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

After what felt like an eternity, Bryce finally emerged from the bathroom.

He held his breath for the brief moment he stepped back into the room, instinctively preparing himself for another confrontation, only to find the bedroom empty.

Dave was gone, his closet left in disarray as though he had changed in a hurry.

Bryce remained still for a moment, listening intently for any indication that he was somewhere nearby, but the room offered nothing.

He moved quietly to the bedroom door and opened it, his gaze sweeping across the living room before he stepped out to check. There was no sign of him anywhere.

Even his scent had vanished.

He walked back into the room, toward his own closet and pulled out a clean shirt and pants. It was already six in the evening, approaching seven, and under normal circumstances, he would have dressed into pajamas.

Tonight, however, he had no intention of sleeping there.

He had no intention of being there tomorrow either.

Or the day after.

He was leaving tonight.

If that meant disguising himself as a guard, putting on a maid’s uniform, or finding some other way to get through the estate’s security without being noticed, he would do it.

Dave had almost forced himself on him.

That had always been one of Bryce’s worst fears, but having come so close to experiencing it had made the terror more real.

The thought of being sexually assaulted by someone he had once loved so deeply, someone who claimed to love him while treating his refusal as though it meant nothing, made Bryce shaken to his core.

He didn’t know whether he would ever be able to forget that.

Dave had stopped today, but what about tomorrow? What about the days that followed, especially when Bryce had no intention of being intimate with him again?

Dave was already struggling to restrain himself, and Bryce could not convince himself that he would always stop at the last possible moment.

Whatever had held him back today might not be enough the next time. One day, he might cross that line, and Bryce refused to stay and find out.

He began gathering his documents and whatever possessions were important enough to take. Nothing that would weigh him down if he had to run.

As he collected them, his thoughts kept returning to the moment Dave had finally released him.

Dave had been on the edge.

Bryce had felt it with terrifying certainty. Whatever restraint had remained in him had been stretched almost to its breaking point, and for several moments, Bryce had been convinced that nothing he said would reach him.

But it had.

Dave had stopped just because Bryce told him that forcing himself on him would destroy whatever remained between them. He had told Dave that he would never forgive him if he crossed that line.

The realization unsettled Bryce because it led his mind toward a conclusion he desperately wanted to resist.

Perhaps Dave really did love him.

Perhaps Dave loved him deeply enough that, even in a moment when almost all of his control had been stripped away, the thought of permanently destroying everything they had shared had still been enough to stop him.

If Dave truly did not care, he could have ignored Bryce’s words and taken what he wanted.

If he was merely interested in Eli, as Bryce had once tried to convince himself, then why would Bryce’s reminder of everything they had shared over the years have affected him so profoundly?

Bryce’s hands slowed.

For one dangerous moment, he allowed himself to consider that maybe Dave’s feelings were genuine.

He immediately hardened himself against the thought.

Even if Dave loved him now, that did not erase what he had done in the past. It did not undo the betrayal, the lies, or the damage he had inflicted on Bryce.

It did not restore the trust that had already been destroyed.

Bryce’s phone vibrated on the bed.

He turned toward it and picked it up, his eyes widening the instant he saw the notification.

A transfer had been made into his account.

$20,000.

Bryce stared at the figure.

It was more money than he had ever earned for himself, more than he had ever possessed as his own. For someone who was preparing to disappear with no idea where he would go afterward, the timing felt almost unreal.

Adam.

Bryce remembered his promise to send him something as thanks for agreeing to help with the project. He had not expected anything close to this much.

A breath of relief escaped him as he looked at the amount again.

For once, something had gone right.

The money could give him a little freedom once he escaped. He could find somewhere to stay, buy necessities, and survive without immediately having to depend on anyone.

He was still staring at the transfer when another message appeared.

The number was unfamiliar.

Bryce opened it.

There was only one sentence.

~3 a.m. Be outside the gate of the Sinclairs. I’ll pick you up there.

Bryce’s expression changed immediately.

Vincent.

The message reminded him that they were supposed to leave for Alverton city early the next morning.

If Dave returned tonight, Bryce knew exactly what would happen. He would not be allowed to leave.

Dave had already made it clear that he would never permit Bryce to leave the estate again, and even if he did not return tonight, Bryce was certain he had already instructed the guards to keep him inside.

Without giving himself time to reconsider, he opened the message window and began typing a reply to Vincent before doubt could make him change his mind.

His fingers moved quickly across the screen.

~I want you to get me out of here tonight and make sure he never finds me afterward. I’ll give you anything in return except my body.

Bryce stared at the words.

Asking Vincent for help was the last thing he wanted to do.

But Vincent could get him out.

That was all that mattered.

Bryce pressed send.

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