Page 65 of Brutal Alpha's Forced Mate

“But what?” I snap. “You think I don’t know my own mind? That I don’t know what I want? I chose to stay before, didn’t I?”

“It’s not about what you want. It’s about what’s best for you.”

“And you think what’s best for me is leaving the one place I’ve felt safe in years? Leaving you?”

The silence between us is deafening.

I push back from the table, and my chair scrapes loudly against the floor. “You don’t get to decide what’s best for me, Gray. Not after everything we’ve been through. Not after—” My voice cracks, and I swallow hard. “You don’t get to do this.”

“Jaslyn—”

“No.” I cut him off, grabbing my bag and slinging it over my shoulder. “If you want me gone, fine. But don’t pretend you’re doing it for me.”

I don’t give him a chance to respond. My hands are trembling, and my chest is tight, but I hold my head high as I walk out of the restaurant. The night air hits me like a slap. I breathe it in, trying to calm the storm raging inside me.

But I can’t.

I don’t stop walking until I’m well outside the pack’s territory, the forest closing in around me. My legs ache, my heart feels like it’s been ripped from my chest, and still, I keep going.

Because if Gray wants to let me go, I’ll make it easy for him.

I’m blinded by anger and tears. My chest feels like it’s caving in, and the memory of Gray’s words crushes me with every step. He let me go. He wants me to leave.

And the worst part? I thought… I thought we had something. I thought he felt it, too.

“Damn him,” I mutter, swiping angrily at my face. My voice cracks, and I hate the weakness in it. “Stupid, self-righteous alpha.”

A twig snaps to my left, and I freeze. My wolf stirs uneasily, but when a familiar scent carries on the breeze, I nearly collapse with relief.

“Jaslyn?” Isadora’s voice carries through the trees.

“Over here,” I call back, my voice raw from holding back tears.

A moment later, she appears, and her eyes narrow as she takes me in. “What the hell are you doing out here?”

“Walking.”

“Walking,” she echoes, raising a skeptical brow. “Through the forest. Alone. Crying.”

“I’m not crying.”

She steps closer, folding her arms and tilting her head like she’s daring me to lie again. “You look like a wreck, Jaslyn. What happened?”

“Nothing,” I snap, but my voice wavers. “Just… leave it alone, okay?”

“No.” Her tone is firm, and she plants herself directly in my path. “You don’t get to brush me off. Spill. Now.”

I glare at her as my throat tightens, but the fight drains out of me as quickly as it came. With a shaky breath, I drop onto a fallen log and bury my face in my hands.

“It’s Gray,” I mumble through my fingers.

“What about him?” Isadora asks. She sits beside me with her hand resting lightly on my shoulder.

“He told me I’m free,” I choke out. “That I can leave, that he’ll annul the marriage. Like… like I’m nothing to him.”

Isadora is silent for a moment. When she speaks, her voice is thoughtful. “He actually said you’re nothing to him?”

“Well… not exactly,” I admit reluctantly.

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