I touched my neck where Leo had just bitten , expecting to feel a new mark forming or so kind of connection sparking between us. But there was nothing—no rush of emotion, no invisible thread tying us together, nothing like what I’d experienced with the triplets.
The wound was already starting to heal, the sharp pain fading to a mild tingle. I couldn’t help but heave out a sigh of relief.
“What the hell did you just do?” I demanded, backing away from Leo who still looked dazed.
His eyes were wide, confusion written across his face. He stared at his hands like they belonged to soone else. “I don’t... I didn’t an to...”
“You bit !” I shouted, pressing my fingers against the spot. The skin felt normal—no raised mark, no burning sensation. “Were you trying to mark ?”
Leo finally t my gaze, his expression hardening. “It wasn’t supposed to happen like that.”
“Like what? You weren’t supposed to sink your teeth into my neck?” I was trembling now, anger and fear mixing together. “What kind of sick ga are you playing?”
He stood up slowly, his movents careful as if he didn’t trust himself. “There is no ga.”
“Then what is it? No normal wolf goes around biting other werewolves’ necks, unless you’re a vampire!” The words ca out in a rush, my voice rising with every syllable.
Sothing dark flashed in Leo’s eyes. “Don’t associate with those filthy nightwalkers. You don’t understand even half of it.”
“Then explain it to !” I stepped forward, jabbing a finger at his chest.
It was a mistake.
Leo moved faster than I could track, grabbing my wrist and spinning around. My back hit the wall hard enough to knock the breath from my lungs. He pinned both my hands above my head, his body pressing against mine.
“I don’t need to explain anything,” His voice was dangerously low, his face inches from mine. “I’ve spent years searching for you. Now that I have you, you’re not going anywhere.”
His proximity was overwhelming. The scent of sandalwood flooded my senses, making it hard to think straight. Despite everything, my traitorous body responded to him. My heart started to race and my skin turned warm.
“Let. . Go,” I said, hating how breathless I sounded.
“Make ,” he challenged, his eyes dropping to my lips.
I didn’t think. I brought my knee up hard, aiming for his groin. Leo anticipated the move and shifted, but it was enough to loosen his grip. I twisted free and shoved him back.
“Don’t touch again,” I warned, circling away from the wall.
Leo’s lips curved into a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “Your sister was a fighter too.”
“Stop comparing to her!” The words exploded out of . “I’m not Helena. I’m Hazel. I have my own life, my own mates.”
“Those triplets don’t deserve you,” he snarled. “They’ve treated you like garbage your entire life.”
“That’s my business, not yours.” I straightened my shoulders. “You have your own mate and I have mine. It sucks that you lost her, but I am not here to pay those debts.”
He moved toward slowly, his expression darkening. I braced myself for another confrontation. But this ti, he rely reached out slowly, his fingers hovering near my throat. For a second, I thought he was going to choke for everything I had said.
But that didn’t happen.
Before I could respond, he turned and strode to the door.
“Where are you going?” I called after him. My knees felt weak.
“To get answers,” he replied without looking back. The door slamd behind him, leaving alone with my confusion.
I slid down the wall until I was sitting on the floor, fingers still tracing where his teeth had broken my skin. The wound was barely noticeable now, healing at the accelerated rate of a werewolf. But the mory of his bite lingered.
There was a strange mont where the pain turned into a connection. It wasn’t the pull of a mate’s bond, but even I could tell it wasn’t normal.
The tingling sensation of the cream had slowly dulled into nothing. My body felt normal again, and the triplets’ mark on was still there. It hadn’t disappeared. Everything was just as though nothing had happened.
However, my gut still churned in discomfort. I couldn’t understand why for a second, I thought I felt a pull towards this man who looked so much like the faces I had co to love.
Third POV
Leo stalked down the hallway, his thoughts in chaos. The mont his teeth had broken Hazel’s skin, he’d felt it—a jolt of connection that he’d never experienced before, not even with Helena. It lasted only for a fraction of a second before it disappeared.
It had shocked him to his core. This was an unexpected response to soone who shouldn’t have triggered such a primal reaction.
With a roar of frustration, Leo slamd his fist into the wall. The concrete cracked under the impact, dust raining down as a spiderweb of fractures spread outward. The physical pain in his knuckles did nothing to clear his head.
“Having a temper tantrum, Sullivan?”
Leo turned to see Dr. Ramos, one of the facility’s scientists, watching him with a raised eyebrow.
“Not now,” Leo growled.
“Actually, now is perfect timing,” Dr. Ramos replied. “Perry wants to see you in the lab. It’s about the samples.”
Leo’s anger gave way to urgency. Without another word, he followed the scientist down a series of hallways until they reached the main research laboratory.
The room was a stark contrast to the rest of the facility—bright white lights, gleaming equipnt, and the sterile sll of antiseptic. At the center of it all stood Perry, hunched over a microscope.
The head scientist didn’t look up as they entered.
“I assu you’re here for results,” Perry said, voice clipped and professional.
“Did you analyze the samples?” Leo asked, trying to keep the impatience from his voice.
Hazel’s blood had been brought to Perry for enough hours. Ti was ticking. It wouldn’t be long before the Sullivan triplets found them.
Perry straightened and fixed Leo with a penetrating stare. “I did. And sothing’s wrong.”
“What do you an?”
“The DNA sample is corrupted,” Perry said. “Sothing’s interfering with the genetic markers we need to access.”
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