“I don’t care. He hurt me.”
“Maybe he’s not the only one that needed to heal, young lady. Maybe you need to examine yourself and figure out why you cared enough to run off to Louisiana to save him, but won’t even tolerate him here,” Riley said.
“Because this is my peace. This is my home, and he’s invaded it. There it was all his place, his home. If he didn’t respond it didn’t matter. It was his sanctuary. This is mine.”
“What would you have done if he didn’t respond when you went down there?” Maia asked quietly. “Would you have just left and let the pieces fall where they may?”
“Yes,” Cristie snapped.
Maia smiled, though Cristie had her back to her and couldn’t see it. “I scent a lie,” she said softly.
Cristie didn’t turn around and didn’t say anything in response to Maia’s declaration that she was lying. She knew both her parents could scent lies; she could, too.
“I can’t believe this is happening,” Cristie said, shaking her head incessantly back and forth, but staying where she was. She knew better than to walk away when her dad the Alpha was speaking to her, versus when her dad was speaking with her.
“It’s happening. Remi is a guest here. You will treat him with respect and dignity while he’s here just like any other guest. You will not set out to drive him away. You want to rule this Pride some day, you’ll learn to rule it fairly no matter what you’re going through personally,” Riley said.
Cristie remained silent.
“Think about what your mother just asked you. You know there’s no way under the sun that you’d have left Remi to fade away and disappear in his confusion. If your first attempt hadn’t worked you’d have gone after him again — we all three know that. You loved Remi all your life, and I can’t believe you stopped loving him because he turned out to be your mate and he made some poor decisions.”
“He chose her.”
“No, he didn’t. He chose loyalty. He’d been in a committed relationship with somebody. Somebody that happens to be a very nice woman. He’s loyal to a fault and always has been. You and he had no indication until Havoc’s wedding that you were mates. He was thrown for a loop. He felt guilty for wanting you after committing to her. He felt guilty for ignoring the mate pull and staying with her. He couldn’t win. It’s easy to say what you’d do in a similar circumstance, but you don’t know. Remi’s the same Remi he’s always been — strong, dutiful, reliable, loyal. And you know that or you wouldn’t still be upset about the whole situation. If you questioned his integrity or the male he’s grown into, you’d have written him off and moved on by now. You’re still hurting like you were the day it all happened.”
“I am not. I’ve been better.”
“You learned how to fake it better, but you’re not better,” Maia said.
“Nobody’s telling you, you have to mate him. We’re telling you, you have to give him a chance. If you can’t forgive him, then there is no future as mates. But maybe you can find a thread of the friendship that you both once shared. Either way, he’s here for a while at least. He may choose to stay forever. We’ll just have to see, but you will conduct yourself as a fair and just Alpha regardless. Pull yourself together and do not embarrass me,” Riley said firmly.
Cristie stood there for only a few seconds more. If nothing else, her father was right about her acting with strength and dignity. “Yes, sir.”
“Have a good day at work,” Riley said.
“Yes, sir,” she said again, then left the house in a much more controlled emotional state than she’d entered it in.
Chapter 3
Cristie left the house, walked right out the front gate, and crossed the highway before turning to the right and walking to Colter Animal Hospital. She approached the door and its sensor swished it open for her. She stepped inside and just stood there despite the multiple customers and animals making noise and filling the waiting room.
Sheryl looked up from the reception desk and realized Cristie was not herself today.
“Girl, what happened to you?” Sheryl asked, jumping up to rush round the circular counter and placing an arm around Cristie’s shoulders to guide her to the back where the employees’ break room was.
Cristie just shook her head and did her best to hold back tears.
As soon as they got into the break room, Sheryl sat Cristie down at the table and took her coffee away from her, setting it on the table. She made a face when she pried the smashed sandwich from Cristie’s other hand, but kept at it until Cristie let it go. “You don’t want to eat this, do you baby?” Sheryl asked.
Cristie pulled her focus from the wall in front of her to Sheryl. “Eat what?” she asked.
“This,” Sheryl said, using both hands to hold the smashed sandwich with pieces of sausage and egg sticking out from tears in the foil.
“Oh, no. No, I will not be eating that. Remi made it and I don’t want it.” She paused and thought about it, her head canting just a little to the left. “I’m not even fully sure how I got it.”
“From the store it looks like,” Sheryl said.
Cristie didn’t answer.
