Page 64 of Challenged Mate
“A little?”
He chuckled. “All right. We were a lot. But can you blame us? We were trying to figure out how to raise you after mom and dad…” He trailed off. A shadow crossed his face.
The same shadow traveled over his siblings’ faces.
I was surprised when Asher was the one to lift the sadness. “If I could go back in time, I wouldn’t change a thing about how we handled your date. Greg’s a sniveling, power-hungry pup. My only regret is we didn’t ask him why he didn’t take you on a second date—make him piss himself, fearing he insulted the alpha’s sister.”
Axel chuckled.
Kayla rolled her eyes, but a smile tugged her lips.
I found myself smiling too, and my eyes were drawn to Asher. He was looking at me, smiling too. My power warmed me. I wanted to reach over and take his hand in mine.
Then, without warning, a cloud of darkness fell over Asher’s eyes. His smile fell, and he stood abruptly.
I jerked as his chair screeched against the fine wood floors.
“Ash?” Axel asked. The amusement fell from his face. Kayla’s, too.
“I just realized I need to speak with the leader of the caravan regarding their defensive strategies,” he said smoothly.
“Let me go with you!” Kayla leapt from her seat.
Before Asher could turn her down, she said, “If I can’t actually go with the caravan, at least let me help by suggesting different protective spells they should enlist as they travel to the mountain.”
Asher took in his sister’s determined expression, then gave a short nod. “All right.”
Kayla bounced on her feet. She quickly said goodbye to me and Axel, then hurried to follow Asher. He was already at the door, not bothering to say goodbye. His avoidance stung.
Through the wall of windows facing the street, I watched Asher leave. He walked with his chin held high, ignoring the admiring stares and whispers from the females waiting in line to enter the restaurant. I continued staring at the glass long after he was out of sight, wondering what he and I would need to do to survive living in the pack together.
Wisdom said we needed to officially break our bond, but how would that be possible? I couldn’t ask him to leave his pack. I knew the pain of doing so all too well.
Maybe I could leave.
There were other communities in the Wilds Pack. After our mating, maybe Axel would let me live in one of them.
Unless he wants an heir soon…
I’d avoided acknowledgingthataspect of my fate until that moment, and the thought of being intimate with Axel, despite his charm and good looks, made my stomach turn.
Damn fated mate bond.
“My brother is often abrupt.” Hearing Axel’s words, I finally drew my attention away from the window.
His face was carefully blank as he said, “I hope he didn’t offend you.”
“I…” Offend wasn’t the word I’d use. “No. He didn’t.”
He just squeezed my heart in his hands, leaving it bruised and battered as he walked away for what felt like the thousandth time since the day he won the Alpha Games.
Axel nodded, but he continued to watch me, as if expecting me to continue.
For some reason, I suddenly felt an undeniable urge to tell Axel the truth—to admit the feelings and thoughts that threatened to tear me apart every day and every night.
The Mother only knew what his reaction would be, but I couldn’t live like this.
I couldn’t spend the rest of my nights like this one—pretending I didn’t have a bond with a male when I was going to mate his brother. It wasn’t possible. It would only end poorly for all of us.
