Page 113 of Rejecting his Mate

The word flits through my mind, but I have no intention of listening.

“Has anyone seen the other guys?” I ask.

Roux glances down at her plate, suddenly transfixed by her food. I do feel a little guilty for making her feel awkward in her own home.

“They returned about an hour ago,” Hester says. “Wyatt and Jackson said they will join us for dinner.”

I smile at Hester. “And what about Sawyer?”

Hester meets my gaze, and I don’t know what I see in her eyes, but it makes me feel a little uncomfortable. “I see Cade marked you as his.”

My hand strays to my neck and the claiming mark.

“The magic that was used to create your bond with your chosen mate, who performed it?”

I frown. “It’s done by the alpha.”

“When I met you, I could barely sense your mating bond with your chosen mate because your connection to Cade was much stronger.”

“That isn’t surprising,” Apryle says around a forkful of food. “They’re fated mates. The pull will always be stronger.”

Hester shakes her head. “Are you aware of how chosen bonds work?”

Cade grits his teeth, his hand tightening on my thigh. “Does it matter? She’s mine.”

The thin smile she gives him sets me on edge. “But she should never have been yours. Chosen mate bonds are created using alpha magic. They take time to cement, to become strong enough to destroy a fated mate bond, but Halle’s never grew. There was no connection between her and Dalton other than the magic that bound them together.”

I’m struggling to keep up, and I glance at Cade, wondering if he understands what she’s talking about.

“What are you saying?” Cade demands, a defensive tone in his voice. I squeeze his hand back, telling him without words that whatever shit spills out of her mouth is irrelevant. I am his.“Why did their bond not grow?”

“Probably because Dalton was an asshole,” I say. “I didn’t want him, and he didn’t want me. He wanted my name and the prestige that came with it.”

“Even so, you were bound to each other. That bondshould have grown stronger over time unless it was badly done to start with.”

I stare at her, still not following. “You’re suggesting that Klaus didn’t create a strong mating bond between us?”

Hester picks up her glass and takes a drink before setting it back on the table. “I’m not suggesting anything other than you were bound to another, and yet here you are with Cade. He was able to erase a mating bond as if it never existed.”

“Because he’s my fated mate. Surely that trumps chosen mate.”

“If that were the case, any time a wolf is in a chosen mating, it could come undone if they ever came across their fated mate.”

“So, what are you saying?” Cade asks.

“That your alpha never properly performed the mating bond between you and Dalton. Of course, the fact you are fated mates meant you were able to recognize each other immediately, but only because the original mating bond was defective.”

Silence fills the room, and I can sense the irritation from Cade through our bond. “I don’t care if it was defective or done badly or whatever else,” I say. “I would never have stayed with Dalton. Cade will always be my first choice.”

Hester leans forward on the table, but Tessa speaks before she can. “Does it matter what happened? They are fated, and their bond is already in place and strong. We can all feel it.”

“You’re asking if it matters that an alpha fucked upa mating bond between his son and a wolf that he believes is purebred?” Hester asks. “Of course, it does."

I fiddle with my knife and fork, suddenly feeling as if this is all some game and we are just the pieces being played. “Why did he not do the bonding right?” I ask.

“That’s what I would like to know.” She sits back in her seat, looking between us.

“Because he didn’t want the mating to happen in the first place,” Cade says, his voice tight.

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