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chapter Twenty-four

Michaela

D isgust and remorse. That’s what hit me as soon as I woke this morning. Not exactly the feelings a girl wants from the guy she spent an entire night fucking.

I woke a few seconds before the Beta. Before I could think of alerting him of my awareness, his emotions hit me. Look, I won’t lie like I didn’t feel bad about what happened last night, but disgust and remorse were far from what I felt.

Fear was my concern. The moment the bond formed, I felt my bond with Markis shattering. His fury and rage flowed through our connection right before it broke completely. He knows I’m mated to another.

I left the Beta’s cabin and immediately came to find Moira. Without turning my car off, I park it in front of the store. I wasn’t worried about the shop not being there. Moira knew I was coming back.

The little bell over the door chimes. I scan the antique store until I spot Moira in her childlike form. Her two curly pigtails hang down her back. Her pecan brown skin and baby face stare back at me as if she does not know who I am. I storm over to her.

“What the hell were you thinking?” I shout.

Moira’s brown eyes widen before they water. Is she crying? A dark-skinned woman comes around the corner and grabs the little girl.

“Have you lost your mind?” the woman shouts at me.

I’m confused until an elderly lady steps around the dark-skinned woman, a smirk planted on her face.

“You have to excuse her,” the older woman says to the lady. “She had a very eventful night.”

The woman turns her nose up at me before grabbing her daughter’s hand and walking past me.

“I’m sorry,” I shout at their backs. They don’t stop to acknowledge my apology. The bell chimes over their heads as they leave the shop.

“Someone is in a bad mood.”

I swing around to glare at Moira.

“Are you fucking kidding me? I came to you for help.”

She calmly lifts her shoulders to her ears before dropping them back down. “And I helped. You needed to break the soul tie with your ex without killing yourself in the process. Is it not broken?” She turns and walks toward her register.

I follow behind her. “Markis knows I broke the bond. He’s going to come for me.”

She stops behind her counter, picking up a beaded necklace. She examines the turquoise beads thoroughly before hanging it on a necklace display on top of her counter.

“He was always going to come for you, Huntress.”

Rubbing my forehead, I shut my eyes and hope for patience. “I know that, Moira,” I growl as I look back at her. “But he was too focused on revenge. I had more time.”

“And you still have that time. He can no longer rip your secrets from your memories. Not to mention the other part of his plan.”

She looks at me with a pointed look. She’s right, with the bond broken, there is another part of his plan that will be delayed.

“What am I supposed to do?”

She places her elbows down on the desk in front of her, leaning forward she smiles at me. “That is for you to figure out. I just bought you more time.”

Ugh! I knew coming to this shop was a bad idea. Yes, Moira solved part of the problem, but did it have to be with me being mated to the Beta. The memory of his disgust and regret plays through my head again.

Figuring I would not get any more help from Moira, I turn to leave.

“Huntress,” she calls out to me. I turn around to face her. “Sacrifices will have to be made. Your job will be to figure out who will be the sacrificial lamb.”

With those ominous words floating around my head, I start my trek back home.

I stopped by the grocery store in town before heading back to my cabin. I have a feeling things are going to get hostile for me and Marley again. The pack will not accept this mating thing.

“Marley, come help me with these bags,” I call out as I step into the foyer with my arms weighed down with groceries.

“I got it.”

I nearly snap my neck the way I turn it so hard to get a good look at the deep voice that just spoke to me. The Beta takes the bags out of my hands and place them on the island in the kitchen.

Marley comes rushing out of her room like she’s happy.

“Why all the groceries?” she walks over to the counter and starts digging in the bags.

I stare at the two of them. The Beta leaning against my kitchen sink while Marley is taking the food out of the bags.

“What are you doing here?” I ask him. I’ll deal with Marley later for letting him in.

Marley stops perusing the groceries to look back at me.

“We’re mated,” he smirks. “Isn’t this what you had planned?”

Kicking the door closed with my foot, I take the few bags left in my hands over to the counter and place them down.

“Can I see you in the room for a minute?”

He stares back at me for a moment, not moving. I keep my sight on him.

Finally, he pushes away from the counter and heads down the hall to my room.

I turn to Marley. “Finish putting these groceries away while I deal with him.”

