“No, I’m sniffling.”
“Ahhh, okay. I see the difference,” Alex said.
Cristie nodded and sipped her tea again.
“What’s the difference?” Alex asked.
“You cry when somebody hurts you. You sniffle when you’ve been mean to somebody that you really, really love and they keep doing nice things for you anyway.”
Alex smiled to herself. “So, you’re feeling bad because you hurt someone who loves you.”
“I’m a bitch.”
“Yep. Most alphas are either an asshole or a bitch — regardless of species.”
“I shouldn’t have been so hateful to Remi. He’s really such a sweet, thoughtful male.”
“I think so.”
“He’s not a pushover, either. His Dragon is fierce and frightening, and he just keeps taking whatever I throw his way. I shouldn’t have treated him like I did.”
“He’s your mate, Cristie. He loves you. He’s trying to give you all the space you need to find your way back to him.”
“I know. And I want that, too. But I’m still scared to move forward with it.”
“Why?”
“Because he hurt me. He didn’t choose me.”
“He couldn’t. He already had somebody. He had to take care of that first.”
“But she left him. He could have come for me then.”
“Maybe she was hurting, even though it was her choice to leave. He felt that. It hurt him to hurt any female, much less two that he cared about, so he just froze where he was.”
Cristie finally looked up from the food she’d been fixated on. Her gaze narrowed as she focused on Alex. “You’ve been talking to somebody.”
“I have.”
She sighed. “I guess everybody is aware of the obvious connotations except me.”
“It’s hard to see through your emotions when you’re drowning in them.”
“Definitely.”
“Seems to me that your Panther stood up and together you did the right thing by going to pull him back to the safe side of sanity. So don’t be too hard on yourself. You didn’t completely forsake him.”
“I feel like we forsook each other.”
“Then why are you holding it against him if you both did, to some degree?”
Cristie shrugged. “Because I’m mean.”
“You’re not mean. You’re just a little hard-headed, a little bit demanding and hold people to certain standards. You know, like an alpha does.”
“I think I dropped the ball on this one. He’s not rude, but he’s still a little distant. He’s playing it safe, too. I may have pushed him too far.”
“He’s here, Cristie. If he’d given up, he’d have already left. There’s no reason to be here if you’re no longer his objective.”
