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“I wouldn’t have rejected you for being Colin’s niece,” I said, but she’d already sensed me behind her and stopped moving.
She turned to me, and I stared into her stunning, sorrow-filled eyes. She looked so tired, I noted, and her fierceness since arriving in town was gone. She deserved more than this, so much more, and my entrance into her life only made hers worse.
I hated that. I hated that fact more than anything.
While I’d kept the pain of our severed bond a secret, I had my pack to help me heal, but she only had her father and all the other troubles that came with my decision.
“Kaleem,” she began to say, and I held a hand up.
She’d been honest about her feelings, and I wanted to do the same. I owed her that because she felt I’d rejected her so easily, as if she meant nothing to me.
“Being Alpha, I have to think of the pack first, even if it means coming last, and although you weren’t officially marked as mine, you became my family the second we met,” I said, and she sighed. “I loved you, Diana, and I didn’t reject you as easily as it appeared to you.”
“What I did was one of the hardest decisions I’ve had to make in my entire life. I saw the strain our mate bond and keeping it a secret was having on you. Sneaking around with Colin’s tight leash was choking you.”
She stepped back to lean on the door, and my eyes roamed her beautiful face.
“Being my mate meant you’d become my Luna, and you couldn’t be that if you remained with the Bluemoon Pack, that’s why I gave you a choice because sooner or later, you’d have to make that choice, and sooner rather than later was best.” I looked towards the motel’s reception area, the sound of a television drawing my attention.
“I met you that day after struggling to mentally prepare myself that you might not choose me.” Closing my eyes for a second, I tried to push the images of that day away, of Diana’s tears. “I’d been confident you would, but I told myself if you didn’t, I’d have to rip the band-aid off.”
When I turned to her, she was frowning, the tiny creases between her brows making me want to reach out and wipe them away.
“I hated the thought of my place in your life causing nothing but pain Diana, you were my family, and I needed to do what was best for you even if it killed me. While I didn’t know the truth about you and Colin, I knew he would have caused us trouble. That’s why we kept our mate bond a secret, to begin with, but it was ripping you in two, and now I know just how much.”
I stepped forward, unable to stop myself from cupping her cheek.
She didn’t pull away from my touch, and I was thankful. Her skin was as soft as I remembered it and her eyes fluttered closed for a moment. My wolf growled with delight, and even without our mate bond, I could almost feel her.
“I wanted you to be happy, even if it wasn’t with me. But Colin attacked my pack, and suddenly I had a choice to make as well, kill him and leave you without an alpha or banish you, hoping you’d eventually find peace. You’d have freedom from me, our mate bond, and pain.”
“I’ve never had freedom,” she replied, and she reached up to lay her hand on mine that was caressing her cheek. “I’ve only ever felt free the brief moments we had together.”
I kissed her. I couldn’t stop myself.
Her hand slid to my wrist, and I held her waist to press her body to mine. I’d dreamt of this moment for over a decade, tasting her again and feeling her body pressed to mine. Now that it was happening, years of pent-up needs slammed into me like a train.
She pushed me away, and we stared at each other, the silence between us filled with our heavy breathing.
We’d never slept together. It never got to that because I didn’t want to rush things with her.
But right now, I could sense her need and frustration, and I wanted nothing more than to soothe her aching. I wanted to show her how much I cared, how much I missed and loved her, but only if she’d let me.
“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have done that,” I said, and her eyes shone even brighter than before.
She stepped forward to stand inches away from me, her head back while she gazed into my eyes. She was still breathing hard, her scent making me dizzy with every breath I took.
“We can’t be together,” she said, her voice sensual and heavy with need although laced with finality, and I nodded, her arousal digging at my resolve to keep my hands to myself.
“I know we can’t be,” I replied, those words leaving the most bitter taste on my tongue. “I know that, but this hasn’t been easy for me either, Diana. I’ve been angry with you for choosing your pack and not me, but my anger is nothing compared to the love I have for you. I don’t want you to look at me with hatred anymore.”
I raised a hand to touch her, but it remained suspended. The way she was staring at me, her stare fierce and filled with passion, this was what I wanted.
“I’ve missed you,” I growled, and without warning, she held my face and lowered my head to hers.
Our kiss was fierce and wild this time, and my hands snaked around her body to her ass, and I picked her up off the ground.
“Open the door and prove it,” she whispered into my mouth while slipping the door’s key into my hand, and it was a request I wasn’t going to deny.
