Page 7 of Banished Mates
My eyes tracked a bead of sweat making its way down his defined chest. It twisted with each hollow and dip of his muscles.
Licking my lips, I mentally shook myself and ripped my attention from his abs to find him frowning at me.
“Why are your eyes puffy and red?” he asked, although it sounded more like an order. Most of his phrases sounded aggressive like that recently. Camden walked over to me in a few long strides. He clasped my chin and tilted my face up. The ease in which he handled me made my blood boil. He touched me with such calmness—as if his heart didn’t skip out of rhythm when our skin met.
So unaffected. Unlike me.
I clenched my hands into fists, squeezing until my nails dug into my palms. I needed to get a handle on my heart, or it’d pound out of my body. It wasn’t like it wasn’t my fault, I pushed him away. Exhaling slowly, I lifted my hands to sign.
“Are you interested in her?”I’d had time to think about the question and still asked it—the undeniable ache of the query making it difficult to complete the gestures. “Do you feel guilty? Because I took the hit instead of you?”Camden’s brows furrowed.
“What kind of questions are those, Willow?” His jaw tight, nose flaring.
I narrowed my eyes and sucked in a harsh breath. The insecurities rushed forward. This was unfair of me, but the desperate jealousy wanted out. I licked my lips and swiped my face with my hands.
Though we couldn’t be together, I never thought we wouldn’t be number one to each other. We never let anything or anyone get between us. Even as the years passed and he was increasingly sent away for the physical and strategy trainings his father had put him through. That was still up for debate, though, part of me was sure the Alpha sent him away so much so he wouldn’t be near me. But that didn’t cause a rift either, or when I started working during one of the pity fests I threw myself when he was gone for a couple of months. It was the only way I could get myself out of a funk.
That was how it used to be, I would sit around, twiddling my thumbs, waiting weeks on end as he went on business trips with his father. Visiting packs and making connections, but never did it occur to me that he wasn’t happy to see me when returned.
And maybe he was. Maybe it was all just happiness at seeing someone he regarded with fondness. Maybe when I pushed him away, he’d gotten over me... which he had every right to.
I was the only one left pining, but I’d always held onto hope when I never saw him with another woman. Not even a hint of it, and his cell phone? Dry as fuck. No messages—nothing.
Last night, our time together had flashed through my mind. It was me always following him around while he’d become reserved. I was the one always looking for him. Though he never turned away or gave me any indication he was annoyed, he was different. And in the last few months, he’d become more detached than he ever had before.
The curt responses and avoidance... now that he was about to be Alpha, he understood where to draw the line.
This was my fault and my misunderstanding of what was between us. I was foolish. Even ifIstayed away from other men, even though he could never be mine, it didn’t mean he felt or did the same.
“Will,” he snapped. I shook my head and swallowed hard. Yanking my chin out of his grip, I took a staggering step back, yet kept my back straight as an arrow.
“I release you from the guilt, Camden. Stop looking after me. You don’t need to repay me for anything.”
“What?” he snapped, the word rough and violent. I bit my lip. His tone was the same as it’d been with me the last few months—harsh. Frustration boiled in my blood, spilling over the metaphorical pot that simmered inside my body. My teeth clicked together.
I narrowed my eyes at him and pressed my palms into his chest and gave a hefty shove. He didn’t even budge.
My nostrils flared and I lifted my hands to sign.
“You should just get your stupid mating over with.”
Camden’s shoulders tightened as he straightened, towering above me, his lips flattening into a grim line.
I pushed myself to meet his gaze head-on, forcing deep breaths to regulate my heart rate. With each inhalation, my heart chipped away.
Camden’s eyebrow twitched. He got that look on his face. The one he got whenever he was mad at me... which was pretty often.
“Thank you for your input on my mating,” he hissed. His words weighed on my stomach.
I gritted my teeth and dropped my chin as I whirled on my feet and stormed away.
I needed to make a hasty exit because the tears were slipping, and I didn’t want to look more a fool than I already did.
It was enough. This was for the best. I couldn’t be selfish any longer and he didn’t deserve it. These last months, he’d been stretched thin, and I didn’t want to be a negative factor in his life.
I didn’t want to hold him back any longer.
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