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Chapter 19

Doug

M oments before blowing up my own damn life my phone goes off.

I groan and pull back reluctantly to check my text messages.

Informant

Got him. Deadbeat at 5th and Main. Better move fast. Probably leaving town tonight.

“Fuck.”

The word leaves me on a breathless groan as I yank my shirt over my head, adrenaline still pumping hard from the case update.

I glance at Dina— sweet, soft, glowing Dina —standing there with her hair mussed, lips swollen from kisses, and looking at me like I personally hung the goddamn moon.

I honestly wish I could.

For her? I’d do anything.

“I have to go, Sunshine,” I say, leaning in for a rushed kiss that feels like an insult after what we just shared. “Big break on the case. I’m sorry.”

She nods, trying to play it cool, but I see the disappointment flicker through her eyes like a dimming lightbulb.

And fuck, I hate leaving her like this.

“I’ll call you the second I wrap this, okay?” I say, squeezing her hand and feeling the soft press of her fingers as I bend down to grab my keys.

Which, naturally, have rolled under the goddamn desk because the universe hates me.

As I fumble blindly beneath the counter, my phone buzzes in my other hand. Dina reaches for it automatically.

I don’t even think twice.

I pass it off without a second thought, because why the hell would I care?

I’ve got nothing to hide.

Except apparently, I do .

Because the second I stand up and see her face, everything inside me screeches to a halt.

Her expression isn’t confused anymore.

It’s devastated.

Her lips tremble slightly as she stares down at the screen.

“No, no, no, no,” I mutter, piecing it together way too late.

And then she does it.

She reads it out loud.

“ 'Dina, Look, just because an app says we’re meant to be doesn’t mean it’s true. I’m sure you’ll understand when I say that for me things just aren’t written in the stars. I’m not a forever kind of guy.’”

Her voice is soft. Broken.

Her face?

Completely wrecked.

“Sunshine,” I croak, panic roaring through my bloodstream like fire.

“Let me explain?—”

But it’s too late.

Because I see it—the exact second everything changes.

Her bright, trusting eyes turn guarded.

The warmth in her deep blue eyes disappears, replaced by something cold and hollow. It turns shallow when she flicks her gaze at me.

And just like that, the woman who had trusted me, touched me, given herself to me— gone.

“Dina, please.”

I step forward, desperate now.

But she shakes her head, and the softest, deadliest whisper leaves her lips.

“Get out.”

I freeze.

My whole body locks up like I’ve been struck by lightning.

“Wait. Please, just wait.”

“GET. OUT.”

This time it’s louder, edged with fury and heartbreak.

The kind of heartbreak that makes my Wolf whimper inside me like a kicked pup.

It destroys me.

But I can’t argue.

I can’t stay and make this worse.

So I do the only thing that feels right, even though it’s fucking killing me from the inside out.

I nod slowly, backing away with my hands up like I’m the danger here.

Which, I guess, right now?

I am.

“I’ll go for now, Sunshine,” I say quietly, throat so tight I’m choking on every word.

“But this isn’t over.”

Her response?

Cold. Final.

“Goodbye, Doug.”

It guts me.

I swallow hard, turn away before I crumble right there in front of her, and walk out like my feet weigh a thousand pounds each.

Outside, I don’t even make it past the front steps before I punch the nearest brick wall.

Hard.

I definitely broke it. Pain shoots up my arm.

I put a hole in it. Concrete shards fly and some even hit me.

Good. I deserve that. I deserve all of that.

I rake my other hand through my hair, pacing like a fucking lunatic, breathing too fast, on the verge of going full-on feral.

I can't leave her vulnerable, no matter how badly she wants me gone.

Not after what happened with that Cat bastard.

So I do the only thing I can.

I pull out my phone, thumb hovering for half a second before I hit the name I never thought I’d actually need in a pinch.

Horace.

Grumpy Bear. Happily mated. Big brother type, apparently.

And the only fucking friend I have in the whole world.

It rings twice.

“What the fuck do you want, Dog Breath?” he answers, voice thick with sleep and zero patience.

“Not the time,” I growl, already pacing again.

“Get your furry fat ass down here. Cats tried to mess with Dina. She’s alone now. I can’t—she doesn’t want me there. But she shouldn’t be alone.”

Instant change.

The Bear’s tone sharpens like steel.

“What happened? Where are you?”

“I—I fucked up, Horace.”

The words tear right out of me, honest and raw.

“I’ll make it right. I have to. But she asked me to leave, and I won’t disrespect her like that.”

I swallow hard, biting back everything breaking inside me.

“She shouldn’t be alone. Just please , man. Get down here.”

Silence on the other end for a beat.

Then Horace sighs heavily, all Bear gruffness but maybe a little sympathy buried in there too.

“I’m on it. But fix your shit, Doug. Fated mates aren’t forever unless you fight for them.”

“I know,” I whisper. “And I will. I swear I will.”

I hang up, lean back against the ruined brick wall, and let the reality crash down on me in full.

I lost her.

Only for now , my Wolf supplies.

And he’s right.

Because this isn’t the end.

Not for me.

Not for us.

No matter how hard I have to fight, through fear, her anger, and my own bullshit, I’m going to make her believe in us again.

I have to.

Because she’s not just my fated mate.

She’s everything.