I remember Andrea's accusations through her fists—that I was working with the witches. My chest constricts, each breath harder than the last.
"Is that what you think?" I whisper, my voice breaking.
I was just starting to get used to this place. To feel at home somewhere again. To feel welcomed. Wanted.
He flinches, face twisting with something like regret before hardening again. Then he sighs and shakes his head. "I don't know, Mona. I don't know what to think. Dozens of shifters across the country have vanished, and Kendrick insists the witches are responsible. Then one of our own disappears, and suddenlyyouappear. Out of nowhere. I amhappyto have a mate. I want to believe this is real. But there are so many questions surrounding you, the timing, and now, this thing between you and your wolf—"
Each word out of his mouth feels like a blow. I can feel my neck heating, my heart racing. "Is that all I am to you? Just some puppet the witches sent to spy on you or whatever? Did you mean anything you said the other night about mates and destiny and all that other bullshit?"
"Of course I did," he snarls.
"You told me we had no choice. But you made it sound like it was something you wanted." My heart is beating erratically. Itfeels as if my chest is an untenable cage, and the stupid organ is going to pop out and run away. Or burst.
"Itis," he grits. "But the witches—"
"I don't even know any witches! I didn't even know they were real!"
"That's exactly what worries me. What if they're using you? What if they've spelled you and you don't even realize it? Doc, the blood samples—"
"Grayson." Orion's voice slices through the room as he positions himself between us. "Shut. The. Fuck. Up."
Grayson snarls, his alpha energy pulsing out, suffocating the air around us. It's so strong, so intense, but Orion stands his ground. It's the second time he's had to shield me from Grayson, and I don't know what that's supposed to mean for us. For our supposed future.
God, I'm such an idiot.
Mates.
What a joke. What a fucking lie.
Tears threaten to spill over, but I open my eyes wide, begging them to dry out, to disappear. I'm not sad. I got my hopes up for a second, but that was dumb.
This is fine. I don't need mates.
I peek over at Doc, and his sad smile somehow makes it all worse. I thought Doc, of all people, had my back. He shakes his head and says, "I will call Kendrick and see if there's any news or information about late-blooming shifters. Grayson, I suggest you come with me. If there is a spell on Mona, her blood will tell us everything we need to know."
Grayson's eyes track the tears spilling down my cheek. I can't help it. I open my eyes wider to hold them in, but they keep spilling, and he can't look away. Then he lets out an alpha roar. It tears through the cabin, so primal and bone-shaking, it makes Doc flinch and bare his neck in submission.
He roars again, this time picking up a small vase and tossing it across the room. It smashes into a hundred pieces, the wildflower I put in there yesterday lying limp in the debris.
Volatile. That's what he is.
My limbs are still shaking, but I climb off the couch and force myself to face Grayson. Indecision wars on his face. He looks at me, and for a split second, I see the Alpha leader—pleading, desperate—and I see the weight crushing him, the responsibility for every shifter under his protection.
But the hollow ache in my chest still burns. We're supposed to be divinely fated, goddess-blessed, and even that certainty isn't enough to make him believe me.
To want me.
He was the one trying to convince me to accept this mate business. I'd only just started coming around to it. Thinking it was real, something I could have.
Maybe have a home, and people I could call mine.
Doc waves a tired goodbye. Grayson stares like he wants to say something. His lips twist, like he's in agony. I wait. In the end, he says nothing, just lets out a grunt, turns and storms off.
I expect nothing else.
Everything went so wrong, so fast. I thought I could push Grayson's buttons and flirt and pretend to be a regular woman again without the drama of being a sick human, or a new wolf, or an omega.
We sit in loaded silence for a few minutes. When Orion finally reaches for me, I'm ashamed at how desperately I want his touch. But that's fleeting, too. Nothing lasts. No one stays.
