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“Disrupt his carefully orchestrated plans?” I said with a raised eyebrow.
Corey flushed. “You’re right. He does not like his plans to be disrupted. Perhaps you’re on to something and it’s not anything. It’s just attraction, right? That’s nothing.”
If that was true, why did hearing that hurt so much. I refused to let Corey see my pain. He deserved better.
I nodded, though I hated to hear him dismiss our connection so easily. Even though that was exactly what I was doing. Even though this entire situation sucked beyond measure.
“Let’s get through this tour. And then your brother will be home, and we can talk to him about it.”
“No, thank you.”
My fingers twitched as if I couldn’t bear not to reach out and touch him. My animal roared underneath the surface, clawing like he was an animal in a cage, pacing the length of his barrier. I would not make a move.
Corey was off-limits, and I needed to remember that.
“It’s for the best.” But if it was right, why did it hurt so badly?
“Of course,” he said, straightening his back and rolling his shoulders. “You’re right. I’m engaged. I just talked to Aydan about it yesterday. Everything’s going to be fine.”
Was he trying to convince himself or me? If it was me, he was failing. Everything was not going to be fine. It wasn’t possible given the hand we were dealt.
“Right,” I said to him.
“So, show me around this place. I didn’t get to see it in the light yet.”
I grinned. “You’re going to love it.”
And if luck was on our sides, we’d discover that we weren’t at all compatible, that we found each other annoying or something.
I had a strong feeling that would not be the case.
Chapter 5
Corey
I was excited to see the town and den that my brother has bragged about for the past several weeks. For the size of it, he said it had almost everything I looked for without the hustle and bustle of Main Street. I liked towns that were hardly more than a blip on the map.
It would’ve been perfect, except my tour was thick with tension… sexual tension. My brother always talked about Zane as his right-hand bear, the person who supported him through everything. That was great and all, but right now, I wished that he wasn’t any of those things and was a rando den mate. How much easier this all would’ve been.
I could hear the love and respect that Zane had for my brother and this den in his voice, underneath the tension that lingered between us. He wasn’t doing this to be an alphahole. He was choosing duty first. It was commendable, but also the suckiest thing imaginable.
My bear drooped with sadness within me because Zane’s scent was telling me one thing, yet his human side was telling me another. Whatever connection we had, fated or otherwise, could not be. Promises were made, ones Zane refused to break and ones my brother made on my behalf.
To most people, the prospect of having a fated mate would trump having an arranged mating. Right? It wasn’t like we were in the days of old where omegas were traded like livestock and this was strictly a business transaction.
My brother could and would see that, right? It wasn’t like I found a random guy from speed dating or what have you. Zane was my fated mate. Done.
Or in this case, very much not done.
Perhaps later, I’d call him and ask him straight out. It wasn’t like we were the types to keep secrets from each other. Or would that put him in a bind with the timing? I for sure didn’t want to make things harder for him.
He sounded jolly enough when I called, but also, he was in negotiations… negotiations for me. Calling and asking him if he could take it all back so I could get it on with his second… that’d be a yikes if I ever heard one.
But this evening, when he was alone, maybe that would be a good time. Keeping it from him was a shit choice too. Why were all the options crappy? Why?
I wasn’t planning to mention any of this to Zane. For whatever reason he seemed hell-bent on pawning me off. It didn’t make sense. It wasn’t that he didn’t feel it too, and I might not have been the best catch on this planet, but I for sure wasn’t the worst.
He opened the door for me, and I climbed into the passenger seat of his truck. The place was saturated with his scent, and when the door shut me in, it only amplified it. I quickly rolled down the window, needing some fresh air if I was going to make it through this.
