“You’re just like a sister to me.”

Those were the actual words that broke the camel’s back.

Not after what just happened.

Not after the hot, breathless, soul-shaking night we spent tangled in each other’s arms.

I knew from the beginning that Tristan Hayes was a line I shouldn’t cross.

He wasn’t just anyone, he was my brother’s best friend. The man I spent years secretly wanting.

But that night… we were broken. We had just buried our parents. And the grief was too heavy, too real.... so I begged him to touch me.

To make me forget. To fill the silence that death left behind.

And he did. He held me like I was something fragile.

Kissed me like I was the only thing he needed to breathe.

Then left me bleeding with six words that burned deeper than rejection ever could.

So, I ran. Away from everything that cost me pain.

Now, five years later, I’m back.

Fresh from rejecting the mate who abused me. Still carrying the scars of a pup I never got to hold.

And the man waiting for me at the airport isn’t my brother.

It’s Tristan.

And he's not the guy I left behind.

He's a biker.

An Alpha.

And when he looked at me, I knew there was no where else to run to.