Hayley had only ever warned me to stay away from Elliot, but warnings like that never accounted for how persistent an Alpha could be when his instincts locked onto a target. I had no intention of provoking him, and I would have gladly kept my distance, but Elliot refused to leave my space, his presence pressing at the edges of my awareness like an unrelenting pull I couldn't ignore. It was exhausting, trying to shake off a bond that wasn't mine to accept.
