Betrayed Forced Mate (Rosecreek Special Ops Wolves #4)

“She’ll probably be happy to have the bed to herself,” I say, pulling on a pair of gloves and thinking about the content, sleepy smile Olivia would get when I’d climb out of bed in the morning. I’d go to the dresser for clothes, and by the time I went for the bathroom, she’d have starfish in the bed, taking up every square inch she could.

“Too right,” Percy laughs, shaking his head. We start to run, and a few paces later, he says, “Veronica has this crazy idea.”

“Oh, yeah?” I ask, thinking it’s going to be something about baby names.

“Yeah,” Percy says, sucking in a breath and spitting out the rest like it’s burning his mouth. “She thinks you don’t like her.”

I roll my lips into my mouth, biting them, trying to figure out what to say to that—how I can answer in a way that won’t immediately flag as dishonest.

“Oh,” Percy says, clocking my hesitation. “Shit, okay. Well—why? Other than the fact that she took me away from you, of course.”

He punches my arm, and I let out a little laugh, watching my breath puff in the air ahead of us. I shake my head, staring at my feet, thinking about my conversation with Olivia.

Social circles.

“Okay, so, I hate sharing this because everyone always gets weird about it,” I say, my voice coming out breathy. It feels good to run, not have to look at him as I say it, and have something to do with my arms. “My parents were murdered by vamps when I was a kid. Or—my dad was murdered, my parents were blood-bonded, so my mom died in front of us. Just happened,” I snap, “like that. No time to think. Spaghetti burning on the stove.”

“Shit,” Percy says, and I hear his footsteps next to time.

“Yeah,” I say, sucking in a deep breath of the frigid air. “So, I guess I, like, have this thing against vamps, you know? I’ve always hated them. Think I placed the blame for my entire shitty life onto that entire group. Which was fine, because everyone hated them. Until suddenly, everyone didn’t, and we were trying to negotiate with them, and Veronica wasn’t a shifter after all, but actually—”

We come to a streetlight, and I jam my hand into the crossing button, leaning over and putting my hands on my knees. Until this moment, stopping for air, I didn’t realize how hard I was running.

“Shit, Byron, I didn’t know—”

“I’m trying to work through it,” I say to the ground. “It’s not like I want to feel like this around her—you know? It’s not about her, it’s just—”

“Honestly, man?” Percy says, laughing a bit and putting a hand on my shoulder. “I think she’s going to be happy to hear this. That it’s about the vampire thing. I think she’s been worried that you don’t like her personality, or that you don’t think she’s good enough for me, or something like that.”

“Yeah, right,” I laugh, straightening up and smacking his hand away. “It’s completely the opposite. She is way too good for you, you know that, right?”

“Oh,” he says, nodding, tears appearing in the corners of his eyes. “I know.”

“Gross,” I say, turning away, heart twisting at the sight of how much he loves her. “Keep that shit away from me.”

We run through the crosswalk, and a moment later, Percy takes a deep breath, clearing his throat.

“Speaking of that shit,” he says, and I shake my head.

“You don’t have to do this.”

“You’re miserable, man,” Percy says, voice soft. “Ever since I came back, I see you and Olivia together, and it’s like you make perfect sense. But, for some reason, you hate each other. I just don’t get it.”

“She wants something I can’t give her.”

“…what? Rare shit in a video game or something?”

“No,” I laugh, before looking up at the sky, watching as the first slivers of light break through the clouds. Despite the freezing temperatures, it’s yet to snow in Rosecreek, and I know Linnea has been hoping for a white Christmas.

“Then what?”

“Kids.”

I say it before I can think it through, and when I glance at Percy, the look on his face is so pitiful I know I’ve communicated something wrong.

“I mean,” he says, “there’s always adoption, or foster car—”

“No,” I say, pumping my arms harder, “not that. Like I can’t—I can’t be a dad. I can’t take care of kids. I’ve always known it’s not for me, but Olivia wants that. She wants a family more than anything. And if I give into this shit—the mating bond and the blood bond—then she’ll be stuck with me forever, and one of us will have to cave, and it can’t be me.”