Page 52 of Rejected Pregnant Mate

Something had reached inside me, pulling out my guts before slamming me into the bedroom wall. It hit me like a truck, but when I landed on the ground, I found myself intact. Not gutted, after all.

But somehow, I still felt empty.

It took a moment for my mind to catch up with what had just happened, and I could finally comprehend that I was in Nayeli's room. I sat there, chest heaving, rubbing the spot beneath my sternum where my connection to Nayeli had lived for weeks.

It...it was gone. The bond was broken.

My eyes shot up to see Nayeli kneeling on the bed, also breathing hard, her hair a mess, and the remnants of a spell sparking at her fingers.

"Nayeli!" I growled, my wolf clawing its way to the surface. He was furious, and I was right there with him. "What the hell did you just do?"

"I'm sorry," she said softly, tears streaming down her cheeks. She was terrified, but as I watched, she lifted her chin stubbornly. "I broke it. Finally. I did it."

I slowly stood, using the wall as a brace. There was a hole where my body had hit. "You...what?"

"We're free now," she went on, and I hated that there was relief in her voice. "You don't have to feel anything for me anymore. We can go back to our own lives."

My jaw clenched, and my chest ached. The bond wasn't natural, I knew that well enough, but I'd started to consider my life if it was never broken. It meant considering a life withNayeli, forever, and I found myself wanting that more than anything else.

Nayeli, though, apparently had other ideas.

She kept talking, "You'll be able to choose a wife now, and I can master my magic in peace. We won't have to worry about heat cycles or misunderstandings or any of this messy—"

"Messy?" My voice was rough. "Is that what this was to you?"

Her lips parted, and I saw the first thread of hesitation in her expression. Tears still leaked from her eyes, some side effect of the spell. "Scott..."

"No," I snapped, "Don't. Don't act like this was some kind of favor, like you did it to save us both. You promised to tell me if you were going to mess with the bond again, and youlied! You left me sitting down there at the dinner table like an idiot while you were busy tearing our connection apart!"

Nayeli looked flabbergasted. "You don't get to guilt me for trying to survive! You rejected me when this started years ago, and we've wasted so much time pretending just because I messed up a spell."

I laughed, but there was no humor in it. "That's rich coming from a woman who kissed me like she meant it, slept in my bed, screamed my name when she came, and let me take care of her. And now all of a sudden it's pretending?"

Her eyes narrowed, and she bared her teeth in anger. "What was I supposed to do? You made it clear that you wanted to keep things simple. Easy."

My stomach twisted. "I want you, Nayeli. I want you so bad it fucking hurts, and I have for years."

She looked like she'd been slapped. "That's a lie, and you know it! I was scared of...of.."

"Of what?"

"Of you!" she yelled, fists clenched. "Of how badly I wanted you and the entire time you never even said—" She cut herself off, closing her eyes and exhaling slowly. "You know what? It doesn't matter. I fixed our problem, and now I'm leaving."

I wasn't sure if she expected me to leave the room, but I didn't. If she was going to do this, then I was going to bear witness to it. She packed her things while a hollow sort of fury boiled in my gut, every Alpha instinct I had screaming at me to grab her and force her to stay.

Instead, when she left the room with her sloppily packed bag, I snapped. "Don't bother coming back."

The second the words left my mouth, I wanted to take them back, but it was done. Nayeli froze for a beat, but she didn't turn, and a moment later, I heard the front door open and click shut. I let myself slide to the floor and just lay there, miserable, in the remnants of the spell Nayeli had cast.

My wolf was howling in my head, and I felt like I was dying. It hurt so much, and I didn't understand it. The hole left by the bond ached more than any physical wound I'd ever had. I'd been bonded to her for less than two months, and already my life felt empty.

But she'd made her choice. I was numb.

Eventually, I called Samson, because where the hell else would she go? He picked up on the first ring like he'd been expecting my call.

"Did she make it there?" I asked hoarsely.

"Yeah." For once, I was glad for Samson's gruffness. He didn't ask any questions. "She's safe."

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