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I didn’t reject him because, deep down, I know that, if I actually could have him as mine, I’d choose him in a heartbeat.
My whole life, West is the only male I ever wanted. But just because I want something, that doesn’t mean I get to have it.
It’s one thing that he’s never understood. He believes that I only agreed to mate Rafael because it was fated. That I was accepting him because, to me, a fated mate trumped a chosen mate.
In a way, he’s right. When we’re raised to revere the Luna, our goddess can do no wrong. But it wasn’t the idea ofmyfated mate that pushed me to accept Rafael. If I had a fated mate out there, that meant West did, too. I’m selfish, but I’m notthatselfish. Could I really stand between West and the female the Luna picked out for him?
He would tell me that I should’ve. As logical and clear-headed as West is, I’ve always been his one blind spot. He’s loved me for so long that it never occurred to him that, one day, he might stop. What would I have done if he started to wonder if his fated mate would’ve been better for him than me?
So I ended things with West, hoping I was doing the right thing. Of course, hindsight is twenty-twenty. Knowing West as well as I did, I should’ve expected what would happen when the Luna did lead him to recognize his fated mate.
Maybe I would have, too, if it wasn’t for the fact that both of us knew Quinn Malone.
I thought she would come from another pack. She could have even been human or even another kind of supe and maybe things would have been different. But she wasn’t. West’s fated mate was a delta she-wolf we grew up with, and while I’m sure Quinn would’ve been good to him if he accepted their bond, West didn’t look at her and see his future.
It was impossible when he was still staring back at our past…
When I let him go, the idea of West refusing to take his fated mate never occurred to me—and then, seven months ago, it happened. He recognized Quinn in one moment, then completely ignored her in the next. He continued to court me, to treat me as his future mate, even knowing that I hadn’t changed my mind.
I still haven’t. That’s what makes his actions since he whisked me away from Hickory so baffling.
Then again, if he really is turning feral? It makes sense.
West is logical. The Beta is rational.
Feralsaren’t.
And now I’m trapped in a cabin with my former love who might just be one.
CHAPTER7
APOLOGY
He isn’t gone long. A couple of hours at most, and when he steps gingerly up to the closed door, he stays on the other side of it without opening it.
Unlike before, when he knocks, I don’t offer an invitation to come inside.
He doesn’t ask for one, either.
Instead, from the other side of the door, I can hear him take a deep breath before he shudders it out in relief.
“Thank the Luna… I could scent you when I walked back into the den… I wanted to believe it wasn’t from before, but I couldn’t see how you could still be here. I thought you would’ve left.” He pauses, an anguished note finding its way into his voice. “You should’ve left me, Helene.”
He’s right. I should have.
“Where did you go?” I ask him.
“For a run,” is his clipped answer. Then, as if realizing how short he sounds, he sighs. “Sorry. It’s just… we’re not on pack land. You know that. It’s just us. This cabin is our territory now. It wasn’t really a run. It was a—”
“Patrol,” I offer.
“Yeah. That’s right. My wolf needed the release, and I… I needed to get myself under control.”
I take in a deep breath.Blood. My nose isn’t as strong as some of the more dominant wolves in the pack, but I know West’s blood when I scent it. Tapping into my wolf, I spur her to search for his. Since he stole me away, he’s been so careful to keep his shields up, a block between us so that I can’t use my wolf against him.
It doesn’t matter. This isWest. No matter how tightly locked down he thinks he is, a part of him will always be open to me; not because I’m the Omega, but because he loves me. He wants to let me in.
And through the sliver in his shields, I can feel the echoes of the aches and pains wracking his body. They’re half-healed, but it doesn’t matter.
