Page 26 of Twist of Fate

Not obedience, exactly, though that would probably be a bonus.

Something deeper than that—something Connal wasn’t even questioning.

The mate thing.

Luke didn’t understand it, and he didn’t need to. What mattered was that Connal did. More importantly, Connal believed in it.

Luke took a small step forward, closing the distance between them enough to pull Connal’s full attention. It worked instantly. Connal’s focus locked onto him as if everything else in the room had ceased to exist.

Good.

That was useful.

“Connal.”

His voice came out steady now, controlled in a way it hadn’t been before.

A faint frown formed between Connal's brows, as if he could sense the change but hadn't identified it yet. “My mate⁠—”

“Yeah,” Luke cut in, not unkindly but firmly enough to stop that line of thought before it could take hold. “We’re going to pause that part for a second.”

Connal frowned. He clearly didn’t like that.

Luke didn’t care. He held his ground, meeting Connal’s gaze without flinching. “You want me safe, right?”

“It is my duty,” Connal said, the answer immediate and absolute.

Luke nodded once, as if that confirmed something he’d already decided.

“Great,” he said, letting just enough calm settle into his tone to make the next part land cleanly. Then he tilted his head slightly and met Connal’s eyes head-on. “You want me safe? Then you take me back to finish what I started.”

CHAPTER SEVEN

“You want me safe? Then you take me back to finish what I started.”

Luke’s words struck hard enough to knock Connal’s world out of alignment. The bond slammed against his chest.

Go to him.

Close the distance.

End this.

His mate did not move. Connal had only witnessed one rejected mate in his lifetime. He’d rather be eaten alive by a riftwyrm than go through that pain. But the bond did not recoil. It held fast. It simply refused to settle.

“No,” Connal said. The word came out flat. Final. Because anything else would acknowledge the fracture—and Connal refused to do that.

Silence settled between them, but it was not the clean, controlled silence Connal preferred. It pressed instead, uneven and insistent, the space between them filled with something that did not belong. The bond should have resolved this already. Luke should be at his side, ready to finalize their mating.

The urge came again, insisting the distance between them was wrong.

Close the distance.

Claim him.

End this impossible separation.

Everyone in the room around them stilled. This was not a conversation for all to hear. This should remain sacred between them.