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“Again, you could’ve. You chose not to. No one put a gun to your head and forced you to leave Tate. You made the decision to do that, and you made it all on your own.”
Ashlynn’s eyes flared. “It’s easy for you to say that because you haven’t found your true mate. But I suppose you’re right. I owe you an apology really, don’t I?”
Havana frowned. “Do you?”
“A few of my pride mates are of the opinion that you care for Tate. If things had been different, he may have tried a relationship with you. But he didn’t, because what I did hurt him so much that he literally closed himself off. So it’s kind of my fault that you don’t have the man you care for. And for that, I’m sorry.” She gave Havana a sympathetic smile. “Don’t feel bad for falling for someone you can’t have. Women fall for Tate all the time, thinking he’ll grow to care for them. He’s easy to love, but his love isn’t easy to win. It never was.”
God, this woman sure was a rambler. “Good of you to own your shit, I guess.”
“I made mistakes, and I know what I lost. I intend to win him back.”
Havana lifted a brow, and her devil narrowed her eyes. “You think you have a shot?”
“Yes, I do. Once he’s got used to me being around again, he’ll settle. He’ll let me in when he’s ready. It gave me hope when I heard he broke things off with you. He might not have acknowledged it to himself yet, but he did that because I’m back and he knows it’s time to break any ties he has with other women.”
Havana held back a snort and gave her a bright smile. “Then it would seem that things will work out for you just fine.”
“I want your assurance that you’ll keep your distance from Tate. He and I need time to find our way back to each other. I don’t want you or anyone else getting in the way of that.”
Havana supposed she should be flattered that the woman felt so threatened by her. “Well, I can’t give you what you want, seeing as he and I are working alongside each other to tackle the auction situation.”
“But, other than that, you can keep your distance. So I’d like your assurance that you’ll do exactly that.”
Havana twisted her mouth. “Maybe if you hadn’t spent the night sending me death glares, I’d be inclined to give you what you want. In the name of sisterhood and all. Then again, maybe not, because I simply don’t like you. Personally, I think Tate had a lucky escape when you left him.”
Ashlynn’s face went hard as stone. “Careful how you speak to me. I am not someone you want to fuck with. Don’t make me embarrass you in front of all these people.”
“Embarrass me?”
“I have no issue with throwing down right here, right now.”
Havana smiled, and her devil would have grinned wickedly if she could’ve. “What a coincidence. Neither do I.”
Elle clamped her hand around Tate’s arm and said, “No, you have to stay out of it.”
Tate’s mouth tightened. Every cell of his body demanded he stop the brawl before it could start. He didn’t want Ashlynn even so much as breathing Havana’s air, let alone touching her. “I’m Ashlynn’s Alpha, this place belongs to our pride—”
“And a single word from you would make Ashlynn back off, yes, but you’ll make Havana look weak if you intervene.”
Yeah, so Elle kept saying each time he made a move to wade in. She wasn’t wrong. Although Tate didn’t want to undermine Havana’s strength, he also didn’t want to see her hurt. Ashlynn could be a vicious little scrapper, and she liked to sharpen her claws on people’s faces. He liked Havana’s face just as it was.
Deke and Isaiah, who were waiting for the slightest signal from Tate to leap into the fray, looked just as eager to do so.
“I have every right to intervene,” Tate persisted. “Havana’s under my protection, and the person confronting her is one of my cats.”
“Which doesn’t change that your interference would reflect badly on Havana.”
“Still, it might be best if he does step in, Elle,” Luke interjected. “Ashlynn’s a tough fighter, and she can be—”
Havana slammed her palm into Ashlynn’s chest so hard it sent her flying backwards. Ashlynn crashed into the brick wall, causing some of the sports paraphernalia to fall to the floor with her.
Everyone stilled, including Tate’s cat. Because Havana had done that with a single shove. And she hadn’t used herculean effort. She’d done it with a casual strength and such lightning-fast speed that all Tate could do was stare. It was one thing to know that devils were phenomenally strong. It was a whole other thing to see them demonstrate that power.
