“Why bother to check on me? You don’t want me.”
“It’s not you I don’t want. It’s the bond. I don’t understand why people don’t see what a limitation it truly is. There’s no rational reason to form a link with someone that allows them to prey on your emotional state, steal your physical strength, and even kill you if they die.”
“So, if you don’t want to hurt or claim me, what do you want?”
“There’s something very specific I want right now. I’m sure you can guess what it is.”
“I’m hoping you merely want to give me a heads-up that you intend to crawl out of your hidey hole and deal with the hyenas so that they stop sending loners my way. After all, they wouldn’t be in my life if it wasn’t for you.”
“The hyenas aren’t your real enemy. I’m working on the little mystery of who is—they’ve covered their tracks well. But I believe I’m close to finding their identity.”
She pushed to her feet and, unable to sit still, padded over to the rug in front of the fireplace. Her cat, just as restless, was pacing up and down. “Most of the pride thinks your family was involved.”
“It’s possible. They seemed very unhappy when you made it clear you intended to live a life that was free of me, didn’t they? Like you hadn’t already been doing just that for years. Don’t worry, little cat, I’ll find out who tried to have you taken.”
“And then?”
“And then I’ll deal with it, of course.”
She grabbed hold of the mantlepiece. “Did you really spare the life of Dale Bray’s daughter?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because someone paid me more money to keep her alive than my client paid to have her tortured and killed. Desmond’s Beta wanted the child to be free and fully aware of who orchestrated her kidnapping. He wanted his Alpha dead, and he used Dale Bray to do his dirty work for him.”
Bree’s eyes fell closed. Calvin wouldn’t have known about Desmond unless Paxton had shared info about his “jobs” with his twin. That didn’t seem whatsoever likely. Which meant that the person on the other end of the line could only be Paxton. Fuck.
Opening her eyes, she put a hand to her roiling stomach. “I see.” She swallowed. “Bray’s under the mistaken impression that you got all sentimental when you realized she was an omega. He believes that she made you think of me.”
“That child was nothing like you. She was weak,” he sneered. “Wept and wailed and pled. You wouldn’t have done any of that. Forget about the hyenas. As I said before, they’re not your enemy. Really, the most dangerous thing around you right now is my cousin,” he added, his voice deepening. “I told you in the woods to stay away from him, didn’t I?”
Her hand clenched the phone tighter. “I’m not really a girl who takes orders.”
“A wolverine’s priority is always themselves.”
“Then you have a lot in common with them.”
He laughed again. “True. And that is why you should not have imprinted on him. Alex is no good for you. He’s cold. Remote. Pitiless. Too much like me, really.”
Anger flared through both her and her cat. “He’s nothing like you.”
“Little cat, you know better than to believe such a thing. People like us are built to be alone. He may care for you in his way, but you’ll never be his main concern. He can’t feel for you what a normal male might. Like me, he’s very familiar with emotional poverty. And so that partial imprint bond you have with him will never grow. Never strengthen. Never fully form. Instead, it will weaken and fray until it eventually snaps.”
She felt her nostrils flare. “You won’t make me doubt him, if that’s your game.”
“You don’t think he loves you, do you?”
She could almost hear the asshole rolling his eyes. She couldn’t say for sure if Alex loved her, but she believed he cared for her. “I think he loves his family, which shows he can feel that emotion. You? You know nothing of it. I almost feel sorry for you.”
“Oh, don’t pity me, little cat. Personally, I can’t see what’s so amazing about that emotion. Love is selfish. People love things that please them, make them happy, or satisfy their needs. But if a person’s needs change, if their expectations become different, they can fall out of love. Many couples do stay together, yes. They proclaim they love each other so much they can’t bear to live without them. Sweet. Until you consider that, basically, they’re saying they’d rather die before their partner does. Is that not selfish, considering it’s the partner who’ll then experience the pain of loss and grief?”
“Now you’re just babbling.”
“No, I’m making a point that you don’t want to admit holds merit. But that doesn’t surprise me. People prefer to believe that love is a magical thing that makes everything worthwhile. It’s no more than a chemical reaction in the brain, but you live with your illusions if it’ll make you feel better. Just don’t fool yourself into thinking Alex is the one for you. He’s not. Never will be. You need to get rid of him.” Again, his voice deepened, thickened with menace. “You need to move back to your home, where you belong.”