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Nooooo!The second our eyes meet, I know I will forever be heartbroken. The man that broke my heart is my mate.

“Aspen?” he asks as he shoves at Scarlett to stand up.

I don’t give him a chance to say anything more before I am rushing back through the crowd. Bumping into people in my attempt to get away, I knock someone’s drink out of their hand but I don’t even stop when they yell, “Hey!”

Running down the hallway at the back of the room, I find the bathroom and rush inside. Slamming the door behind me, I fall to the floor in a heap of limbs and fabric. How could the goddess do this to me? Of all the men in the pack, she had to pick the one who has already broken my heart, the one who showed up at my birthday party with another girl in his lap.

I pull my knees to my chest and bury my face in my hands. My body racks with the sobs pouring out of me. What did I do to deserve this? My wolf, Aisling, stirs with the spike of emotion, lumbering her way out of the depths of our shared mind space. Her comforting presence is always welcomed because nobody will ever know me as well as she does. We don’t always agree with each other, but we are pretty close to the same page usually.

“The goddess didn’t get it wrong, Aspen, you will see that one day. I know it hurts, but she is never wrong,” Aisling gently says to me.

“She had to have gotten it wrong. Warrick only cares about himself and what he wants. He shows me that every time he brings a girl around.”

“I know it doesn’t feel like it right now, but I know you will see it one day.”

“How could you possibly know that?”

“I just do.”

I can’t help but cry harder. Aisling might have some weird confidence that this will all work out, but I can’t see that happening.

There is a knock at the door. Sniffing the air, I know it’s just the girls.

“Come in.”

They both push their way into the bathroom to find me sitting on the floor.

Hazel rushes over and drops down beside me. “What happened?”

“I found my mate.”

They both gasp in shock. Lifting my head I look at both of them. Hazel’s face is marred with worry.

“Who is it Aspen?” she asks.

A sob wracks my body. “It's..” The tears are pouring out of me. I suck in a breath. “It’s Warrick.”

Hazel and Willow look between each other. A silent conversation is happening between them as I put my head back in my hands.

“Thereisan option,” Willow says gently.

Lifting my head, I find her looking at me with love.

“You can ask the goddess to break the mate bond between you. You will never have a mate, but at least you won’t have to live with knowing that he is out there choosing someone over you.”

“I didn’t know that we could break our bond.” I look between the two of them with confusion.

Hazel is glaring at Willow when she says, “It’s not talked about because it’s permanent and ensures that you will never be able to bond with another wolf or mate. Something that shouldn’t be taken lightly. The elders keep it from us because they don’t want us to make rash decisions when we are emotional.”

Willow shrugs her shoulders, but I ask anyway, “How do you know?”

“I overheard the elders discussing it one time when I was somewhere I wasn’t supposed to be. Apparently, it’s only happened once in our pack history and Orion is wanting to finally sever his bond with the poor girl who is supposed to be his mate.”

Hazel shakes her head. “I don’t even want to know where you were or why you were there if you heard all of that.”

“Best you don’t ask questions.” Willow looks at her with mischief dancing in her eyes.

“I want to do that. How do I do it?” I look between them.