WILLOW'S POV.
The woods felt too small with him standing this close. I felt like I was choking on air.
Every breath I dragged in tasted of him. His presence pressed around me like a wall. My heart hammered painfully in my chest, and I hated it. I hated that he had this effect on me. I hated that no matter how hard I tried to stay numb, his voice found all the cracks.
And I hated even more that he wasn’t angry tonight.
He was gentle.
Gentle hurt worse. It always did.
“I won’t leave until you tell me,” Atlas said quietly. “I need to understand. Let me fix this—or at least let me try.”
My throat burned. I clenched my fists until my nails bit into my palms. Anything to distract myself from the mate bond that wasn’t even supposed to exist anymore, pulling tight between us—tight enough to
