CHAPTER 5

Jamie returned to campus the following afternoon.

He told himself he had survived worse.

Six years ago, he had walked away from his childhood home with nothing but a backpack.

He had survived university.

He had survived discovering he was an Omega.

He had survived heats, loneliness, heartbreak, and years of pretending that the person he loved most in the world was nothing more than his best friend.

He could survive Ryan.

The thought should have made him feel better.

It didn't.

Jamie stepped out of his car and looked toward his apartment building.

He had barely taken three steps when he stopped.

Ryan was standing beside the entrance.

Jamie stared at him.

Ryan stared back.

He was dressed simply, in dark jeans and a black shirt, his hands tucked into his pockets.

He looked like he had been waiting for a while.

Jamie immediately turned around.

“No.”

“Jamie.”

“No.”

Ryan pushed away from the wall.

“Please.”

Jamie kept walking.

“I don't want to talk to you.”

“I need to explain.”

“I don't care.”

Ryan followed.

Jamie walked faster.

Ryan matched his pace easily.

“Jamie.”

“Go home, Ryan.”

“I can't.”

“You're getting married.”

Ryan went quiet.

Jamie glanced over his shoulder.

“Three months, remember?”

“I remember.”

“Then act like it.”

Ryan's jaw tightened.

Jamie reached the entrance to his building and pulled out his keys.

Ryan stepped closer.

“Let me talk to you.”

“No.”

“You can't keep avoiding me.”

“I can, actually.”

Jamie unlocked the door.

Ryan caught it before it closed.

Jamie glared at him.

“Are you serious?”

“Very.”

“Let go.”

“Just five minutes.”

“I don't owe you five minutes.”

Ryan's expression hardened.

“The bond isn't going to disappear because you refuse to talk about it.”

Jamie's stomach twisted.

He stepped closer.

“Don't say that.”

“Why?”

“Because I don't want to hear it.”

“You felt it.”

“I don't care.”

“You know that's not true.”

Jamie laughed bitterly.

“You're unbelievable.”

Ryan's eyes remained fixed on him.

“I'm trying to be honest with you.”

“Honest?”

Jamie pushed the door open.

“You're engaged to someone else.”

“I know.”

“You're supposed to marry Ethan.”

“I know.”

“Then why are you standing here?”

Ryan didn't answer immediately.

Because the answer was simple.

Because his wolf had refused to let him stay away.

Because every mile between them had felt wrong.

Because he had barely slept.

Because he had spent the entire night thinking about Jamie.

Because every time he closed his eyes, he saw Jamie looking at Ethan.

And hated how much it hurt.

“I don't know how to ignore this,” Ryan finally said.

Jamie stared at him.

“You don't get to say that.”

“Why?”

“Because you're being selfish.”

Ryan flinched.

Jamie continued.

“You have a fiancé. You have a wedding planned. You have families celebrating you. And you're standing here telling me that you can't ignore a bond?”

“Yes.”

“That's selfish.”

“I know.”

The admission caught Jamie off guard.

Ryan stepped closer.

“But I don't know what you want me to do.”

“Leave me alone.”

“I can't.”

“You can.”

“I can't.”

“Then learn.”

Ryan's eyes darkened.

“Jamie.”

“No.”

Jamie pointed toward the parking lot.

“You need to go.”

Ryan didn't move.

“Ethan is my best friend.”

“I know.”

“He's the person who saved me.”

“I know.”

“He's my family.”

“I know.”

Jamie swallowed.

“And you're asking me to betray him.”

Ryan shook his head.

“I'm not asking you to betray anyone.”

“Then what are you asking?”

“I don't know.”

Jamie stared at him.

Ryan's voice dropped.

“I just know that when I look at you, everything in me tells me you're mine.”

Jamie's heart slammed against his ribs.

“Stop.”

“I can't.”

“You're engaged.”

“I know.”

“Then why don't you care?”

Ryan's expression changed.

“I care.”

“Not enough.”

“You don't understand.”

“Then explain it.”

Ryan stepped closer.

“The bond isn't a feeling, Jamie.”

He tapped his chest.

“It's here. All the time.”

Jamie looked away.

“I don't want it.”

“You don't mean that.”

“I do.”

“You're lying.”

Jamie's eyes flashed.

“Don't tell me what I feel.”

“Then tell me.”

“I don't want you.”

Ryan went completely still.

Jamie forced himself to repeat it.

“I don't want you.”

The silence between them became unbearable.

Ryan stared at him.

Something inside him cracked.

His wolf surged forward.

Mate.

Ryan moved before he could think.

His hand closed around Jamie's wrist.

Jamie gasped.

The instant their skin touched, the bond exploded between them.

Heat raced through Jamie's body.

His breath caught.

Ryan felt it too.

The connection.

The pull.

The sudden rush of warmth that made every instinct inside him scream.

Jamie looked at Ryan.

Ryan looked back.

For one second, neither of them moved.

Then Jamie's anger returned.

He ripped his hand free.

“Don't touch me.”

Ryan's eyes widened.

Jamie raised his hand.

The slap echoed through the hallway.

Silence.

Ryan's head had turned with the force of it.

Jamie stood frozen.

His palm burned.

His breathing was uneven.

Ryan slowly turned his face back toward him.

A red mark was already appearing across his cheek.

Jamie expected anger.

He expected shouting.

He expected Ryan to finally understand that he had crossed a line.

Instead, Ryan lifted his fingers to his cheek.

He touched the place where Jamie had struck him.

Then he smiled.

Not mockingly.

Not cruelly.

Almost gently.

Jamie's heart stopped.

“What?”

Ryan looked directly into his eyes.

His smile widened.

“You felt it.”

Jamie shook his head.

“No.”

“Yes.”

“No.”

Ryan stepped closer.

Jamie instinctively stepped back.

Ryan's voice dropped to a whisper.

“Your heart changed when I touched you.”

Jamie couldn't breathe.

“You reacted.”

“I didn't.”

“You did.”

“Ryan—”

“You can lie to me.”

Ryan's gaze dropped briefly to Jamie's wrist.

The faint silver mark glowed beneath his skin.

Then he looked back into Jamie's eyes.

“But you can't lie to the bond.”

Jamie covered his wrist with his other hand.

Ryan's expression softened.

And then he whispered the words that made Jamie's blood run cold.

“Now I know you feel it too.”