Page 104 of Rejecting his Mate

But no. Adeline put her own need to have a pack above the needs of an eight-year-old pup.

And I can never let that go. I don’t care about her reasons; some things cannot be forgiven.

“I’m sorry they did that to you,” I say, meaning every word.

I watch her nose wrinkle. “Things keep coming back to me, moments in time, but there’s lots of stuff that I’ve lost. I can sense… holes… where there should be memories.” She drags her fingers through her hair. “I don’t know if this is making sense.”

“I understand what you mean, even if I don’t understand what you’re feeling.”

This seems to give her the strength to keep talking. “I remember Adeline taking me to the witch who bound me. I even remember her name. It was Delphine. She was French, though I didn’t know that at the time. I’d never heard anyone speak anything but English. Delphine didn’t want to do it, but I got the impression she owed Adeline.”

“That witch would never have helped your aunt if she didn’t.” The feud between our kind spans millennia.

Her face crumples, and fuck, I want to take her pain away. I feel it in my chest, squeezing my heart. “I wish I could see what happened to my mom. The last thing I remember is leaving a motel room and being chased. Then the house where Delphine bound me. There’s a gap between those things.”

“Give it time. Your brain was subjected to a lot of information and power in one hit. It’s going to take time for it to fall into place.”

Her smile is a little forced, and I hate it. “Why do I feel closer to you than I ever have to Dalton?”

“I don’t know.” I sluice my hands off in the water, cleaning the shower gel off my skin.

“I don’t deserve the way you’re looking after me,” she says quietly. “I made everything hard for you and the others. Sawyer. Wyatt never wanted to come in the first place. I nearly got Jackson killed, and you—”

I stop wiping, giving her my full attention. “What about me?”

“You took a bullet because of me.”

I grab the back of her neck, pulling her toward me and forcing her face toward mine. The angle is awkward but I need her to know how serious I am as I speak these words. The water sloshes in the bath, but I only care about her. “And I’d do it again.”

Need and desire pulse through me. I dip my head, leaning closer so I can claim her mouth. She lies against my chest, her head tipped to the side so she can meet my mouth.

Now that I’ve tasted her, I can’t stop my body from reacting to her. I want Halle, and my wolf doesn’t give a shit if she is mated to that asshole. My need for her is overwhelming. My body itches to be inside her, to fully claim her as mine.

I force myself and my wolf to calm down as I pull back from the kiss. “I need to finish washing you before the water turns cold.”

The smile she gives me goes straight to my cock. “I don’t give a shit about the water.” She pulls me in for another kiss.

There is a certain amount of satisfaction in the way she takes me and the confidence with which she does it.

I let her take her fill until she is breathless and forced to stop. I want to ask her what we’re doing, but I don’t care. My wolf and I want this. I’m tired of denying the pull between us.

Besides, that son of a bitch Dalton rejected her. He doesn’t get to take her back. Not when I want her to be mine.

When I gaze into her eyes, I see her pupils are blown wide, and there is a lazy, contented look in them. It makes me feel good to have that effect on her, and I wonder how my own eyes look.

But there is something more. My skin feels hot, and judging from how flushed her chest is, I’m guessing hers is too. There is a dizzying need inside me, and I feel the urge to claim her as I glance at the claiming mark on her neck, hating everything about it.

Fuck him. He doesn’t get to keep that mark on her any longer. I turn my head, rubbing my nose along the length of her neck and shoulder, ignoring the way the claiming mark feels against my skin.

Ours.

That is all my wolf says. She is ours and that mark means nothing.

Without thinking, I sink my teeth into her neck, breaking the skin. She sucks in a breath, hissing between her teeth before it becomes a moan of pleasure. Blood fills my mouth for a moment, the coppery tang of it coating my tongue. I pull back just enough to swipe my tongue over the bite, sealing the mark.

She whimpers, letting out a shuddering groan as my saliva touches the claiming mark. Her fingers go between her legs, under the water, to touch herself as my body burns for her.

I take her hand, moving it away from her pussy, returning my attention to the claiming mark that I have given her. The one Dalton gave her is no longer there, or it’s hidden beneath mine. I don’t give a shit. I feel fucking triumphant.

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