The Exiled Alpha's Human Male Mate.[BL]

"There’s no problem. I believe he’ll represent us very well," Adam answered.

There was something unmistakably genuine in his voice, a sincerity so evident that Bryce could almost feel the warmth behind it.

"You may leave," Vincent announced.

The four of them rose from their seats.

"Not you, Mr. Jones."

Bryce stopped where he was. He didn’t turn around immediately, his body stiffening at the thought of being left alone in the room with Vincent.

"Thank you for the break, sir," Carlos said.

Vincent gave a subtle nod, and the three filed out of the room. Bryce remained where he stood until the door closed behind them. Only then did he slowly turn to face Vincent.

"Sit."

The command was quiet, but there was enough authority in it to make Bryce’s irritation flare.

Who does he think he’s ordering around?

Bryce remained standing.

Vincent watched him for several seconds without repeating himself. Instead, he leaned back in his chair, his expression unreadable.

"We’ll have to leave very early for Alverton. The meeting is taking place there, and when I say early, I mean around three in the morning if we’re going to arrive on time."

"Okay."

"And I was thinking that, instead of having to find each other at that hour and waste time getting there, we should stay in the same place tonight."

Bryce’s breath caught.

"You can stay at my house. It will make things easier in the morning," Vincent added.

"It’s not necessary. I’ll meet you wherever you want, at whatever time you set." The answer came immediately. Bryce didn’t even have to think about it.

He couldn’t help wondering whether Vincent would have made the same arrangement if Adam had been the one accompanying him. Or Lara. Or Carlos.

"Why?" Vincent asked. "Can’t you stay away from your boyfriend for even one night?"

The question seemed to surprise both of them.

For the briefest moment, something flickered across Vincent’s expression, as though even he hadn’t expected the words to leave his mouth.

Bryce’s irritation hardened.

"We’re not here to discuss my personal life, are we? I just told you I won’t inconvenience your schedule. Isn’t that enough?"

"I see."

Vincent’s voice had cooled.

"You still have this illusion that the love between you and your human boyfriend is unbreakable. Are you waiting to find out whether everything I told you will happen once they discover what you are? Or are you simply refusing to let go because you’re convinced his love for you is strong enough that he would won’t betray you when that time comes?"

Bryce stared at him.

"Since none of that concerns you, especially when you’ve made it clear that even if they discover me and start doing investigation on me, they won’t be able to trace anything back to you or the wolf world you claim exists, why are you so concerned about what happens to me?"

Vincent scoffed.

For once, he didn’t have an immediate answer.

The silence stretched between them.

"Suit yourself." He rose from his chair and headed toward the door.

"You haven’t told me where we’re meeting or what time you want me there. Or have you changed your mind and decided to take someone else? I don’t actually mind."

Vincent didn’t stop.

He continued toward the door without answering.

Unable to let Vincent walk away just like that, Bryce was suddenly overwhelmed by the feeling that he had not had enough time with him, that somehow, being around Vincent for even a little longer still would not have been enough to satisfy whatever inexplicable need had taken hold of him.

He had no idea where the feeling was coming from, or why the thought of Vincent leaving stirred such resistance in him.

"You haven’t answered me. Why are you so concerned about my fate?"

Vincent finally stopped.

For several seconds, he remained with his back toward Bryce before finally turning his head.

"I don’t have time for this."

His gaze settled on Bryce.

"But whatever reason you decide to invent to answer your own question, make sure it doesn’t involve you thinking that I somehow care about you. Don’t convince yourself that I’m beginning to return your feelings, because that will only encourage you to let whatever you feel for me grow deeper while I’m waiting for you to get over me so I can stop using these suppressants."

"I don’t have feelings for you."

Bryce answered without hesitation.

"How many times do I have to say it?"

"Oh?"

Vincent’s expression shifted.

"Is that so?"

His hand rose to his neck, fingers finding the edge of the suppressant patch.

"Then why am I bothering with these?"

He began peeling it away.

Bryce’s eyes widened.

Vincent knew exactly what would happen if he removed it and allowed his pheromones to spread through the room.

Bryce would be overwhelmed by them, not because Bryce had feelings for him, but because his side of the bond was unbroken.

Vincent knew perfectly well what he was doing was manipulative, petty and irrational.

Every time Bryce insisted that he had no feelings for him, or swore that he would never allow those feelings to remain if they existed, something inside him became more determined to force Bryce into admitting otherwise.

Why he needed that admission so badly, he couldn’t explain.

"Don’t..."

Bryce’s voice came out strained, panic surging through him the moment he saw Vincent continue pulling the patch away.

But Vincent didn’t stop. He continued peeling the patch away, Bryce’s warning seemingly doing nothing to deter him.

Bryce barely registered his own movement until his hand shot forward and caught Vincent’s wrist, pulling it away from the patch before he could remove it completely.

His fingers remained locked around Vincent’s wrist as though some invisible force held them there.

He stood too close to him, close enough to feel the warmth radiating from Vincent’s body and to notice the subtle change in his breathing.

Their eyes remained fixed on each other, neither seeming capable of looking away. The silence between them grew heavier with every passing second, charged with a tension so palpable that the room itself seemed to grow warmer around them.

Vincent’s gaze moved over Bryce’s face, lingering on his eyes before settling on his lips. Something unreadable crossed his expression, followed by a faint, almost disbelieving breath.

"You witch..." he murmured.

The words were so quiet that Bryce almost wondered whether he had heard them correctly.

There was no hostility in Vincent’s voice. If anything, he sounded bewildered, as though he were trying to find an explanation for something that had stopped making sense to him.

"What if you’re not only a wolf?" Vincent continued, his breathing growing more uneven. "What if you’re from the witch clan too? You bewitched me, didn’t you?"

Bryce stared at him, too confused by the accusation to immediately respond.

Before he could even begin to understand what Vincent meant, Vincent leaned toward him.

His lips met Bryce’s.

The kiss was sudden, leaving Bryce completely still.

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