Page 47

“Come back with me, even for a little while, just come back, come see Ivy, you wanted to see Ivy, right?” I beg.

“It’s unsafe; I have to stay here; Kade will take me to see her. He promised he would.”

“I’m fucking Lycan. What safer place is there to be than by my side?” I curse while shaking my head and pinching the bridge of my nose in frustration.

“He’s my mate,” she says, even though she looks confused about what she wants. And that stupid marking on her neck I wish I could remove so she could think clearly.

I move toward her, and she backs up, her bum hitting the kitchen sink. “Come back with me.”

“I can’t, Gannon.”

“But you want to, don’t you?” I ask her, and she looks away.

“I can’t leave my mate. It would hurt him if I did.”

“What about the pain he causes you?”

“Ah, not this again, he wouldn’t do that; I’m his mate,” she says, trying to push past me.

“He has multiple wives, Abbie. Why do you think he keeps you out here?”

“You’re lying, I already asked him, and he said you are just jealous.”

“Of course, I am jealous, but I wouldn’t fucking lie to you,” I tell her.

“You need to leave,” she says, but I grab her, pushing myself against her and gripping her neck. My lips crash against her plump ones, and she tries to shove me away when my tongue forces its way between her lips.

Abbie moans as my tongue invades her mouth. Her attempts to shove me off stop and her hands run up my chest, and she kisses me back hungrily. I grip her thighs, placing her on the edge of the sink and pressing between her legs when she gasps, pulling away from me.

“Why would you do that?” she growls.

“Still think a mate can’t cheat on a mate?” I ask her.

She shakes her head. “No, it’s because you’re Lycan, you did something!”

“I didn’t make you kiss me back, Abbie.”

“She-wolves are attracted to men of dominance, it’s… it’s.. it’s in our DNA! You need to leave,” she says, shoving me away feebly. But she is much too weak to move me.

“Abbie, he is no good for you.”

“He is my mate; I am destined to be with him,” she sobs before pointing at me. “You made me. I wouldn’t have if you…” she shakes her head.

“It’s okay to love someone else, Abbie.”

“I don’t; I love my mate, I…” she says and looks around frantically, her body trembling.

“Really, because back home, you seemed to like me, too.”

“Yes, before I found my mate.”

“You still do!” I tell her.

“Of course, I do, Gannon; you’re Lycan, I'm a werewolf. It makes me submissive to your kind.”

“Doesn’t make you love someone,” I tell her.

Seek us out, yes, but I can’t make her love me.

It is in their DNA that she-wolves seek out dominant males for safety, but that doesn’t mean they love them.

I know she loves me, too, or she wouldn’t have always sought me out or let me follow her around like a damn lost puppy.

Damian even offered to tell me to back off.

Still, she refused, saying she liked me being around her, and she never reacted to Damian like this, and he is of higher rank than me; she even asked to be put in my quarters, and we all agreed before Kade came into the picture.

“You need to leave; I want you to leave, please.”

“Come back with me.”

“No! Just go. You can’t force me. It’s against the law. I may be stupid, but I know that much,” she says, looking away.

“You are not stupid; misguided, yes, but not stupid, Abbie, don’t say that,” I tell her.

“Leave; I have asked you to, so please, Gannon, don’t make this harder than it has to be,” she says, and I sigh. I pull my phone from my pocket and glance at the time. I was only granted an hour here, and I am already fifteen minutes over.

“When you change your mind, you call me. I don’t care what time it is; I will come for you. Do you still know my number?” She nods. “My number, Abbie.” She sighs and rattles it off, knowing it by heart. I kiss her forehead before nodding. “Answer my calls.”

“I will okay, just leave,” she says, and I chew my lip before turning and sulking out the door.

When I get in the car, I start the engine and glance up to find her standing on the porch watching me.

She waves before looking away, and I turn the car around.

When I drive over the boundary, Damian rings.

“What?”

“Are you on your way back with her?”

“She wouldn’t come. There is no food in that place. It’s a shithole.”

“She has to come willingly. You can’t take her.”

“It’s fucking bullshit. I should command her,” I tell him, and I should and take whatever punishment Kyson delivers. She would have no choice, I am Lycan, she would do as I commanded.

“You do, and she will always question whether she made the right choice,” Damian tries to reason.

I growl, and eventually, he hangs up when I come to the town.

I nearly drive through before I curse and pull into the grocery store.

I fill a trolley with different foods before driving back, unable to get the thought of her eating bird eggs and whatever she could find in the forest out of my head.

Returning to her place, I swiftly unload the groceries, careful not to make any noise that might disturb her slumber.

Through the cracked window, I catch a glimpse of her sleeping on the fold-out bed.

I knock gently on the door before hurrying away, unable to trust myself not to break the rules and forcibly drag her away.

As I drive off, my mind consumed with thoughts of her, I catch a fleeting glance of her through the rearview mirror.

Her gaze lingers on the groceries before shifting back to my retreating vehicle.

I know I’ll face severe consequences for going back and being late, but I can’t bear the thought of her going hungry.

Damian will lose his mind when he finds out, but perhaps Kyson will understand the importance of ensuring Ivy’s safety?

If she knew about Abbie’s living conditions and Kade’s deceit, she would surely be outraged.

I’ll find a way to tell her, even if it means facing the king’s wrath.