Page 43 of Rejected Pregnant Mate

I couldn't get hurt again, not like I had when he rejected me the first time. It would be a million times worse this time around, considering all that we'd done, and all that we'd beenthrough. He might have seemed like he wanted me, but it had to be the magic bond between us clouding his judgment. Scott was stuck with me, and if I didn't free us both, it would get harder and harder to leave him once this was all said and done.

Then there was the second problem—my heat had risen again once we'd gotten home, the hot, possessive kiss at the bar having set it off. Now my body was on fire, every inch of me aching and desperate, and things had gotten too emotionally charged between us for me to even seek Scott out for a quick hookup.

If we had sex again, I'd never be able to let him go. I couldn't let that happen.

My only hope was to break the bond. I hoped that once the bond was gone, my heat would dissipate with it, considering it was the bond that had caused me to go into heat in the first place. I'd already failed to break it once, but us Omegas with magic always got an extra boost during our heats, so maybe that would be enough to push me over the edge of success.

Except...my brain was mush. I couldn't focus, couldn't think straight, the unbearably tense arousal eating me alive inside. I wasn't sure I could even do a basic multiplication worksheet, let alone a complicated spell, but what choice did I have?

I sat on my bed in the small guest room, trying to steady myself, taking slow, deep breaths. I needed to try to clear my head. I had to stop fixating on Scott's mouth on mine, how he looked shirtless with that little patch of dark hair on his chest, his hands pushing my knees further apart so he could get to my—

No. Stop it, Nayeli. Get it together.

I got up and gathered my spell supplies, bringing them back to the bed and spreading them out on the blanket in front of me. I closed my eyes, willing my pulse to slow, and focused on the magic inside of me. I visualized it as a golden light, once again ignoring the veins of darkness that cut through it. That odd darkness had been there since the spell first failed, and as much as it disturbed me, I was sure it would go away once the bond had been broken. There was more of it today, but I chalked it up to my heat being in full swing.

My magic was so beautiful and warm despite the darkness, something that was all mine, something that soon enough I hoped to be able to fully control. I'd looked over the spell so many times that I didn't even need to open the spell book anymore. Instead of a full-blown candle, I lit a stick of incense, the smoke curling through the guestroom that I'd slowly made into my little sanctuary.

"Come on," I whispered, drawing the power into my hands, feeling my palms as they grew hot and started to glow. "Obey me. Just this once. I need to be free of this thing."

Under my breath, I started the chant, fingers trembling, magic running along my veins. I wrapped that magic around the bond deep in my core, the one that connected me to Scott, and concentrated on cutting it loose.

The bond was stubborn, almost fighting me, and I gritted my teeth as I pulled, straining, sweat gathering at my brow.Come on! Just a little more.I could feel the bond started to shiver. The more magic I fed in, the more of the darkness came alongside it, and I felt a surge of panic.

What if I failed again? What if I made it worse?

I tried again, forcing the magic to bend to my will, but it fought me back. I felt cold—that wasn't supposed to happen. The magic was part of me. Why was it fighting back?

The bond, though, I expected to fight. As I tried to break it, thoughts of Scott flooded in. The roughness of his fingers, the tickle of his stubble, his easy laugh. Scott stayed when things were messy, and he took care of me when I pushed too hard.

God, I didn't want to drive him out of me. I cared for him. But this connection wasn't a mating bond but a mockery of one. Twisted. Wrong.

But what if it was all I'd ever have of him?

He'd made me no promises. He'd never suggested that we'd stay together as mates once the bond was gone, even if his words indicated that sometimes. Scott's original intentions had been clear—the marriage was temporary. Now that time had passed and lines had blurred, he still hadn't told me otherwise.

Just keep the bond,something sinister inside me whispered,Keep the Alpha.

Tears pricked the corners of my eyes. My magic fought, peeling away from the bond, cut through with threads of darkness. It didn't want to break the spell. I was too broken inside, my pathetic desire to keep Scott despite his rejection making everything that much harder.

I had to stop wanting him if I was going to make this work. I had to give him up.

But I couldn't. My heat raged like a bonfire, my magic pulled out on my control, I was failing...failing...

Suddenly, a harsh sound cut through my concentration—my phone, trapped under my pillow, was ringing. My focus snapped, magic dissipating harmlessly into the room in a showerof sparks, leaving nothing but the aching arousal of my heat behind.

Dammit. I hadn't been close, but I'd been a little closer to understanding what was wrong with me, at least.

I dug my phone out of my pile of pillows and answered it without even checking the screen. As frustrated as I was to fail the spell, I was still relieved to have a distraction.

"Hello?"

"Nayeli," Gwen huffed on the other end of the line, equally annoyed and worried. "You need to get to the cafe like, right now. Scott isn't answering my calls, and two of his pack members are here, about to tear each other's heads off. It's going to be a full-blown fight if someone doesn't do something."

I was thrown through a loop. "Uh...why me?"

"You're the Alpha's mate!" She said, her voice pitched higher than normal. "You rank second in the pack and carry some of his influence. It has to be you. Hurry!"

"Okay...okay. Try to stall them until I can get there."

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