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"My sister's mate is—was—Callum's Beta." The correction hurts so badly that I desperately try to gloss over it. "I stayed with her awhile, and Callum welcomed me into the pack. I've been living with them for years."
"I didn't know that." He frowns.
"Why would you?" I snort. We were two ill-mated strangers; he had no reason to keep up with my whereabouts. Unless it were to help him avoid me indefinitely. In which case, yeah, I wish he had been keeping up with my whereabouts. Maybe then I wouldn't be stuck in his uncomfortable grasp in a house I didn't even want to stay in.
"Are you always this difficult?" He sighs, but mercifully loosens his grip. "What about the other stuff? How did you wind up running into my pack? Why didn't your own pack have you somewhere safe?"
I know there's no way I'm getting out of here without giving him a satisfactory answer, so I give him the shortened version. "My sister's mate was killed in the attack. It was too much for me and I… I decided to leave. I thought I might head south, but Luca headed me off and brought me back here. I tried to split off, and I almost did, but then one of your younger wolves knocked into me and broke my leg. I couldn't outrun anyone with a broken leg, so I had no choice but to shift and come here with Luca."
"Luca has a mate already." Dominic turns his nose up at me, completely ignoring the rest of what I’ve said. "She refused to accept the bond for the time being because she's caring for her grandmother in another pack right now, but she'll return to him sooner or later. You can't stay with him."
"What part of me leaving are you not understanding?" I ask in exasperation, pulling the rest of the way from his grip. I don't want his Beta any more than I want him.
Excuse you?My wolf protests.That's our mate you're talking about.
No. Not anymore, I try to correct her, but I can tell she's got no interest in what I have to say on the matter.
“So those rogues…” Dominic falters as if he’s swallowed his own tongue. It takes a minute before he continues. “You were in danger.” He says it like a fact, not a question, and I don’t correct him.
He grimaces, but his mind seems a million miles away. He sure as hell doesn’t care about my safety, so I’m sure he’s only concerned about another Alpha not keeping his pack safe. Or hell, maybe he’s considering swooping in and challenging Callum now that his pack has been weakened. The East Terrace Green Pack has a bevy of construction resources that any wolf would salivate over given the chance.
I can’t find any words. Mostly because yes, I stepped into the line of danger, but at least I came out alive. I can’t stop the mental image of Jimmy, sacrificing his life to save Callum. And I sacrificed him too.
Tears prick in my eyes, and of course the asshole notices.
“Stop crying,” he snaps. His face is the picture of disgust. Gods forbid I dare to show a bit of emotion; clearly he’s not capable of any.
I pinch the bridge of my nose because it’s twofold. It helps me stop crying, and it helps me hold back the anger threatening to spill out. This man brings out the worst in me, and we’ve barely spent thirty minutes total in each other’s presence since the first time I ran into him on graduation day.
“I need some air,” I announce, slipping past him toward the door.
He eyes me warily and turns to follow close behind. He’s right to be suspicious; I’m looking for the first chance to bolt that I can find. There’s nothing here I really need to take with me considering I came with nothing. All I need is to get outside where I can shift safely. So long as I can catch him off guard, I think I can shift and get moving before Dominic even realizes what’s going on.
If I can manage to shift before him, I have no doubt I can outrun him. And hopefully this time no one’s hanging around to injure me mid-escape.
My only concern is my leg. It’s possible I’ll fuck it up even more by running on it too soon, but I don’t think I have much of a choice. I’m technically here without the Alpha’s permission, which means Dominic could very well decide to have me killed if he wanted. Based on the way he looks at me with pure, unfiltered disgust, I don’t even think it would be much of a stretch to consider it a possibility.
Forget the fact that it was his Beta who dragged me here. I would be the one paying the price.
He wouldn’t do that to us. We’re his mate,my wolf says with a confidence I don’t share.
We’re not mates anymore. Get that through your head.It’s freaking me out that she’s so convinced. I don’t have a ton of experience with shifters rejecting their mates, but I’ve never heard of this. A wolf still feeling the bond even after a rejection has been accepted.
I thought accepting Dominic’s rejection would save me from the heartache of being apart from my mate. But my wolf is aching at the idea of me running. I can already feel the internal war brewing between her and I.
“Where are you going?” Dominic asks when I make it about three feet from the front door.
I whirl on him in irritation. “I’m sorry if you don’t recognize the sight of a woman walking away from you, but you’re getting on my last nerve,” I snap.
“You’re a lot of dramatics in a small package.” He gives me a quick once over and sneers. Considering the size difference, I’m not surprised he finds me lacking for his tastes, but my wolf takes offense.
You’re right. Leave his ass.Mate or no mate, she’s just as sensitive about our size as I am.
I barely have time to blink before I’m shifting, my wolf’s emotional self-preservation instinct kicking in. I don’t spare Dominic a glance because if he’s smart, he’ll just let me go. We both know I was never supposed to be here in the first place.
I get a few good strides in before I hear him, his steps rustling the foliage around us. I tilt my head, confused about what he’s doing as his steps move further away rather than closer. He’s not chasing me.
Good riddance.
