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“Not really. I haven’t thought about another guy since I found out about our mate. I don’t even understand how he doesn’t hurl every time he thinks about someone other than me. Even the mere thought of someone getting that close to me makes my stomach turn. I blame the hopeless romantic inside of me.”

“Just means that we have to find someone that gives you the attention and love that you deserve without crossing the boundary that makes your stomach turn.”

Why does he have to get drunk and sleep with other women? What I’m really asking is why does he push me away?

Aisling starts to run towards the woods as the cold wind flows through our fur.“I don’t know Aspen. If I could ease your mind and soul at all, I would. He doesn’t deserve a beautiful soul like you.”

She picks up the pace as I push myself further into the recesses of our shared mind. I just want to disappear for a little while. Allow her to take over and just run or whatever she wants to do.

“Hey Aisling?”

“Yeah?”

“Don’t shift back until I tell you to. For now, I would rather be in the woods where it’s quiet and nobody is going to ask me why my mate doesn’t choose me. Or give me those pitying looks when they see him with someone else.”

“I’ll give you the night, but at dawn, you have to take back over. We can’t stay out here forever or stay shifted for that long.”

“Fair enough. Thank you.”

I pull back as she weaves between the trees. I watch for a while until I decide to close my eyes and rest.

Chapter 16

Warrick

Fuck, fuck, fuck. I don’t think she is going to hear me out, but I really need to tell her that it isn’t what she thinks it is. Pushing open the door to the bookstore, my way is blocked by none other than Chase.

“She doesn’t want to see you, Warrick.” His arms are crossed over his chest as he glares at me.

“Get out of my way, Chase. This has nothing to do with you.” A growl rumbles out of me as I attempt to step around him, but he shifts to stand in front of me again.

“I know she is your mate, but this has to stop.”

A growl comes out of me. “Sheismy mate and not your concern.” I shove past him, making sure to knock my shoulder into his.

“Doesn’t it bother you? Hurting your mate all the time? Have you ever considered that with everything you have done to her?”

My head whips around to him as I turn to face him. “You don’t know what you are talking about.”

“Rose,” I yell out, hoping wherever she is in the store, she will hear the desperation in my voice.

He shrugs his shoulders. “Maybe. Maybe not. But I do know that, of the two of us, I’m the one that she has been confiding in. I’m the shoulder she cries on when you fuck up, yet again. At this point, I think it would be best if you just left. You are doing far more damage than good at this rate.” I take a step toward him, ready to give him a piece of my mind, when he delivers the final punch to my gut. “If she was my mate, and goddess knows I wish she was, I would worship at her feet, because she is an amazing woman who deserves it. I would never dream of doing the painful, heartbreaking things you’ve done to her, like fucking any woman other than the one fated for me. But alas, I haven’t found my mates. Instead, I found someone who I can love, cherish, and respect.”

My shoulders drop and all the anger rushes out of me. He’s right, and I hate him for it. Turning, I set the coffee for her down on the table and head to the door. Before I leave, I look over my shoulder and say, “You’re right,” before walking out and letting the door shut behind me.

The coffee in my hand doesn’t even sound tempting, and the book that has been my escape for weeks holds no appeal today. Discarding the coffee, I briskly walk down the sidewalk toward the pack house.

I don’t know how I will win Aspen over now. Even though what she saw isn’t what she thinks, I’ve burned that bridge already. If I hadn’t fucked around so much in our life, then she wouldn’t have assumed anything when she saw Selene talking to me. She didn’t even see who it was, just that another girl was sitting with me.

It’s going to take one hell of a gesture to win Aspen over this time. Nothing short of something from a romance book or Hallmark movie. I just don’t know what it would be.

My office is exactly as I left it: a total mess. There are papers everywhere and at least an inch of dust on top of the furniture. Honestly, I rarely come in here. What does a Beta need an office for? Most of the time, I’m moving around the pack land and mingling with other wolves. But Silas insisted and, today, I’m grateful for a place to hide that nobody would think to look for me.

Deciding that a messy office isn’t a great place to think, I begin clearing the desk of all the papers strewn about. I shuffle the papers into piles, clearing all the trash off the desk, and neatly putting the pens into the cup that Nova got me that says “#1 Pain in the Ass.”

It doesn’t take long for the office to be cleaned and look like I’ve never seen it before. I’ve just sat down at my desk with a notebook when there is a knock at the door. Inhaling, I know immediately that it’s Gail. Shaking my head, I say, “Come in.”

Gail’s weathered face with her gray curls framing it peeks around my door. “Do you have a moment, dear?”