Page 74 of Claiming His Rejected Mate

I shake my head, laughing bitterly, holding back my words.

His breath shudders, his fingers twitching like he wants to reach for me. But he doesn’t.

“No, Kieran. You’re reacting. You don’t get to throw me away, then pull me back whenever it suits you.”

“She means nothing to me,” he says, his voice rough, desperate.

I tilt my head, studying him, my pulse hammering against my skin. “And what do I mean to you?”

The question lands between us like a thunderclap. His entire body tenses, his lips parting slightly, but no words come.

The tears flow freely now, saltwater wetting my lips.

I nod, stepping back. “That’s what I thought.”

But then, he moves.

Before I can retreat further, he pulls me in. His arms lock around me, like he’ll never let me go. His warmth is inviting, tempting, seducing. I just want to cuddle and nuzzle into his neck all night.

I expect rage from him for rejecting him. I expect another excuse.

Instead, his voice drops, low and aching. He’s really…hurt. Something about it makes my wolf yelp.

Look how much pain I’m causing him.

I shouldn’t care. But he’s bound to me. What does that say of me, that I am making him feel this way? I can’t believe I let myself turn into this person, uncompromising, unmovable. That I have let my pain dictate who I am.

He searches my eyes, his blue roaming in my grey, our eyes speaking what our lips cannot.

“You mean everything to me,” he says, almost like a moan, a plea, a prayer.

My breath catches.

His grip tightens just slightly. “Do you think I don’t hate what I did to you? That I don’t replay it over and over in my mind, wishing I could change it?” His voice is hoarse, strained with something real. “I was a coward, Hazel. I was blind. I never wanted to be wrong about you. I was ready to do anything to make you my Luna. But I wasn’t man enough to live up to that. Hazel, give me the chance to prove myself to you.”

I swallow hard, my throat tight.

He takes a step closer, his scent wrapping around me—cedar and embers and mouthwatering him. “I was wrong. And I will spend every moment I have proving to you that I will never make that mistake again.”

The bond hums between us, an unrelenting pull, a force greater than either of us. My wolf wants to believe him. She wants to crawl into him, to bury herself in the warmth of his words.

I pull my hand away, my voice barely above a whisper. “Words are easy, Kieran.”

His expression tightens, but he nods. “Then let me show you.”

I don’t answer.

The ache in my chest is unbearable, raw and bleeding, and I don’t know what to do with it.

But before either of us can say another word—

A sharp howl rips through the night.

My entire body stiffens.

Kieran’s head snaps toward the sound, his posture instantly shifting, his aura changing into something lethal, channeling his Alpha wolf.

Another howl follows.