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“Hey, you don’t give orders here,” the creepy dude protests.
“No, but youralphadoes, and he’s the one who sent me,” she fires back. “Wonder what he’ll say when I tell him you’re defying those orders.”
“Fine, we’ll make sure she eats,” he grumbles.
“Good boy,” she mocks, her footsteps retreating as she moves back toward the door.
The hinges creak as it opens, then slams shut behind her, one of the men in the room exhaling a heavy breath as soon as she’s gone.
“Man, I can’t stand that bitch. Ever since she was marked by the alpha she’s been a real pain in the ass.”
My brain short-circuits, my heart stuttering in my chest as my whole world grinds to an agonizing halt.
Marked by the alpha.
Javi…markedher?
No. That can’t be possible, because if he was marked, our fated bond wouldn’t have snapped in…would it? Shit, why didn’t I pay more attention when I learned about mate bonds as a kid?
My heart starts hammering at a frantic cadence, a cold sweat breaking out over my forehead.
If I thought my heart was breaking before, it’s now absolutely shattered. Clearly, Javi played me for a fool all this time, and I was too blinded by his confident swagger and disarming grin to even realize that there was a larger game afoot.
I was a pawn, and he maneuvered me perfectly.
Was any of it real?
I thought he loved me. I thought I lovedhim.
Stupid. I’m so, sostupid.
Bile crawls up my throat, a wave of nausea hitting me fast and hard. My eyes pop open as I realize what’s about to happen and I abruptly shove up and pitch myself forward, hanging my head over the edge of the bed and puking all over the tattered orange carpet covering the floor.
“What the fuck!” the bigger guy yells, leaping back in disgust.
I can’t stop. My stomach seizes, my hands fisting the scratchy comforter on the edge of the bed as I continue to expel its contents until I have nothing left.
My throat burns. My body aches.
But it’s nothing compared to the agonizing stab of betrayal I feel in my heart.
31
“This wasn’t part of the plan,” I growl, the soles of my boots wearing down the shoddy orange carpet as I pace back and forth in my mom’s motel room, stabbing my fingers through my hair over and over.
“Plans change,” she replies boredly, picking at her fingernails. “New opportunities present themselves.”
“Bullshit.” I grind to a halt, whipping around to face my mom and leveling her with a cutting glare. “You should’ve run this by me and youknowit.”
She heaves a sigh, dropping her hands to the arms of the chair she’s seated in and pushing against them to shift her weight and sit up straighter. “You’re right. I should have. But tell me, Javier, would you have agreed?”
Her question catches me off guard, as does her next action- because she reaches into her pocket and pulls out my cell phone, giving me a pointed look as she sets it down on the table beside her.
My stomach drops. “Why do you have that?” I ask warily, looking from the phone back up to her face.
She’s completely calm, as always. My mother’s nothing if not shrewd at keeping her composure. I’m usually the same way- she’s taught me well- but right now, my agitation is winning out and I’m wearing my emotions on my sleeve. Something she clearly doesn’t approve of from the looks of distaste she keeps casting my way.
“I went to find you, and I found this instead.” She glances toward my phone, reaching over to idly tap a red fingernail against the screen. “I have to say, you laid the groundwork with this girl very well. Your sentiments werequiteconvincing. So convincing that I almost believed them myself.”
