Caught Between Three Billionaire Tycoons - Willa Hart Page 0,46

person. My bear was not capable of rational thought in this, but I was. If you really loved someone, you did what they needed, not what you wanted.

The ear growled deep within me and I told it to shut the fuck up. Chew on that truth awhile before you bug me again.

“I made a terrible mistake.” She shook her head gently. “It was just an experiment, and I don’t want any of you to feel uncomfortable. It’s totally fine.”

Eggs and bacon hanging halfway between plate and mouth, I could only nod and try to understand.

“Your imprinting will fade, in time.” She said this with a confident smile, as if she knew exactly how this worked. My bear roared in response and I saw my fingernails turn black and sharp. I blinked it away.

“Once I’m gone, you won’t have anything to fight over. I’m only supposed to be here helping Aleksy on his vacation. I think it’s time I get back to work and stop messing around. I’ll be heading home soon. You’ll only have to put up with me for a little longer and once I’m gone everything will go back to normal.”

We stared at each other. I was just too shocked to speak. Normal? What the fuck did that even mean?

She put her head down, finishing the last of her breakfast.

“Do you need help to clear up?”

I shook my head. I realized I hadn’t spoken in some time, but I was afraid to. My voice would give me away. If I spoke, I was afraid a torrent of angry words would run out, destroying what fragile chance I had with her.

“I’m just going to get some things together and go for a walk.” She stood up suddenly, smiling too brightly. “Work has been pouring in on my laptop and it’s time to get with it. Thank you for breakfast, Zavier.”

She left the room without a second glance. I took the dishes to the sink and leaned on it for a few seconds. The food roiled in my stomach, making me blink and grip the bench.

I couldn’t lose her.

I turned around and headed out the front door. I got a few steps on to the porch and filled my lungs with crisp mountain air. My head cleared instantly, and I did feel much better.

There was a movement to my side, and I saw Aleksy sitting in one of the deck chairs, watching me.

I went over to him, sitting in one of the chairs not too close to him.

“Morning, Zavier,” he spoke almost grudgingly.

“Morning, Aleksy.” I looked out over the mountains and tried to think about what I needed to say. This was not the conversation you dropped on a guy when he had just woken up.

“Aleksy…”

“What now?”

He seemed more exasperated than angry, as if the whole situation was more annoying than painful.

“Well. I’ve been thinking. About Whitney. The feud ended the second we shed blood for the same cause. But we can do more. We can do a blood tie.”

“No.”

“But Aleksy—”

“No.”

I stopped, blowing out a harsh breath.

“Why?”

“Because I’m not binding myself to you!” I thought he must want to yell, but held it in. “I’m grateful that you saved my cubs. It’s good for the clans that the blood feud is ended. But I’m not making a brother out of you.”

The silence of the hills absorbed our words. A lone hawk cried above, screaming its loneliness to the high peaks.

“It will help her trust us. Once that blood pact is made, our bears won’t be able to attack each other anymore. There won’t be any competition, only trust.”

“Zavier. I appreciate what you’re trying to do here. I came back to this place to claim Whitney on my home turf. Now I see it was a mistake. I hadn’t thought of the other clans at all. I’ll be going soon. The blood feud is over, the clans can live in peace and we can all get back to normal.”

That word again. Normal. How I hated it.

“Aleksy—”

“No. The answer is no. You can’t convince me even if we sat here all day.”

He got up, abruptly. Before I could speak again, he went inside.

My chest ached, empty, as if my heart had already been torn out. Whitney would be gone. Egan and Adara would be gone. I realized I would even miss Aleksy. I had bonded so closely with his children; I had gotten used to his scent.

My bear and my human pulled into perfect alignment for a few seconds as we scowled