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

The car slowed outside a towering glass building, its reflective façade rising high above the surrounding streets.

Bryce had imagined Alverton as a smaller town when Vincent first mentioned it, but seeing the sprawling buildings and busy streets around them, he realized he had severely underestimated the place.

Alverton was not merely a town. It was large enough to rival a city.

Vincent parked near the entrance but didn’t immediately get out. Instead, he turned toward Bryce with an unhurried calm that seemed almost contradictory after all the rushing and insistence that had preceded their arrival.

Hadn’t he been the one practically driving them into the ground because they were running late?

Now he was sitting there as though time was of no consequence.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

Bryce stared at him blankly.

"I’m pretty sure fifteen minutes have already passed for us to still be sitting here talking about that."

Vincent ignored the remark, his attention fixed on Bryce.

"I can feel that you’re restless. If something is bothering you, you can tell me. You can talk to me."

"I’m fine. I’m just exhausted. I didn’t get enough rest last night."

It was another lie.

Bryce really hadn’t slept enough, but exhaustion wasn’t what had been gnawing at him.

"You can sleep as much as you want after we leave this place," Vincent said. "And if you decide you want to stay here in Alverton for a few days, just to take a break from all the drama in Genovia, you can. I got the house specifically for you..."

"Why are you suddenly being nice? It’s irritating me."

Bryce cut him off before he could finish.

He couldn’t tolerate the uncertainty anymore. Vincent’s sudden kindness felt almost more unsettling than his arrogance had.

"Is it for sex? Because I already told you that’s impossible."

Vincent stared at him for a moment.

"Isn’t it obvious what I’m trying to do? Or should I spell it out for you?" His voice remained controlled, though something more vulnerable had entered his expression. "I told you last night that I’m not doing any of this because I expect payment from you. We’re mates, and I was hoping we could rebuild our bond completely before it’s too late to take it back.

It’s okay, you don’t have to let me sleep with you if you don’t want. But let me mark you again."

The words caught Bryce completely off guard.

"You have a wife, Vincent. What are you even talking about?"

"I’m not happy in that marriage anymore because of you."

The answer came so quickly that Bryce could only stare at him in disbelief.

"Oh? So now I’m responsible for ruining a marriage that was supposedly happy? I’ve been staying away from you. What exactly have I done to..."

"That’s not what I meant."

Vincent’s voice rose slightly as he interrupted him.

"I’m not blaming you for anything. I’m telling you that because of you, I’m not happy with her anymore. You’ve gotten into my head, and all I can think about is you."

He drew a slow breath, his gaze remaining fixed on Bryce. "Maybe I’ve spent all this time telling you that you developed feelings for me when, in reality, I was the one developing them."

Bryce’s heart thudded heavily in his chest.

What was he even hearing from Vincent?

A confession?

The mere fact that those words were coming from Vincent made them almost impossible to believe. Was it some kind of trap?

The admission nearly shattered the defenses Bryce had spent so much effort building. For one dangerous moment, he almost told Vincent everything- Almost told him about the dream and the possibility that he could be pregnant.

But he stopped himself. How could he trust Vincent with something like that?

Because what if, the moment Vincent discovers that everything he had wanted from his mate might finally be available to him, he abandons this newfound confession and returns to his old plans with Leah?

Bryce couldn’t take that risk.

His thoughts raced, tangling together everything that had been frightening him and keeping him on edge, and Vincent’s confession only made the confusion worse.

"I can’t do this right now."

He reached for the door, ready to step out but Vincent caught his arm and pulled him back. Bryce’s body collided with Vincent’s chest, and the sudden movement brought their faces together, their lips meeting in the process.

Bryce froze.

For a brief moment, neither of them moved. When he finally tried to pull away, Vincent tightened his hold on him, as though he couldn’t bring himself to release him and end the contact between them.

Bryce tore himself free.

"Don’t make me hate you right now, I had just started convincing myself that maybe you weren’t as much of an asshole as you seemed to be." He said, his irritation evident in every word, though his breath still came unevenly from the unexpected kiss.

Vincent’s expression tightened.

"I just swallowed my pride and told you how I feel, something that took everything I had to admit, even to myself, and that’s how you respond?"

His voice was low, but the disappointment in it was impossible to miss.

"What do you want me to say?" Bryce shot back. "That we can just go ahead and have whatever you want because you suddenly decided you want it?"

"How about, ’Give me some time to think about it’?"

Bryce gave him an incredulous look.

"I can’t promise you that. You seem to forget how you treated me back then, and the worst thing you could do now is expect me to overlook all of that and simply give in to what you want."

Anger rose inside him gradually, despite his efforts to restrain it. "Right now, I don’t see any difference between you and the man I’m trying to get away from."

Bryce was startled by the anger behind his own words. He hadn’t realized how much resentment he was still carrying toward Vincent until those words came pouring out.

He forced himself to lower his voice before continuing.

"Besides, I’m not a home wrecker, and I don’t want to come between you and your crazy wife. She’d definitely make me her target because of you, finding one way or another to make my life miserable, and I’m afraid you’d simply stand there and watch just like you did back then when she insulted me, threatened me, told me she’d make sure I could never get another job, and forced me into a department where I didn’t even belong."

He took a breath and turned toward the building.

"Are we still presenting the design or not?"

He reached for the door before Vincent could respond, stepping out quickly enough that there was no opportunity for Vincent to stop him again.

Vincent followed.

"Fine. I admit it." His voice followed closely behind Bryce as they headed toward the entrance. "I’m not proud of how I treated you, and I’m certainly not proud of allowing her to treat you that way. I apologize for it, and I’d apologize for the rest of my life if that’s what it takes for you to forgive me. But how could you compare me to him?"

Bryce didn’t answer. He simply kept walking, while Vincent continued speaking without letting the matter drop.

Bryce stopped abruptly and turned toward him.

"How about we continue this conversation after we’re finished with business here and we’re back home?"

He knew even as he said it that he had no intention of returning home with Vincent.

"Okay," Vincent replied reluctantly.

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