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“That’s harsh.”

“It was the truth, but it took me a couple of years to see it though. She would go off with some man, then come back to me when she had made a good enough mess of her life. I always took her back, every mess she made I would help clean up.” Ryder’s voice hardened as he spoke. “She was always in my head, mucking around with my emotions. She knew what to say, knew how to appeal to me, and well, one day I just snapped.”

“You killed her?” By the sound of things, I didn’t think that was far-reaching.

“No.” His lips twitched up into a slight smile. “But you aren’t far off the mark.”

“Well come on, spill, how did you get rid of Alannah from your life?” Sure, I was interested in his story, but I also had another reason, that being maybe I could lose Zane the same way.

“You can’t disconnect with a mate. The bond is always there.” Ryder reminded me of something I really didn’t like hearing. “She could go for months, then come back and her pull on me would be just as strong. I was her puppet, and she played me when she wanted to.”

Ryder paused as a couple walked past us. Once out of earshot he continued.

“I was traveling the border of Europe when I heard rumors about this man who claimed to have come up with an antidote to the bond werewolves feel.”

“You’re kidding?”

“Nope, but to cut a long story short, he had created one. At first, you inject it every day, then a week, then once a month. So simple and it worked. You see the strand of DNA, you know the one born inside you that matches your mate’s. The identical strand is what pulls the two together. It is what created the bond. Without it, the bond is gone.”

“So, it kills the strand?”

“No, it freezes the strand and without it, the connection, the bond, is gone.”

I was gobsmacked. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing because it was so unbelievable. “Why haven’t I heard of this before?”

“After I knew it worked, I wanted to spread the news to everyone so I did. So many were being abused and used by their so-called mate. This simple injection stopped all that. Wasn’t long till the Alphas ganged up to silence me.”

“So, you stopped?”

“Didn’t have a choice. It was either that or be killed in my sleep. They were mad, Allie, as I was going against nature’s plan and, according to them, wiping nature’s work.”

“More like fixing nature’s mistakes.”

Ryder chuckled deeply. “Yeah, that was how I saw it too. It’s funny because the ingredients that make up the antidote come from nature. It is like nature’s way of giving us a choice, but no one saw it as that, and my life wasn’t worth the risk; so, I backed down.”

“Your parents, did they know about this?” My interest in shopping was now completely gone. “Does Zane?”

“Who did you think led the rebellion against me?” He tilted his head to the side. “My parents are traditional, Allie, when something or someone threatens them and their way of life; they take it out. I was a threat, so they silenced me.”

I couldn’t believe his own parents would do such a thing. “So now you’re back and…what?”

“And now, I’m silent.” He shrugged his shoulders, but in his eyes, I saw disappointment and betrayal flash. “Now I pretend like nothing happened.”

He had discovered something so unique and special. It could help so many. It could give us a choice. A choice of who we loved and no longer just being bonded with someone who, in a lot of cases, was a complete asshole.

“Do you still have some? The antidote?”

“Why, got a mate you want to forget?” He mocked me with a roll of the eyes. His second glance made his expression change and realize I was serious. “You do, don’t you?”

“Perhaps.”

“I didn’t know you were mated.” Ryder frowned and narrowed his eyes. “Who is it?”

Who was it? Your brother. I couldn’t just openly share that. I was ashamed, but I was more ashamed by the real truth and that being Zane wanted me as much as I wanted this situation.

“Do you, or don’t you?” I asked him.

“I do. It’s simple to make if I ever run out.” Ryder reached for my hand, which I didn’t realize was shaking until he wrapped his around it. “I can’t just hand it out, Allie, but if you really need it, just tell me who and why.”