Chapter 36
Chapter
Thirty-Six
Max sprinted down the hallway after Laney. “Laney! Wait!” he called.
His bear roared inside him, demanding he protect his mate. Max burst through the double doors just in time to see Laney heading down the concrete steps. He caught her by the arm, turning her around to face him.
“Let go of me,” Laney said, yanking her arm away. Her face was flushed, tears streaming down her cheeks. “I can't do this anymore.”
“Laney, please. Just listen?—”
“No!” she cried, her voice breaking. “You saw what happened in there. Flint humiliated me in front of everyone. Just like at my last job. Just like my whole life.”
Max reached for her again, but she stepped back, creating distance between them. The streetlamp cast harsh shadows across her face, highlighting the pain and shame in her eyes.
“They'll never believe me,” she said, wiping angrily at her tears. “No matter how much evidence I have, no matter how right I am. I'll always be the half-shifter who doesn't belong anywhere.”
“That's not true,” Max insisted. “I believe you. Your research is solid. We'll find another way to prove it.”
Laney shook her head, a bitter laugh escaping her lips. “Don't you get it? There is no other way. Flint won. The council believed him over me without a second thought.” She gestured back toward the town hall. “They didn't even look at my data. They just saw my inadequacies.”
“You're not inadequate,” Max said, his bear growling with frustration inside him. “You're brilliant and brave, and I need you.”
“No, you don't,” Laney said, her voice suddenly quiet. “You need someone strong, someone whole. A real shifter who can stand beside you. Not a failure who can't even convince a town council to save their own water.”
“Laney—”
“I'm done,” she interrupted, backing away. “I'm done trying to prove myself. I'm done fighting battles I can't win.”
Max felt panic rising in his chest. His mate was slipping away, and he couldn't find the words to stop her. “Where are you going?”
“Away from here. Away from this town. Away from...” she hesitated, fresh tears welling in her eyes, “away from us.”
“You don't mean that,” Max said, desperation edging his voice. “You're upset. Let's go somewhere quiet, talk this through.”
“There's nothing to talk about,” Laney said, turning away. “I was fooling myself thinking I could ever belong here, with you. I should have known better.”
The distance between them grew as she walked toward her car, her shoulders hunched against the weight of her perceived failure. Max followed, but slower now, sensing that pushing too hard would only drive her further away.
“What about our mate bond?” he called after her. “What about everything we've shared?”
Laney paused, her hand on her car door. For a moment, Max thought she might turn back, might reconsider. But when she spoke, her voice was hollow.
“Some bonds aren't meant to be,” she said, not meeting his eyes. “Goodbye, Max.”
She got into her car and drove away, leaving Max standing alone in the glow of the streetlamp, his bear howling in anguish inside him as he watched his mate disappear into the night.