“Don’t be too harsh on brother-in-law,” she snickers.

Seriously, what the fuck is going on right now? I head down the hall to my bedroom. As soon as I walk in, I start.

“You can’t stay here.”

He chuckles. “You’re my mate. I stay where you stay.”

Pushing my tight curls behind my ear, I say. “Look, we both know this isn’t what you want.”

“Who said that?” he asks, folding his arms over his chest.

“The disgust and remorse I felt rolling off you this morning.”

His arms fall back to his side, and he cuts his eyes away from me. That same disgust hits me again. The wolf can lie all he wants, but he doesn’t want to be with me.

“Look, I …”

I hold up a hand to stop him. I didn’t need the excuse or explanation he was about to give me.

“It doesn’t matter. As soon as I figure out how, I will break this bond.”

Yes, I know it is not wise to break the bond. It’s the only thing that can keep me protected from Markis. However, I was never the one to keep anyone locked into something they didn’t want to be in. If that meant breaking the bond and putting me back at risk for Markis, then so be it.

“We’re not breaking the bond.”

“What?” I’m a little taken aback by that response. After hearing him on the porch with Chayton this morning and how disgust and remorse was eating at him, I just knew he would be glad to break this connection.

“We are to be mated in a beta ceremony in three days. You need to buy a white linen dress. It needs to be long. Luna can help you find the correct attire.”

Shaking my head with my hands out in front of me, I stop him from talking. Apparently, my brain is working extremely slow today. Rightfully so, there was a lot of blood transferred last night.

“Are you hearing yourself? This pack will—”

“This pack knows that my bond with you has been blessed by the goddess moon. They have accepted our union.”

“I don’t care if the human God himself comes down and walks me down the aisle to you, I’m not doing this.”

“You wanna’ bet?”

For a moment, we remain in a silent stare off. We’re both waiting for the other to give in first. When I realize the wolf isn’t going to cave, I shake my head.

“This is absurd, Beta…”

“Enzo.”

“What?”

“I am your mate. You will call me Enzo.”

I scoff. “I’m not calling you shit. This is insane.”

“This,” he says, stepping forward. “Is what you wanted, right? This was your plan. Isn’t that why you climbed on top of my cock last night, like your life depended on it?”

Guilt eats at me. Even though I had no idea what the perfume would do, this is kind of my fault. If that perfume hadn’t been involved, the wolf wouldn’t have taken it there with me. He has a right to think that I tricked him.

“No need to let guilt eat at you now, mate.” He spits out the title as if it’s garbage.

I lock down my thoughts, glaring back at him.

“First rule, stay out of my fucking head.”

“It comes with the territory,” he mocks. “Did you not read the wolf manual before you tricked me into this sham of a union?”

“Tricked?” I scoff.

“That’s what I said.”

“You didn’t seem all that tricked when your face was buried in my pussy demanding I give you what you craved.”

Before he could say anything else, Marley steps into the room.

“Just a reminder, there is a seventeen-year-old in this house with you that doesn’t want to hear about her sister’s snatch being eaten. So, if you two could—”

“Go to your room,” I fuss.

“Don’t yell at her,” he growls.

This is the second time he’s come to her defense. However, he’s right. I can’t take out my frustrations on her.

Taking a deep breath, I try to reel in my aggravation and annoyance.

“Can you give us a minute, Marley?”

She nods before backing out of the room and closing the door behind her. I place my attention back on the seething wolf in front of me.

“You don’t want to be in this bond. Let’s just focus on figuring out a way to break it. Then we can both be happy.”

“Not going to happen.”

“Why?” I ask through clenched teeth. “Why are you so hell bent on staying in this thing?”

His face softens, and his shoulders relax. “Because first, the moon goddess blessed our union. And I know you vampires don’t believe in gods, but we do. And second, you did this for a reason. I want to know why. So no, I’m not breaking this bond.”

He walks past me out of my bedroom. I’m left standing in the middle of my floor, wondering what the hell I’m going to do. Even though I can’t feel the connection to Markis as clearly as I used to, there is an echo of him that remains. Right now, that echo feels like a furnace from his anger being so hot.

Yes, Moira bought me time, but the day will come soon when I’ll have to face Markis and take responsibility for what I did.