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didn’t like it. “You proved that five years ago.” Then she sat down on the couch and turned away from him.
    Those words struck like a shot to the solar plexus. He fucking hated that he’d hurt her.
    The dinner dishes were still on the coffee table, and he gathered them up, stalling, trying to ‘man the hell up’ . It was time, past time. He left her to dump the plates in the sink, and stared out the window. The forest—thick and lush—surrounded his small cabin. He’d looked out at that view for close to five years, wanting nothing but the woman sitting in his living room.
    He had to believe there was a future for them, anything else was unacceptable, and the only way to move forward was to open up to her and not hide in the kitchen like a fucking coward. When he walked back in, she was slumped against the couch. She looked dog-tired and, dammit, resigned. When she looked up, he sucked in a breath, hating the pain lining her beautiful face.
    “How all this went down, I didn’t—”
    “You can save all the extra bullshit. Why’d you leave, Fletcher?” She said quietly, cutting him off and getting straight to the point.
    What he was about to say would hurt her and it killed him.
    “I know I’m asking a lot, especially after…everything, but I need you to trust me on this.” Once upon a time she’d trusted him without question. It shouldn’t hurt, that look of unease she kept throwing his way, but it did.
    “Untie me and take off this fucking collar. It’s kind of hard to trust someone when they have you chained to the floor.” Her lips cocked up on one side. “And if you’re a good boy, I promise I won’t rip out your spleen and serve it to you for breakfast.”
    Well, she hadn’t exactly told him to drop dead, not in so many words. He decided to take it as a step in the right direction. And like she said, if he wanted her to trust him, it wasn’t going to happen with her collared and chained.
    “You’ll stay put, hear me out?” Her chin dipped in a stiff nod. “If you go back on your word, I will come after you. You understand?” Another nod.
    Pulling the key from his pocket, he released the cuff around her ankle. Her eyes didn’t leave his as he reached up and gently unlatched the collar, then smoothed his fingers over the skin beneath.
    This would kill her. How could he expect her to choose between her mate and her father? How could he do that? But then, he hadn’t forced that choice. No, her bastard of a father had brought them to his point. Fletch didn’t deserve Delaney, but he refused to live another day without her either and he’d destroy anyone who tried to take her from him again.
    “I’m just gonna lay it out for you, babe. There’s no sugar-coating what I have to tell you.” Her shoulders stiffened, but she remained quiet. “I didn’t leave that day, Laney. Your father threw me out of the pack.”
    Her whole body jolted like he’d slapped her. “No,” she shook her head.
    “Baby, I never wanted you to know the shit he was capable of. But I’m telling you like it is.”
    “ No ,” she repeated.
    Though he hated to hurt her, she had to know it all. “He saw the way things were headed between us. He didn’t want my worthless ass anywhere near you. He threatened to have me killed in front of you if I came back. It was the only thing that kept me away. I swear .”
    She jerked back. “You’re lying. He knew we were going to be mated.”
    Not many parents would deny their children that kind of happiness, but Anthony hadn’t thought twice.
    “You really think he wanted you tied to a deformed, packless mutt?”
    “He wouldn’t do that to me,” she repeated. Her incisors extended, pain and anger burning hot in her eyes.
    “That’s where you’re wrong, Delaney. He already did.”
    Despite her assurances to the contrary, she shifted. A vicious growl ripped from her throat, her clothes disintegrating into tattered ribbons, scattered across the floor.
    His own