Chapter 88: He Wasn’t About To Walk In Naked.

Bryce moved too.

He turned and fled through the darkness, putting as much distance between them as he could.

Vincent was fast, but Bryce was faster.

Although his wolf seemed almost reluctant to run away, especially whenever Vincent’s scent reached him.

The familiar pheromones drifted through the trees and slipped into Bryce’s lungs, soothing them despite the speed at which he was running. It felt as though something inside his chest had been tightly locked, and Vincent’s scent was somehow releasing it, allowing him to breathe more deeply.

For a brief moment, Bryce wondered whether being in his wolf form would make a difference. Perhaps Vincent’s pheromones wouldn’t affect him the same way when he wasn’t human.

But he was wrong.

The scent moved through his body with the same potency as before, drawing something instinctive out of him and making every part of him want to turn around and follow it back to Vincent.

Bryce fought against that pull and kept running, forcing himself farther away instead of allowing his wolf to turn back.

BJJ, strangely, remained silent.

That was almost more unsettling than Vincent’s pursuit.

From everything Bryce had learned about him over the past few hours, BJJ was anything but quiet.

He talked constantly, offered opinions Bryce hadn’t asked for, and seemed perfectly comfortable speaking his mind.

Now, after what they had just witnessed at Vincent’s house, he had gone suspiciously silent.

For a moment, Bryce wondered whether he had left his body again.

He quickly dismissed the thought. He could still feel him inside, and as far as Bryce understood, if BJJ had actually left, he shouldn’t have been able to remain in his wolf form.

Then again, Bryce knew almost nothing about how any of this worked.

But that wasn’t the problem now, the problem was that Vincent was still searching.

Bryce had made certain Vincent never caught sight of him, leaving the man with no idea where he had gone. Vincent was searching blindly, but he refused to abandon the search.

Eventually, exhaustion began to settle over Bryce, not in his body but in his mind.

How long were they going to keep doing this?

He nearly stopped.

At the same moment, Vincent changed direction, apparently realizing that he was approaching the edge of the woods on that side. He turned onto another path, completely unaware that Bryce was already standing near that very edge.

Bryce slowed to a stop and sighed.

Enough.

He closed his eyes and reached deep inside himself, just as he had earlier, searching for the connection that allowed him to control his forms.

This time, he summoned his human body.

The transformation came smoothly, without pain, but the moment Bryce returned to human form, the cold struck him hard.

Realizing that he was naked.

"Fuck," he cursed.

He immediately summoned his wolf form again.

He would have to go back for his clothes and bag before Vincent returned from searching the other side of the woods.

As he ran back, he finally reached out to BJJ.

’Why so quiet?’

’I’m confused. I don’t know what to think or say.’

Bryce frowned.

That was not the answer he expected.

’Our mate was a total jerk,’ BJJ continued, ’but you still seem to have feelings for him, just as much as...’

’I do not have feelings for Vincent!’ Bryce snapped. He almost wished he were in his human form so he could say the words aloud.

BJJ didn’t seem convinced.

’You literally panicked when I mentioned seeing them together and explained it away as impossible. And when you saw him protecting Dave, you panicked the same way. You...’

’I didn’t feel anything like that. And even if I did, how do you know it was because of Vincent and not Dave?’

Bryce’s pace slowed despite himself.

BJJ answered immediately.

’That’s the point.’

Bryce’s ears twitched.

’It’s not just Vincent. It’s Dave too. You’re scared because of both of them. You don’t even know which one you’re afraid of losing, especially if the person you might lose them to is each other.’

’What are you implying?’

’You still have feelings for both of them.’

Bryce’s mind went blank for a moment.

’Oh God. Shut up. You’re so delusional.’

’Delusional? Fine. I’ll stay quiet.’

And BJJ did.

Bryce continued running in silence, still struggling with the absurdity of the conversation.

When he had first learned that he had a wolf inside him, he’d imagined it as nothing more than another set of instincts, an animal nature that would occasionally surface and need to be controlled.

Instead, it was like having another person living inside him.

A person who apparently knew far too much about him.

BJJ stayed silent for almost a minute before speaking again.

You’re not moving on from Dave because you’re still hoping you’ll find out, or prove, that he actually loved you for you, that he loved you as much as you loved him. You’re refusing to accept that he might have seen you as someone else all along, and even if he tells you he didn’t, you don’t believe him because he broke your trust. You still can’t bring yourself to let him go becau...’

’How do you actually know all of this?’ Bryce cut him off before he could continue. ’How do you know Dave? How do you know everything that happened?’

BJJ hesitated.

’Because I’ve been inside you all your life. Long before today. But...’

’So you’ve been inside me all along, you knew what he was doing, and you stayed quiet when you could speak this much?’

’I was helpless. I hadn’t awakened yet. Before the day we mated with Vincent and today, I was merely... nothing.’

Bryce’s mind stalled.

We mated?

Bryce pushed the thought away.

’Fine. Stop making assumptions, because that’s all they are. I’m still going through with my plan, and I don’t care what happens to anyone except me and my baby. Once I give birth, I’ll leave and go back to my own life.’

BJJ sighed inside his mind, sounding as though he couldn’t believe Bryce was being that stubborn.

They fell silent again.

They were nearing the place where Bryce had left his bag when BJJ spoke once more.

’I actually feel bad for Dave, even though he’s a total lunatic, and a jerk.’

Bryce didn’t interrupt this time.

’I can feel his emotions when I look at him. He’s still grieving because he lost you, the person he was most afraid of losing, even more than his own father. And now his crazy family is after him.’

Bryce still said nothing, intentionally ignoring him as he finally stopped at the spot where he had left his things, only to find them gone.

He had seen Vincent set them down before transforming into his wolf and following him, so where had they gone? Had he misjudged the exact location, or had Vincent returned and taken them?

And if Vincent had taken them, how was he supposed to get into that house? He certainly couldn’t go in as a wolf with Dave there, and he wasn’t about to walk in naked.