Chapter 17
Liam
I stared incredulously at the tall beta as he held Celeste, who now looked at him with stars in her eyes. How could this be? She already had us as scent matches! I wanted to tear him apart, just at the very sight of him touching her.
“Celeste! We’re your mates, not him!” I said desperately. Her head snapped over at me, her eyes now sharp with anger.
“Don’t try to tell me to deny what I already know in my heart is true.
He’s my scent match too, and he’s the only one I trust right now.
” Her words were finite. Vigo looked like he was drowning, watching as Sterling pulled her in protectively.
I reared up, my alpha side wanting desperately to challenge him and show him exactly who Celeste really belonged with.
But I could tell he cared for her by the way he subtly held her, stepping in front of her protectively with the slightest of movements, and the look in his eye that he would fight me to the death to protect her.
“Stop trying to control her.” Sterling said, his voice clear and simple.
I stepped forward, warning to argue more.
But then I saw her relax into him. She’d looked that way once - back when she was with my pack, on our first real date.
Back when she trusted us. She’d been happy then.
We were the ones who held back from her, who caused all of this because we still couldn’t believe that she wasn’t a monster.
Then I felt the shame rushing back. Sterling was right.
All the men in Celeste’s life were trying to control her, and now we were no different.
We should have listened, tried to understand her once we knew she was our mate.
And this man, who worked for the very person trying to dethrone her and take what was hers, was more help to her than we were.
I looked at Sterling differently now - he was better than us.
He’d always been on her side. Even when he was supposed to work against her, he’d been helping her. Vigo let out a growl of pain, but he felt it too. Sterling was protecting her, even from us. And for that, he deserved her more than we did. I felt something break in me then.
I stepped back, taming down my possessive alpha desires as I accepted that the better man was with her.
“If that’s true - if he is your scent match, then I’m glad you have someone on your side.” I said, with acceptance. It was rare to have a scent match outside of an established pack, but it could happen. Celeste looked surprised, but satisfied with my statement.
Vigo looked helpless, his head whipping back and forth between me and Celeste, and he opened his mouth as if he wanted to argue.
But I could feel through our bond that he was also accepting the truth.
We fucked up royally. And now, Celeste was with a new pack, and a new scent match.
And there was nothing we could do about it.