"We shouldn't be doing this, and you know it. I already have a mate, and you probably have yours…" Axel started, his voice shaky but firm, yet Ivan cut him off immediately.
"You already met your mate?" Ivan asked.. stunned, almost painfully.
Axel didn't answer. He couldn't. His chest tightened, his throat closing as he tried to catch a steady breath. He couldn't believe he had just lied again. He had lied without thinking, almost automatically.
What on earth was wrong with him? Why had it become so easy to lie? Hadn't he already caused enough damage? Every word that left his mouth seemed to twist itself into another falsehood, another layer of betrayal, even toward the one person he wanted to protect.
Ivan's gaze bore into him, heavy and unreadable, a mix of frustration, pain, and desire that Axel couldn't decipher. Every look sent a tremor through him, a reminder that the bond between them had already stirred more than either of them wanted to admit.
