I walked through the woods together with Avery until I was sure we were far enough from anyone else that no one could hear us.

I stopped in a small clearing and turned to her, finally letting go of her hand.

“I need to have a very open conversation with you, and I hope you will be equally open and honest with me,” I began.

She sighed in relief, “I’d like that very much.”

I got right to the point, “Have you found your true mate?”

“I have,” she answered and then, “Have you?”

“Yes,” I answered honestly.

“Is she part of your pack? Will you see her regularly?” She asked with absolutely zero indication of jealousy or concern.

I felt encouraged to continue.

“It’s not possible. When my parents found out an orphan pack servant was my true mate, they asked me to reject her. I would not. They...beat us both…and forced her to reject me…while I swung from some gallows,” I finished, my voice full of emotion.

Avery’s face displayed a range of emotions from sorrow to anger and, finally, shock as her voice trembled her response, “What?!”

She was at a loss for further words, and I continued, “My father hanged me to force her. He only cut me down when she rejected me, and they dragged her to the north border and threw her into the forest in the snow. I know she’s alive, or I would feel it, but I have no idea where she is or how she’s surviving,” I finished.

A look of compassion washed over her face, “I’m so sorry, Tristan,” she said sincerely.

Then her brows furrowed, and her expression turned serious, “But how could you feel it if she rejected you? Isn’t the mate bond severed?” Her expression steeped in confusion and curiosity.

“Someone with Alpha blood can refuse a rejection and leave the bond intact or even restore it,” I revealed.

Hope shone in her eyes, “That’s possible?”

“It is,” I answered, “it worked. I can still feel the bond. I know she’s safe…for now.”

She stayed silent for a few minutes, her eyes staring hard in thought. I could see her jaw clenching and unclenching as she worked through the emotions.

Finally, she voiced her most pressing concern, “I wonder if it’s too late for me.”

“Why would you wonder that?” I asked her.

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She only hesitated a minute before choosing honesty.

“My parents also told me to reject my mate, and I would not. She was a girl from school whom I had little interaction with previously because she was my driver’s daughter. I knew so much about her from his stories, and I knew I loved her as soon as the mate bond clicked into place. But my father tries to enforce antiquated things like class boundaries in our pack and this event was unacceptable to him.”

“In the end, I told her to reject me since my parents were threatening to exile her entire bloodline from the pack and make them rogues,” she finished sadly.

“She rejected you then,” I stated.

“Yes. I didn’t want her to feel that pain or that I didn’t want her because I did want her. I still do. I want to refuse her rejection, but it might be too late. Also, we didn’t know each other well. Maybe it’s better for her to move on and forget me. It would be less painful for her in the long run.”

“Is that what you want?” I asked.

“Hell no,” she answered without hesitation.

“In that case,” I said, pulling my cell phone from my pocket, “why don’t we ask her?”

She looked at my phone for a few seconds and finally decided to take it and dial a number. After a beat, I could hear the line being answered.

I took a few steps away and turned my back to her, although I could still hear both sides of the conversation thanks to my wolf hearing.

“Angelica?” she said softly.

“Avery! Are you ok?” The voice from the phone trembled.

“It’s ok, Angel. I’m ok,” she soothed affectionately.

“Are…are you mated now?” Angelica tried to steady her voice, but it continued to tremble.

“No!” Avery practically shouted.

Stopping to take a couple of deep breaths she continues, “There’s something I wanted to tell you.”

“Hmm?” she hummed softly.

Avery’s face cracked into a smile. Despite our circumstances, Angelica’s voice was soothing her. It made me long for the sound of Jane’s voice.

“It’s something Tristan told me. This is his phone. Save the number, ok?”

“O-ok,” Angelica said, not sounding pleased.

Avery noticed but continued, “He told me something important, baby. He said that someone with Alpha blood can refuse a rejection and preserve the mate bond.”

Angelica didn’t make a sound and Avery continued, “I want to know what your wish is regarding this possibility. It would be easier for you to move on, I know. So, I will respect your answer, whatever it is.”

“Easier?!” Angelica began to raise her voice, “this isn’t easy now, Avery!” she nearly screamed.

“I know, Angel,” Avery tried to soothe her, even as she smiled to herself, her beloved’s reaction filling her with hope.

Angelica sighed, “I’m sorry. I know you’re the one who had to bear the rejection pain, but I didn’t want to do it. I don’t want to move on. If there’s a possibility that we can still be together, that’s what I want. No matter what it costs,” her voice had stopped trembling and was sure and steady.

“I’m so happy to hear that, Angel. I’m going to put you on speaker, ok? Let’s hear what Tristan has to say,” Avery replied with tears of joy in her eyes.

“Ok,” she agreed, then Avery pulled the phone away from her ear and put it on speaker.

“Hi, Angelica, this is Tristan,” I began.

“Hello,” she replied shortly.

I continued, “It’s a long story, but I think that you know how desperately our fathers want Avery and I to mate.”

“Did she tell you what they did?” Angelica asked angrily.

“I told him,” Avery answered, “but what Alpha Martin did to Tristan and Jane was much worse.”

That startled Angelica into a more friendly tone, “I’m sorry, Tristan. I should have guessed they were probably forcing you, too.”

“Don’t worry about it, Angelica,” I continued, “I have some ideas about this situation that may be difficult to put into practice. In the end, it would benefit us all, but it’s not without risk.”

“I’m listening,” Angelica replied simply.