Page 36 of Shattered Soulmates

I stop dead on the trail and face Miles. I glare at him for a full minute before I take a deep breath and turn to walk on.

He starts to follow. “Paisley–”

Not hesitating, I continue to stomp away from him, raising my hand to indicate I don’t want to hear any more out of his mouth. I’m proud I haven’t caved to my wolf’s urging to flip him the finger. I guess my inner wolf is a little sassier lately.

“I didn’t mean to call you by her name,” he pleads. “I just want to say that I’m sorry and make things up to you.”

I stop again and turn to him; a look of irritation crosses my face as I shake my head. "What do you imagine will happen after you apologize and make it up to me?" I raise my hands making air quotes. “Let alone how are you going to even make things up to me? You can't unsleep with her?”

“Well, I hope that we can–that you will–I hope for a chance to prove my feelings for you.” He steps closer, his breath shaky, and then he gasps, “I—I love you.”

I lower my head, a deep sadness settling over me at his raw confession. “You love me—until Marissa comes back. That’s your track record.” I pull up my top, exposing the scars on my stomach to illustrate my point, and look at him with steady eyes. “I can’t survive your brand of love.”

He stands there staring at my torso with a pained look as he raises his shirt to expose lacerations and bruises on himself. “I’m so sorry for what I put you through and for what I threw away.”

I drop my shirt back down and turn away swiftly. Miles realizing the consequences of his mistakes doesn’t evoke sympathy or satisfaction; it simply makes me nauseous. I speedwalk down the trail, trying to get away from Miles and to the clinic as quickly as possible. Miles grabs my arm and spins me around, wrapping his arms around me to keep me from falling.

“Please, Paisley,” he begs.“Hear me out.”

I don’t want to come across as heartless; I genuinely feel sorry for him, but I can’t risk my heart again. I jerk away, wrapping my arms around myself, and I glower. “Say what you have to say, and let me get on with my life, Miles!”

“Just give me a chance–just one more chance, Paisley, to prove to you that I can be faithful to you–that I love you.”

I throw my arms up in surrender--I give up. I don’t know what delusions Miles has, but something is wrong. “Miles,” I say softly. “I think you really need to seek counseling. Marissa has played with your emotions for so long that you no longer know which way is up.”

“For the first time in a long time, Paisley, I feel like I’m actually thinking clearly,” he says. “This CMS,” he gestures toward his stomach, “has really been a wake-up call.”

“Then answer me this,” I reply, my voice steady. “After we’d been together for a year as fated mates, why was it so easy for you to turn your back on our relationship and without hesitation bond with Marissa?”

“I don’t know,” he blurts out immediately, his voice almost desperate.

“Why give Marissa what you promised to me?” I continue, my voice rising, “She’s treated you like a toy—a plaything? She drops you when tired of you and picks you up again if someone else shows interest.”

“I don’t know,” he says frantically.

“What assurances do I have that you won’t do the very same thing again should Marissa return for you?” I ask, my words sharp.

“I…” he falters, the truth sinking in. I watch himfinally realize he can’t promise me any future because of Marissa, even if he refuses to accept it.

I spin around and resume walking toward the medical clinic. “Miles, your hesitationisthe answer,” I say, not bothering to look back. “And that’s exactly why Icould never even consider letting you back into my heart.”

I walk into the pack house and head downstairs to the medical clinic. The medical assistant, Dr. Rach, greets me warmly. “Hi, Paisley. Just head on into Exam Room 1. I’ll be right behind you.”

I get settled on the end of the examination table and look around the small room. It’s nearly pristine, as shifters aren’t susceptible to many illnesses; therefore, the charts on the wall are about Cheating Mate Syndrome or immediate first aid for silver or wolfsbane poisoning. There’s even one that describes and illustrates the shifting process down to a genetic level, published by the Stone Mountain Genetic Research Institute.

Dr. Rach opens the door and pushes her holographic device cart into the room. “So, Paisley, how have you been?”

I sigh deeply. “Physically, I feel tired and run down. All I want to do is sleep.”

“What about emotionally?” she pries.

“I’m a wreck emotionally.” I confide. “Between everything that happened with the CMS, Marissa and her cronies harassing me, and now Miles will not leave me alone.”

“What is Miles doing?”

“He sneaks around the cabin often when off-duty and not otherwise occupied. And he has gotten braver, to the point that he’s now trying to talk to me. Just as I was about to leave for my appointment here today, he knocked on my door. He followed me when I snuck out the back way through the woods.”

“Really?”

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