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Considering how fast news spread around his pride, he knew that all his pride mates would know by now that he was officially mated to Havana. Each member would likely turn up at some point to swear fealty to their new Alpha female. He hadn’t thought people would start pledging their loyalty to her this early in the morning.
Having placed his mug on the counter, Tate walked down the hallway and glanced through the door’s peephole. Ashlynn stood on his porch, her expression sober. He sighed, and his cat bared a fang. She could be here to swear fealty to Havana, sure—she’d have to if she wanted to stay part of the pride. But he’d thought he’d have to push her to do so or even offer her an ultimatum. He definitely hadn’t thought she’d be the first to show.
Distrusting her apparent eagerness, Tate blanked his expression as he opened the door. Her shoulders hunched, Ashlynn tried for a smile. The enforcers who guarded his house were leaning against the porch rails, ready to remove her from the property at Tate’s request. It seemed they didn’t trust her either.
Ashlynn raised her hands in a gesture of peace. “Don’t worry, I’m not here to ask you to have dinner with me or for us to talk. That ship has sailed, I know.”
“Do you?” Tate asked, skeptical.
She swallowed. “Yes.” Her eyes dropped to the claiming mark on his throat, and pain briefly flashed on her face. “It was clear you’d moved on before I even came home. I just hadn’t wanted to see it. You told me over and over that you didn’t want us to try again. I should have listened, should have heeded you. I didn’t. I just kept pushing, and then I got all bitchy when things didn’t go my way.” She licked her lips. “I didn’t behave fairly to you. For that, I’m sorry.”
Tate didn’t say “apology accepted” for the simple reason that he wasn’t yet certain that she meant it.
“I won’t lie and say I’m happy that you and Havana have mated—I’m not quite there yet. But I am glad that you’re happy. You deserve to be.”
“Okay,” he said, because there was a ring of truth in her voice. “But I don’t think you came here just to say that.”
“You’re right, I didn’t. I came to tell you that, well …” She paused and lifted her chin. “I’ve decided to leave the pride. Again. I’ve already packed my things and booked a flight for later today. I don’t feel that I could be happy here.”
The words “Bon Voyage” were on the tip of his tongue. While he wouldn’t wish the dangers of a lone shifter lifestyle on anyone—not even her—he couldn’t say he was disappointed that she planned to leave. Particularly because Havana would feel more comfortable if the woman wasn’t around. Plus, he’d never fully trust Ashlynn to be loyal to him, his mate, or the pride. His cat would be glad to see the back of her.
“I don’t have to warn you that being a loner isn’t easy and comes with a lot of risks—you’ve already lived that lifestyle once,” said Tate. “If you’re fine with taking those risks and this is what you want, fair enough.”
She looked at him, her face lined with sadness. “You really don’t care if I go, do you? Understandable, I guess. I wasn’t lying when I said I’ve accepted that you’ve moved on. Still, it’s hard to know that someone I love—someone who was once open to mating with me—doesn’t care one iota about me now.” She worried her lower lip. “I really did hugely mess up, didn’t I?”
Several times, but Tate saw no point in discussing it.
“I hope one day you’ll stop hating me.”
“I don’t hate you, nor am I holding a grudge. If you hadn’t messed up the way you did, I probably wouldn’t be mated to Havana right now.”
She winced but then nodded. “Right. Good. Still, I’m sorry for everything, Tate. I’d like to apologize to Havana before I leave.”
“I doubt she’ll think it’s necessary.”
“You mean she won’t care if I’m sorry. I’d still like to apologize.”
He was about to repeat that it wasn’t necessary, but then his mate came up behind him and said, “I’ll hear her out.”
Hell, Tate hadn’t even heard Havana descend the stairs, let alone sense her creep close. The woman would keep him on his toes for sure. Although he didn’t like his mate being so close to this woman he didn’t trust, he stepped aside. As Havana sidled up to him, he slid his arm around her waist to cup her hip.
Straightening her shoulders, Ashlynn cleared her throat and forced a smile for Havana. “I’d congratulate you on your mating, but you’d know it to be false, and there’s no sense in insulting your intelligence or mine. Still, I hope you appreciate how lucky you are to have found your mate and claimed him. That doesn’t always work out as it should. Anyway … I came to tell Tate that I’m leaving the pride today. Which I’m sure will come as a relief to you. Before I go, though, I wanted to …” A slyness slid over Ashlynn’s face. “Challenge you. I wanted to challenge you.”
