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I nodded, my throat way too dry to even contemplate replying.

“When we had sex, we sealed the bond between us.” He paused for a moment as though searching for words. “It’s like a scent, a feeling, an invisible thread that joins two mates.”

He reached for my hand again and this time I let him, too overwhelmed to pull away.

To be honest, mating didn’t sound that bad. So why the hell did he look like he’d delivered me a life sentence? I didn’t want to rush him, but I swear my patience wore thin and I was so over surprises. “What aren’t you telling me?”

His eyes darkened. “It’s for life. Nothing can break it. Once a shifter mates, they can never complete the bond with another. For humans, it’s like marriage I guess, but forever.”

“Marriage?” My voice rose. “And you didn’t think to mention this when we had sex? Or before?”

“Everything happened so fast, I showed you my wolf, and…we got caught up in the moment.”

I hugged my knees to my chest. I didn’t want to sound ungrateful, but holy shit. He mated with me. Sure, he saved my life, but…Gah. I couldn’t even think properly.

“You committed me to something I knew nothing about? Will I change into a wolf now?”

He held back a smirk which only annoyed me further. Did he think this was a joke? Once again, someone else made decisions regarding my life and left me to pick up the pieces.

“No. You’ll always be human. You’ll just age slower, at the same rate as me.”

“Wrong.” I glared at him. “I’ll always be a hunter.”

He flinched. Good. He should feel horrible for what he did. Noah took away my choice, just like everyone else in my life up to this point. My mother, every time she dumped me at someone’s house or left me alone to fend for myself. Joan, when she forced me to stay at her house before I inherited it. And now him, signing me up for a life-long commitment without my consent.

This conversation was too much. I couldn’t deal with any of it right now.

“You took away my choice, Noah. Twice.”

He looked as though I’d just shoved my hand in his chest and ripped out his heart, to tear it to pieces in front of him. Or maybe that was my heart.

“I’m sorry. I’ll apologize every second of every day if that’s what it takes to earn your forgiveness.” His expression hardened, deepening the grooves in his forehead. “But I won’t apologize for saving your life. Ever.”

It all came down to that one point. Regardless of the mating bond thingy, he’d saved my life. But in doing so, he’d triggered the sick hunter curse lingering inside me. Part of me screamed to forgive him. How could he possibly ask my consent while I lay there dying? But I just couldn’t. I’d had enough of people making choices for me. I came here so I could finally set myself up and he charged in and ruined everything.

“I failed Joan. After all she did to protect my family, I wasn’t there to protect her, and she paid for it with her life. I won’t let that ever happen to you.”

Was he freaking kidding? “So, that’s all this is? Some messed up quest for redemption?”

He flinched again and I sensed I hit a nerve, which made me furious. Did he heal me to clear his conscience?

He tilted his head, studying me. His gaze narrowed. “Don’t do this. I know what you’re thinking and it’s not true.”

“Really? Because I think you saved me just so you didn’t repeat your mistake with Joan.”

Those muscles in his jaw popped like crazy. “You’re my mate, Mia. I saved you because the thought of spending forever without you fucking kills me.”

Maybe that was true. But from the beginning, he’d kept things from me. He kept the fact he was a wolf, that my family were psychos who hunted his blood. He even kept the mating bond from me but was perfectly okay having sex and not telling me about the consequences.

I no longer knew what to believe or who to trust.

I yanked the blanket up to my chin, clutching the ends in my hands as though it would protect my heart from inevitable heartbreak. I was so sick of people dictating how I lived my life, what I did, and the choices I made. Enough was enough. Now was the time I took back control and lived the life I wanted.

“You should leave.” My voice choked on the words, even though this was the only way forward.

Noah’s lips formed a thin, grim line. He stood, shoving his hands in his jean pockets. “I’ll wait downstairs.”

My heart splintered with what I needed to say. “No, Noah. I want you to leave. I need to figure this out. Who I am, what all this means. I’ve barely had time to breathe and suddenly I mated a wolf and triggered a curse that at any moment, will make me want to kill you. God, I have a mother out there somewhere who hid this from me my entire life and she could be hunting shifters as we speak.” My vision blurred. “It’s too much.”

“Don’t do this, Mia. I’ll prove to you that you won’t kill me for my blood. I know you’re different. You’re not like your mother.”

There it was. He’d nailed my greatest fear.

Until I met Noah, my heart had never felt so full, so complete, like I belonged. But I couldn’t allow this to continue. He turned out to be like everyone else in my life.

I straightened my shoulders, summoning my last shred of courage and strength. “Everyone I’ve ever loved has betrayed me with secrets and lies. I don’t need more of that, not now, not ever.” I met his gaze and didn’t waver, not even when tears burned behind my eyes. “I don’t want this life.”