***Dustin POV***
Dustin shoved his chair back fully this time, the scrape of wood on stone loud enough to turn a few heads at nearby tables. He ignored them, his voice sharp as he bit out, “You think this is simple? That I can just sink my teeth into her skin and everything will fall into place?”
His chest rose and fell with each ragged breath. “You don’t understand what you’re asking me to risk. My father died from the bond. I watched it consume him, destroy him. And you want me to walk straight into that same damn trap?”
Crystal flinched at the words, but Bree bristled inside her, rising with a quiet fury. Her wolf’s voice was calm but fierce in her mind:
“He speaks out of fear. Not truth.”
Crystal drew a steadying breath, her hands curling into fists against the table. “Maybe it is
