries to plead with me to tone it down. She still somehow sees hope for this bond in the face of what I think is pure hopelessness.

If you reject him, I’ll never forgive you,my wolf warns. I swallow down the words I was tempted to say.

“I amnotmy brother.” Kristoffer takes a step toward me, and I stumble back quickly, not wanting him to be any closer. My wolf protests loudly when he squeezes his eyes shut after seeing my reaction.

My wolf can feel bad all she wants, but we’re not on the same page.

I already have one set of brothers in my life, and they’ve proven their right to be there by protecting me. I have no interest in this particular set of brothers. Kristoffer can say he’s nothing like his brother all he wants, but I have no reason to believe him.

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