“You would let me mate to the Wilds Pack Alpha?” I asked my dad, but the question was equally intended for Asher.
Would Asher stand by as I mated with his alpha, all the while knowing we shared a fated mate bond?
Did he despise the idea of being with me so much that he would subject us both to that torment?
“Doing so will give you protection I cannot provide,” was my father’s response.
My heart ached.
The pain only intensified when I met Asher’s stare, and he remained silent.
A tear rolled down my cheek. “Please,” I whispered. “Don’t do this…”
Asher didn’t want to be with me, and that was fine, but the bond wouldn’t disappear unless we put distance between us. In fact, it would only grow stronger.
I already felt like I couldn’t control my emotions when it came to the Wilds shifter. How would I handle living in the same pack as him, but mated to another? What kind of hell was my life going to become?
A flash of remorse crossed Asher’s blue eyes, but the emotion faded quickly. Coolly, he replied, “It is already done.”
“But you promised,” I reminded him, hoping, beyond reason, that honor would make Asher reconsider what he was saying.
It didn’t.
His nostrils flared, and he ground out. “I know.”
Another tear fell. I wiped it away angrily. He didn’t deserve my tears. No one did.
“You’re a liar.”
“I never intended to lie.”
Yet, his intentions didn’t change the facts. He was a liar, and I was an idiot who’d believed him.
Knowing there was nothing else to say—nothing would wake me from this nightmare—I did the only thing I could think of and walked away.
I’d taken a total of three steps when my father called out, “Where are you going, Blair?”
“Away.”
Away from my shattered dreams, and away from my disappointing future.
My life was no longer under my control, but the night was.
I’d be damned if I didn’t spend my last moments of freedom with my best friend and Hunter—the only two shifters in the world I could even trust.
Twenty-Nine
I saton the guest bed, staring at the cream-colored wall. The morning sun had just crossed the horizon, casting gentle beams of light across its surface.
Oh, how I wanted the beams to duck away for another few moments. Their appearance was a death sentence for my future—one I would never be ready to face.
Last night had ended in a blur. I’d shot back one drink after another, determined to drown out every emotion and ignore my fate for a few more desperate hours, but I couldn’t stop remembering the sound of Tyler’s neck snapping.
I’d foolishly worried what his death would mean for Asher’s fate—not immediately realizing how the fight’s outcome had sealed my own.
Stephanie had watched on while I soaked myself in alcohol. She’d wanted to console me, but how do you console someone in my situation?
That was a trick question.