Chapter 6 #2
There’s an edge to his voice that gives me pause. I take a step toward the door. “We should probably get back to the party—”
“We have time,” he says, and suddenly he’s much closer. His hand reaches out to touch my arm. “I’ve been wanting to talk to you alone since you arrived.”
Warning bells go off in my head. “Wait, what are you—”
He leans in, clearly intending to kiss me.
I freeze, too startled to react immediately. Before he reaches my lips, though, the door to the library slams open.
We both turn our heads to find Lucas standing in the doorway. His expression is murderous. My heart starts pounding despite myself.
“Get out,” he says to Colin, his voice deadly quiet.
Colin steps back from me, his face red with embarrassment, like a little boy caught with his hand in the cookie jar. “Alpha, I’m sorry, I was just—”
“OUT!”
With alpha power behind it, the command echoes through the library. Colin practically runs from the room, closing the door softly behind him.
I press my lips together, also feeling embarrassed. Heat is beginning to creep up my neck. I make a move to walk toward the door, as well, but Lucas turns his furious gaze on me now.
“Not you,” he says, his voice still hard and angry. “Stay.”
I stop midway and face him, lifting my chin. I am not about to be intimidated.
“I didn’t bring you here to make out with my pack members,” he says, each word clipped.
Anger flares hotly in my chest at the implication in his tone—as if I were the one who initiated that almost-kiss. But I’m not going to give him the satisfaction of seeing me defensive. I’m not going to explain or justify or beg for his understanding.
Instead, I let ice creep into my voice, deliberately provoking him. “Well, if my own fated mate can’t get it up when he sees me, you can’t blame me for having to look for better options.”
I regret the words the instant they’re out of my mouth. Lucas goes very, very still.
The next few seconds are a blur. He’s in front of me in three strides, one hand sliding into my hair, the other gripping my waist as he pulls me flush against him and kisses me.
It’s not gentle. It’s fierce, possessive, almost punishing. His mouth claims mine with an intensity that steals my breath.
At first, I’m too shocked to react, but then, I kiss him back just as fiercely, pouring all the frustration and want and anger of the past week into it.
The mate bond surges between us, electric and overwhelming. His hands tighten on me, and I grab his shirt, pulling him closer—
The door opens.
“Lucas, I saw you come in here. What are you doing? The welcome party is well underway. Don’t you think you should—”
We break apart.
Lydia stands frozen in the doorway, her hand still on the knob. The words die on her lips as she takes in the scene—Lucas and me, flushed and breathing hard, my lipstick smeared and his shirt wrinkled from my grip.
The look on her face shatters me. It’s pain. Raw and unmistakable.
And Lucas’s reaction validates the gnawing feeling I’ve had since the first time I heard his name from her lips. Guilt flashes across his features, and he immediately puts distance between us.
Something exists between them. Something significant enough that her seeing us together hurts her and makes him feel guilty.
“I–I’ll just…” Lydia stammers, already backing out the door.
“Stop.” Lucas’s voice cuts through the air. “Stay.”
She freezes, shoulders tensing at the order.
Lucas steps away from me completely, putting half the room between us. When he looks at me, his expression is cold.
“You should leave,” he says.
The dismissal stings more than I want to admit. I swallow hard as shame starts to make my entire head feel hot. “You want me to—”
“Now.” He doesn’t give me any chance to speak.
I look between him and Lydia. Every instinct I have is screaming at me to fight, to demand answers, to claim my place as his mate.
But I also have pride. And I’m not going to beg in front of an audience.
I walk to the door with my head held high. As I pass Lydia, I catch her eye for just a second and see the conflict there—pain battling anger.
I step into the corridor and shut the door behind me. For a moment, I just stand there, frozen. My throat tightens.
He threw me out. In front of her.
The humiliation I feel is sharp with pain. My wolf is snarling, the insult too much to bear.
He kissed me! I’m his fated mate! He humiliated his fated mate for another woman?
I’m not going to stand here in this hallway feeling sorry for myself while they have their private conversation. I start walking back toward my room.
Is it her? Is she the reason why he keeps rejecting me?
The thought twists like a knife. Maybe the mate bond doesn’t matter to him because he has already chosen someone else. Someone who isn’t me.
I reach my room, let myself in, close the door, and lean back against it. My hands are shaking. I press them flat against the wood, forcing myself to breathe.
I knew this wouldn’t be easy. I knew he was running from something. But I didn’t expect it to hurt this much. I didn’t expect to feel this small.
I bite my tongue when my eyes burn with tears.
Like hell I’ll cry for that jerk. Screw him!