AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“What about me?”
“Well,” he says with a smile and a shrug, “he had you, but you rejected him.”
“I didn’t exactly reject him.”
“You left him with the intent of not going back.”
“How would you know that?”
“I don’t think I would have found you alone in the woods in excruciating pain if you weren’t running away from him.”
“So, the pain I felt earlier?—”
“The pull toward the mate bond. Like I said, you ran away with the intent of leaving him as your mate. The universe is pissed off at you,” he says with a smirk, clearly finding my pain to be amusing.
“Do you think Ethan is in pain?”
“Like I fucking care,” he says, his voice filled with indifference. On the other hand, I have a very different reaction as my stomach starts to twist into a tight knot and I double over with a groan.
“Look at me,” Ian says, lifting my chin to face him. “Deep breaths, in through the nose, out through the mouth.” I do as he says. His eyes never leave mine, and eventually the pain subsides. We sit and stare at each other for a good minute. My skin shrinks as he sizes me up. Ian finally speaks, “I don’t question your decision to leave him, you know.”
I narrow my eyes at him. “You don’t?”
“Not at all. I probably feel it was smart for different reasons than you, but I respect your decision. I’m guessing he told you what would be required of you to be his Luna?”
My defenses are still on guard. His eyes roam my body as he sits facing me on the couch. “That’s none of your business.”
“I’ll take that as a yes,” he says with a smirk. “You know, I can protect you, Olivia. I can make your pain go away permanently, and I can make sure you never have to go back to him.”
“Why would you help me?” I can tell he’s an expert at pulling people in with his charm, and my gut is screaming that he’s not to be trusted.
He shrugs as he holds me captive with his eyes. “I like you. There’s just one little thing I’d have to ask for in return, though,” he says, holding his index finger and thumb close together.
“First of all, I haven’t said I never want to go back.”
“The bond is getting to you, Olivia. It’ll make you go back even if it’s not the life you see for yourself. You either decide now, or the bond will make sure you lose the ability to choose for yourself.”
“Let’s say I decide to accept your help…what is it you’d want in return?”
He stares at me with his icy blue eyes. “Be mine instead.”
My eyes narrow as I process what he’s just said. He palms the side of my face, caressing my cheek with his thumb, just as Ethan has several times over the last few days. I gasp and pull away from his hand as a sickening feeling pulls at my stomach and the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.
I think of Ethan and my heart throbs in sorrow in my chest. In this moment, I know the only thing that could make the ache within me go away is the feeling of Ethan’s arms around me. I’ve made a huge mistake.
“I can make all those terrible feelings go away,” he says. I try to move away, but he reaches for my wrist.
“Ian, I can’t be with you.”
His expression goes cold to match the iciness of his eyes. “Why not?”
“Why would you want me? You don’t know anything about me.”
“I know enough,” he says.
“Listen, this isn’t anything personal against you, Ian. I appreciate you helping me when I was in pain, but I think it was a mistake to run away from Ethan. I mean, that’s why I’m having a physical reaction to his absence. Right?” Just stating my thoughts out loud slightly eases the ache.
“Or, maybe fate brought you here to me. You don’t have to accept being his mate. You have another option. You can be mine,” he says, still holding my wrist.
