Page 68 of Broken Forced Mate

“See?” I turn to Raegan. “They’re targeting you. This mission is suicide.”

“If they want me, we can use that to our advantage,” she counters without missing a beat.

“Or they can use it to destroy us.”

“They’re already trying to destroy us, Wyn. At least this way we fight back with information.”

Theodore looks like he’d rather be anywhere else. His finger taps against the folder nervously as he asks, “Should I let the tactical team know there’s a potential plan in place?”

“No,” I say at the same time Raegan says, “Yes.”

We glare at each other across the room.

“Brief them,” Raegan decides. “I’ll join you in ten minutes.”

“Raegan—”

“Ten minutes, Theodore.”

He nods and scurries toward the door like he’s being chased.

The moment we’re alone, Raegan wheels on me. “You don’t get to override my decisions in front of the team.”

“I get to protect my wife from walking into a death trap.”

“Your wife is a trained operative who’s been preparing for exactly this type of mission.”

“Your training doesn’t matter if they’re hunting you.”

“My training is exactly why this mission has a chance of success.”

We’re talking in circles, both too stubborn to give ground. The worst part is that she’s not wrong. If she could figure out where Thane Mordaunt is hiding, we could put an end to this whole thing without any bloodshed from our side.

But knowing something is tactically sound doesn’t make it emotionally bearable.

“What if I ordered you to stay?” I ask quietly.

“Then you’d be exactly like every higher-ranking wolf who treats omegas as objects instead of people,” she replies. “Just because you outrank me doesn’t mean you own me.”

“This isn’t about rank or ownership.”

“Would you have this same argument with Jay if he proposed the mission?”

I want to say yes, but we both know that’s a lie. I wouldn’t like it, but I wouldn’t try to forbid it.

“Jay doesn’t mean to me what you do.”

“Meaning what, exactly?”

The words stick in my throat. We’ve been dancing around deeper feelings for weeks, but neither of us has been brave enough to voice them.

“Meaning I can’t lose you,” I finally admit. “Not now. Not after we’ve finally started figuring this out.”

Something in her posture loses its edge, but her resolve doesn’t budge. “You won’t lose me.”

“You can’t promise that.”

“I can promise I’ll do everything possible to come home.”