Page 66 of Purrfectly Trapped

“What are you talking about, Gretch?”

“I don’t think we should see each other tonight, or maybe ever.” she began.

“What? Why not?”

“I just need some space. You do too. We should think about things, you know?”

“No. I don’t need to think anything over.”

“Well, maybe I do. I mean, where is this going, anyway? I don’t know anything about your lifestyle and I just, well, I just couldn’t take it if you were just playing around with me, Reg. I think maybe it’s better to end things now,” she returned, her voice thick and shaky.

“I’m coming over,” he replied and clicked the phone off before she could refuse him.

Reg was vibrating with fury. He looked down at the offensive, and broken, phone he’d crushed in his hand and chucked it across the room.

“Fuck!” he roared.

She doesn’t want to see me. Needs time to think. What did I do wrong?

A million scenarios played through his mind. What could have happened?

He thought of the last time he’d seen her earlier that afternoon, and for the life of him, Reg couldn’t recall a single thing he’d said or done to make his mate not want to see him.

“Reg?” Elissa padded into the room a look of concern on her face.

“Nari.” Reg nodded out of respect for the Alpha female of the Pride. Her eyes were wide as she took in his angry stance and the broken cell phone.

“What did that phone ever do to you?” she asked and pointedly looked at the mess of broken glass and plastic marring the kitchen tile, then flicked her gaze back at him.

“Shit. Uh, I’m sorry,” he grunted, and grabbed the broom and dustpan from the cabinet then proceeded to sweep up his mess. He knew Elissa would not go away without knowing what was going on.

He had to tell her what just happened, he thought and exhaled.

“That was Gretchen on the phone. She says she doesn’t want to see me.”

“Oh no! What happened?”

“I don’t know, Nari. I saw her this afternoon and things were fine-”

“Something must have happened.” Elissa pulled out a stool and sat down at the kitchen island and gestured for him to join her.

“Nothing, I swear. We ate, we kissed, we talked, we hugged. She had an appointment with a client at two, and I had to go back to the road crew,” he replied and clenched his fists. He tried his best to swallow the growl building up inside of him.

His Tiger was losing his shit, and this was no time to shift into his fur. The beast roared in his mind’s eye, demanding he leave now and go hunt his mate.

Find her, claim her again, make sure she knows who she belongs to.

“Who was her two o’clock appointment with?”

“I don’t know,” he mumbled and ran his hands through his hair. Reg stopped. Fuck. He did know.

“Shit,er, I mean,wait. She had an appointment with Pamela at two.”

“Pamela Brown? Yikes. Well, there’s your problem,” Elissa said.

She rolled her eyes at him, like it was fucking obvious, but Reg had no idea what she was talking about. As usual.

“With all due respect, Nari, what do you mean?”

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