BOND

CILLIAN

I woke slowly, my body heavy with exhaustion.

For a few seconds, I remained still, staring at the ceiling while the memories of last night came back in fragments.

Adrian.

My chest tightened. I turned my head toward the other side of the bed.

Empty.

The sheets were cold.

He was gone.

I pushed myself upright, running a hand through my hair. I should have expected it. Adrian had made it perfectly clear that he wanted nothing from me.

Still, some stupid part of me had hoped I would wake up and find him there.

The bathroom door opened and Adrian walked out of the closet fully dressed.

His blond curls were still slightly damp from his shower, and his glasses were in one hand. He looked composed, polished, completely in control.

Nothing like me.

He didn't even look at me as he adjusted the cuff of his shirt. "Good morning." His voice was flat.

I cleared my throat. "Good morning." I glanced toward the door. "Would you like breakfast?"

Adrian stopped and slowly, he looked at me. "Are you sane?"

I frowned. "What?"

He gave a short, humorless laugh. "I didn't come here to have breakfast with you, Cillian. I'm not going downstairs to dine with you like nothing happened."

"I didn't mean—"

"Yesterday was a mistake." The words were blunt. "It happened. Fine. Forget about it."

My stomach dropped.

"And it will never happen again."

I stared at him. "I figured you might say that."

"Good." He picked up his wristwatch from the table and fastened it around his wrist.

His movements were sharp and irritated.

I watched him.

Then he turned toward me. "Why did you mark me?"

I froze. "What?"

"You heard me."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Adrian's expression hardened. "You marked me yesterday."

I looked at him for a moment. Then it came back to me.

Oh fuck.

"I wasn't thinking."

"That's not an excuse."

"I was lost in the moment. We were."

"You didn't have permission to do that." His voice cracked with anger. "I didn't ask you to mark me."

"I didn't do it intentionally."

Adrian laughed bitterly. "Of course."

“You think everything I do is premeditated?” I sat straighter. "Besides, you were already marked."

His eyes narrowed. "Excuse me?"

"I marked you eight years ago."

His face changed, just for a second, then the anger returned. "Yes." He reached for his glasses. "And then you rejected me."

The words hit harder than I expected.

"I had to deal with the pain." He put on his glasses and looked at me through the lenses. "Do you remember that?"

I swallowed. "Adrian—"

"I'm leaving." He turned toward the door.

"We need to talk." I said.

"There is nothing to talk about." He kept walking.

I threw the sheets aside and got out of bed.

"We're mates."

He stopped and his shoulders stiffened.

"You can't just walk away from this."

Adrian turned around slowly. "Is that what this was?"

I frowned again. "What?"

"Was this your plan from the beginning?"

"No." I answered immediately. "I never meant for this to happen."

"Fine." His hand went to his neck. "Then you won't have a problem if I remove the mating mark from my scent gland."

I went completely still. "What?"

"I'll have it removed."

"You wouldn't dare."

Adrian stared at me. And deep down, I knew he would.

That was the problem.

The Adrian standing in front of me was nothing like the boy I remembered.

He had once looked at me like I was his entire world.

Now he looked at me like I was something he had already survived.

He turned again. “Good bye, Cillian.”

"Adrian."

He kept walking.

"Get back here!” The command came out before I could stop it.

He stopped.

I stared at him.

His fingers tightened around the door handle.

For a second, I thought he would ignore me. Then, slowly, he turned around.

I didn't know if it was the bond.

I didn't know if some part of him still responded to me.

I only knew that he came back.

"I was in a difficult position." He stared at me. "I had to protect you."

Adrian's expression twisted. "Don't. Don't do that."

"I'm serious."

"I don't want to hear that bullshit!"

"It's not bullshit."

"You want me to believe you threw me away because you were saving me?"

"I was."

Adrian shook his head. "If you truly wanted to save me, you wouldn't have thrown me away." His voice became rougher. "You would have told me what was happening."

I opened my mouth but he didn't let me speak.

"We would've planned. We would've found a way out together." His eyes were shining behind his glasses now. "But you didn't give me that choice."

I clenched my jaw. "You had no idea what it was like to be in my position."

"I didn't need to know."

"You don't understand what I had to do to protect you."

"Fuck you." The words came quietly, but they cut deeper than shouting would have. "I didn't need you to protect me." He stepped closer. "I needed the man I loved to stand beside me."

My chest tightened.

"I needed you to hold my hand and tell me we'd face whatever came together." His voice broke slightly. "Instead, you threw me out and let me believe I wasn't worth fighting for."

"That's not true."

"It is."

"No, you don't understand."

"Don't pretend you're some saint or savior, Cillian." His eyes hardened. "You practically threw me out to get eaten alive."

Something inside me snapped. "If you hadn't left, I would've protected you with my life!" He stared at me. "You just disappeared!" My voice shook with anger. "You left me!"

Adrian slowly removed his glasses. He folded them carefully between his fingers. Then he looked at me. "And why do you think I did that?"

I went silent. "I already had a plan for us."

His expression twisted. "Did you?"

"Yes."

"Then why didn't you tell me?"

"I needed time. All you had to do was to be a little more patient."

He laughed bitterly. "All I had to do was wait while you decided whether I was worth keeping."

"That's not what happened."

"You never included me in your plans." His voice rose. "How was I supposed to know there was a plan?"

I couldn't answer.

"I begged you." His eyes were wet now. "I begged and cried all night at those iron gates."

My heart stopped.

"You never came out." I stared at him. "You didn't even come out to look at me."

"I couldn't."

"You could have."

His voice became quieter. "You just didn't."

I took a step toward him. "Adrian—"

"So please don't think about coming out now." He put his glasses back on. "Because I'm not standing at those gates anymore."

I stood there, unable to speak.

He turned away.

I looked down at myself and realized I was still naked.

I grabbed my briefs from the floor, pulled them on, and walked toward him. "I don't want to fight."

Adrian nodded. "Good." He opened the door. "Because I don't want to fight either."

I reached for his arm but he aggressively pulled away. "I'm done with this conversation."

"Adrian, wait."

"No."

"Please."

He looked at me. "I never want to see you again."

My stomach dropped.

"If it is about business, deal with Gabriel. The Vercelli Group can deal with Cross International." He adjusted his glasses. "But stay away from me."

"Don't do this."

He stepped into the hallway and I followed him. "Adrian."

He kept walking.

"Please."

He turned suddenly and pushed me back.

Not hard. But enough.

Enough to make me stop.

His eyes met mine one final time. There was no warmth there.

No hesitation.

Then he walked away.

I stood in the doorway and watched him disappear down the hall.

"Fuck.”