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I spin on my heel. This wasn’t exactly the first meeting that I wanted. Sean is more stubborn than I imagined.
I need to get out of here before I say or do something that will ruin any chance of a future. If I could make Sean stay in his wolf form, we might actually get somewhere, but there’s no chance of that right now.
“Mia!” he calls out again as I walk away.
I lift my middle finger in the air as I leave the house. There. Since he didn’t like my potty mouth, maybe he’ll like hand signals better.
Dick.
12
The door to the cabin slams shut behind me, and the black Jeep that followed me all the way here reverses out of the long drive, its tires kicking up mud and adding more ruts into the bumpy road.
I didn’t stop for him—not that he asked me to. Confusion coats my skin in a sickening feeling that makes my head reel.
Reject me, hide yourself away, then follow me back to the cabin?
Alice is sitting at the bar when I come marching in. She picks up her head as I blow right by, taking the stairs two at a time. I hook a left and run right into Nathan. He grabs my arms when I try to pull away, his harsh hold making me stop. He runs his gaze all over, inspecting me. “Did he hurt you?”
He continues to scrutinize every inch of my skin, but the way Sean hurt me can’t be seen on the outside. Instead, it’s a nail slowly driving through my heart.
Torture in its purest form.
My lip starts to wobble, and I bite it to get it to stop. Without asking, Nathan drags me into my room and closes the door behind us. I finally wrangle myself out of his grip and start to pace around the room.
He’s been fighting his wolf this whole time. Which is probably why he stopped coming to visit me. But fucking why?
“Talk to me,” Nathan orders.
The hair on my arms stands straight up. The way his voice works over me stops me from wearing a path in the floorboards.
He raises his brows when I look at him. He’s dressed in a t-shirt and jeans, his chest outline on full display through the thin, off-gray material. He’s wider than Sean. Wolf DNA keeps us all well-appointed, but there are some guys who just have more. Nathan has it.
I lift my stare past his dark stubble to his face. A swollen lip greets me, and I immediately home in on the plush, plump spot.
“Mia....”
I swallow. If anyone will know what I’m feeling, it’s Nathan. “He’s been holding his wolf inside,” I blurt. “He’s been fucking handcuffing it because his wolf still feels the bond. Stubborn motherfucking—”
“What?” Nathan snaps.
“His wolf!” I cry. “He forced a shift. His wolf came up to me, put his head under my hand, nuzzled me. I was about to shift to see if we could talk, but Sean shifted back. He wouldn’t talk to me. He wouldn’t tell me why. Then he fucking followed me back here like a damn possessive stalker.”
“What?” Nathan growls. I turn toward him, and he locks gazes with me. His large shoulders hunch forward as he attempts to control his breathing. Marching forward, he wraps his hand around my neck and pulls me close. “Mine.”
My heart beats double-time, thumping so hard I can feel it throughout my body. I wish it were true. With Nathan, everything is so easy. So...real.
“Why is your lip swollen?” I ask, stare dropping to the curve of his mouth, made even more embellished by the plump spot. This close, I even spy a blemish of blood.
“Gayle kissed me.”
I step back, and he drops his territorial hold. Jealousy pumps through me, riding high on a wave of sorrow. “Did you like it?”
“She bit me,” he almost growls.
“I don’t need to know about your kinks,” I deadpan, forcing my eyes away from him. Two guys: One who’s supposed to be mine, the other who I’m not supposed to have these thoughts for, and I can’t have either one.
Nathan grabs my forearms, moving me until my calves hit the bed. I sit, and he towers over me. “You want to know what my kink is? You, Mia. I don’t care that you’re not mine by a technicality, you are in here.” He places his hand over his heart. “For the record, the best thing about kissing her was when it ended.”