“But Mel?—”
“Let’s go.” She turned to Carys. “Can I get your names in case we have any follow-up questions?”
Carys realized she couldn’t answer that. Luckily, she didn’t have to.
“Carys Faith Donaldson and Arden Whitaker.”
Stunned was an understatement. She didn’t know him as anything but Monster, and he knew her full government name.
Officer Davis, Mel, nodded and turned to leave. Nudging Todd to do the same. He glared at them one last time before heading back to the squad car parked in the driveway.
Monster slammed the door and turned on her.
“You were married to a fucking pig?” he practically roared the words. If she didn’t know better, he seemed more upset by that than what he’d heard in her father’s office.
He looked at her with what she could only call disdain. She was done being the target of all the emotions he was dealing with. She was coping with her own shit as well. Monster obviously didn’t give a shit about her and what she’d lost in that room too.
Yes, he’d lost Kansas, and her father was not a huge loss, but the hope for her mother was. The hope that … Carys’s thought came to a screeching halt, and she stared into his angry eyes. It was thinking of Kansas that had a touch of reality and hopelessness settled into her.
She’d lost Monster too, and in more ways than one. While she hoped he could forgive her, there was another obstacle that he couldn’t overcome.
She was not his mate.
It all came flooding back. Kansas kissing everyone hoping to find a mate. Monster had kissed her many times, in many places, but nothing.
She’d been so sure he was hers, but she knew now that couldn’t be because she wasn’t his. Or the shit her bastard of a father injected in her made it impossible for him to sense it. Either way, all her hopes were dashed in that office, and she’d be damned if she’d take his shit for one more second.
Carys tossed off the throw blanket and stepped up to poke him in the chest. “Not that it’s any of your business?—”
“The fuck it’s not.” Monster glanced down at her finger, then back to her face. “Now answer me.”
“No.”
“No?”
“Yes. No. No, I was not married. I was engaged. No, he wasn’t a cop when I knew him. And no, the fuck it’s not. Now if you don’t have anything else to growl at me about, kindly get the fuck out.”
That was exactly the wrong thing to say, because Monster’s wolf flashed in his eyes. Carys flinched back.
In a softer voice than she expected, Monster asked, “Why did you go home with me? Surely, I wasn’t the ideal mark to set up my club. Was I just the only one desperate enough to?—”
Carys refused to let him finish that statement. But looking at the fire dancing in his eyes, she understood slapping him was the wrong way to shut him up.
His arm shot out before she could step back, and he had her throat cradled in his gentle grasp. It was loose and not at all like he’d held her there earlier.
“That wasn’t wise, Pixie. Ulf is bashing against my insides, begging to come out.”
He licked her cheek. It seemed an odd thing to do, but he looked calmer, so she wouldn’t question it.
“My club is family. You betrayed my family, so what should I do with you?”
“Listen,” she gasped.
“What could you possibly say to change things? I heard it with my own ears, Pixie. Your father said you slept with me for information on my club. Once we realized it was Samual, the why was clear. He’s had a hard-on for Kansas for years, but why would you help him? He clearly didn’t care for you.”
“Are you actually going to listen or just lob more accusations as I try to answer?”
Monster’s nostrils flared and his eyes flashed. She reached up and laid a hand on his cheek.
