Chapter 20

** Paige’s POV ** I stare at Ryder for a long moment, my chest tight and my heart beating way too loud in my ears. Can they hear it with their superior hearing? Everything he just said should terrify me. It should push me further into the little fortress I’ve built around my heart. I’ve spent almost seven years pretending I didn’t miss him, pretending I was fine, pretending I didn’t still ache every time I looked at Jaxon and saw his father in his smile. But right now… It doesn’t feel terrifying. Not when he looks at me like this. “Rye,” I whisper, his name slipping from my lips. I lower my eyes to the half-eaten bowl in front of me, giving myself something safe to focus on. “I don’t know if I’m ready to fall into this the way you seem to have. I don’t feel this mate bond like you do. I don’t trust it,” I admit. “I’m not asking you to,” he says softly. "Just don’t run. Don’t shut me… us, out.” That almost breaks something in me. Because I have been running. I’ve been running from the p