Page 2 of Her Arranged Alpha
"This isn't up for debate," she said softly. "What's done is done."
"She tried to kill Frank!" I snapped, turning to her. "And she tried to kill your friend, or have you forgotten that?"
Katie made a face, and I could see several emotions flicker in her eyes. But she pulled her lips into a line and straightened her shoulders. "She didn't do that. She was possessed. You can't keep holding that over her."
"I can and I will." I looked outside the window, knowing I was going to reject her. There was no way I was getting with her.
"This isn't up for debate, Maddox."
"I refuse," I said, turning to her. I shook my head. "I won't marry her. I won't love her. I will not mate with her, so you might as well toss that paper away."
She made a face and gave me a sympathetic look. "The results are sent to the Council. Otherwise, trust me, I tried. There is no way to stop it."
I inhaled slowly. The Council would be on my side about this, wouldn't they? They were furious about what happened and didn't even want to let her go. The fact that the machine paired me with her had to be a mistake.
I straightened my back. "Well, either way, this isn't happening."
Katie frowned. "Just a minute ago, you were fine with whoever came out with your name."
"If it had spat out any other name, I would have hopped right on board! But it didn't. It spat her out.Her! Of all people, Katie."
"Maddox, you are getting all worked up over this. She is innocent. She's done nothing wrong."
"No, she isn't, and the fact you can't see that concerns me."
Katie walked closer to me, her aura shifting as she moved. "You listen here. My machine doesn't make mistakes. It's paired up three couples, which, need I remind you, are all happily married and have children. You are going to need to get over the past and figure this out." She shoved the paper against my chest. "Now, go talk with your future wife."
I grabbed the paper, curling my fingers around it. "Your machine may have paired up three couples, but it didn't pair me up correctly."
She sighed, looking tired. "What do you want me to do about it?"
"Fix it."
She glared. "It's not broken. Maddox, it hasn't made a mistake."
"Well, it did."
She sighed. "Maddox, I have other things that need my attention. Such as figuring out what to do about the darkness. I don't have time for this." She waved her hand at the paper in my hand. "Because frankly, it's not a problem. If you have an issue with this, take it up with the Council."
"Fine, I will."
I turned for the door and yanked it open.
"Maddox."
I paused, looking back at Katie. She had some papers in her hands now, but her eyes looked at me with hardness. "If you hurt her, you will regret it. You guys were made for each other, whether you believe it or not."
"You're saying that because she's your friend and you don't want your friends to be hurt."
Her face remained the same. "Yeah, but also because she's your mate and if you reject her, you're only hurting yourself."
I turned, storming out, and I heard the door slam shut behind me. I felt pure rage as I walked down the halls, questioning why in the world it would put me with her. Why Jillian? What did we even have in common? I knew there were tons of other women out there that I could have been paired with. So, why her?
Once outside, I headed to my car. I ripped the door open and got inside. I grabbed the steering wheel and froze, wondering what my next steps were going to be. Would I head to the Council and ask them what they wanted me to do? Surely,they would side with me. Or should I go and tell her that there was no chance I was going to be with her?
I ran a hand over my face and clenched my jaw. I took a few deep breaths, knowing that there wasn't much I could do about the situation.
But I still had some power, and I could reject her. I could draw a line in the sand. We may be forced to marry, but that didn't mean I had to love her.
