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“I understand from Jessie that you received a gift from Margot. A new herbal tea to try.”
“Yes. It was a peppermint blend I had never heard of before. I love finding new kinds of tea. Apparently, Jessie told Margot that.”
“So it didn’t taste funny or unusual to you?”
Kelly felt incredibly foolish. “It did taste a little bit sweeter than I would have expected, but I just thought that was normal. My taste buds are changing because I am pregnant. I’ve read that can happen.”
Marc began to rub her arm. “This wasn’t your fault. Margot was trying to cause a rift between us. She is someone I should’ve taken care of a long time ago, and I blame myself for this. This was my fault, Kelly. I’m so sorry.”
Kelly felt a rush of anger in her chest. “Margot did this to me?”
“I’m going to take care of all of it as soon as I leave. I just wanted to make sure I was here when you woke up so that you would know that everything was going to be okay,” Marc said. He pointed out towards the door. “My cousin, Alex, is outside. You might remember he is the clan’s healer? I’ve asked him to keep checking up on you throughout the rest of your pregnancy. He may not be able to provide as much relief for you, but he can do something for the baby because it’s a werejaguar cub. Are you okay with that?”
Kelly nodded, although her brain was still trying to process that someone had tried to hurt her. “Of course.”
“Alex will stay with you until I get back. Don’t worry. You will never have to see Margot again.”
As he gave her a kiss on the forehead and left the room, Kelly thought that was an incredibly good idea. Because if she ever did see Margot DaVaca again, werejaguar or not, she might just strangle her with her own bare hands.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Marc sat in his office staring at the Vegas skyline. It brought him no comfort. He knew what he was about to do should feel difficult, especially because Margot’s parents had begged for leniency, but he was not feeling very lenient. The news about Margot’s poisoning attempt had spread through the clan like wildfire. His ex-girlfriend had far overstepped her bounds, and she needed to be dealt with. He had put up with her nonsense for far too long and had inadvertently put his own mate at risk in the process. He wouldn’t make the same mistake again.
Margot was escorted into his office by Reid and Juan.
He indicated that they were to leave he and Margot alone. He stared at her for several long moments before speaking. To her credit, she didn’t flinch under his furious gaze. How he had ever held any affection for her at all was beyond him.
“I assume you know why you are here,” Marc said flatly.
“I did nothing wrong other than fall in love with a man who didn’t love me,” Margot said.
Marc slammed his palm down on his desk and saw with a kind of sick glee that the sound finally caused a crack in her cool façade when Margot jumped. “I thought it was clear when I introduced my mate that I was off the market. We were done months ago, Margot, and you knew it as well as I did.”
“We were together for two years. I thought that there might be a chance that fate would eventually sort things right between us.”
“Fate did. My mate is pregnant. You know the old traditions don’t lie. I knew the moment that we conceived our cub our first night together that Kelly was my mate. Yes, you and I were together for two years. If something was going to happen, it would have happened by now. It was clear that you and I were not meant to be together. Why can’t you accept that?”
Marc saw her flinch again, and he wished he had had the gumption to be this bold with her before. It was simply because she caused problems in other places of the clan that he had felt like he had to treat her delicately. Getting involved with Margot had been a mistake from day one; he saw that now. He was a fool.
“I don’t believe you,” Margot continued to argue. “I’m the one who’s supposed to be with you. I’ve loved you since we were kids. We grew up together. No woman could ever love you like I do. You need me.”
Marc leaned forward and said the words slowly to make sure that she understood. “Men don’t like pain-in-the-ass, clingy women like you. Get over it.”
This time, he saw the flash of anger in her eyes. She stood straighter. Margot wasn’t the type to wilt under any type of pressure. That was the danger of her that he could see now. There was nothing about her that said that she would bend to his will unless he was forced to use his powers of persuasion on her. Her emotional investment in their supposed relationship could hinder the effectiveness of any attempt to do so. That was why he needed to make sure that he was ready for what came next.
“You can’t blame a girl for being a bit jealous at being replaced so easily. I don’t believe you, whatever you say. We had two good years together, and we could have had more if you had not met this flighty, fat girl from the East Coast.”
Marc stood and moved around the desk. His rage seized his throat at her words and the fact that she would dare to say anything derogatory about his mate. His fingers itched to slap the smirk from her face, but he would not do that.
No, he would hit Margot where it truly hurt.
He had no need to touch her. He would never raise his hand to a woman. That wasn’t who he was, no matter how hard she tried to goad him into it.
He opened up his senses until he could feel hers pressing against him. He saw her move toward him inadvertently, and he knew that it wasn’t something she was under control of anymore. He was pulling on the full force of his persuasion gift and focusing it completely on her.
“Margot DaVaca, hear me. As the alpha of the DaVaca clan, I find you guilty for harming my mate. You also almost murdered my heir. Your offenses are unforgivable and you deserve a harsh punishment. From this moment on, clan DaVaca disowns you.”
Her eyes widened. “Marc, you can’t.”
