Page 107 of The Fated Hunter Wolf

"I wasthere, Rhys. I don't need a recap."

"Maybe I do."

She stared at me. Something changed in her expression—surprise, maybe. Or suspicion.

I ran a hand through my hair. "I told you that you meant nothing to me. You remember that part?"

"You rejected the bond." Her voice was flat. "You were cruel about it. We've established this."

The memory tasted like bile. "You came to Orion territory, probably scared out of your mind, definitely in pain from the bond forming—and I looked you in the eye and told you to leave.That I didn't want you, that Icould neverwant someone like you."

Sable shifted on the bed, drawing her knees up slightly. "Okay. Yes. You said that."

"And then I severed it. At least, I tried." I took a step closer, watching for permission. "Do you know what that means? In our world, rejecting a mate bond isn't just breaking up. It's sacrilege. It's taking something sacred and ripping it apart. It's—" I stopped. Swallowed. "It nearly killed you."

"But it didn't."

"It should have." My wolf surged, agitated. I pushed him down. "Cutting a bond that strong—most wolves don't survive it. And I knew that. I felt your pain through the bond right before I severed it, and I did it anyway. You survived becauseyouwere the strong one, not me."

She flinched. Just slightly, but I saw it.

"So yeah," I said. "We're going to talk about it. Because I don't get to say 'I love you' now and pretend I didn't nearly destroy you."

For a long moment, she just looked at me. Then she stood from the bed and crossed to the window, putting space between us. Her hand pressed against the glass. "What do you want me to say, Rhys? That it hurt? That I thought I was dying? Fine. It hurt. I thought I was dying."

"I know."

"Do you?" She spun to face me, and there it was—the anger I'd been waiting for. It had to come out before we could move on. "What do you want from me, Rhys? A pat on the head and to tell you it's okay?"

"No." I stayed where I was. "I think you deserve to hear me own what I did. Every part of it. No excuses."

"Then own it without the speech." Her eyes flashed. "You were traumatized. You were gutted about your missing brother.You were plain old scared. Igetit, Rhys. I understand the psychology. But it doesn’t change that look I saw on your face when you rejected me."

The words hit like a fist to the chest. "I know."

"You don't." She advanced, closing the distance herself. "You know you hurt me. You know you went feral afterward. You know your wolf suffered. But you don't know what it was like tobeme. To know that there was a side of me that would never be accepted in the shifter world, not even by my fated mate.”

I couldn't breathe. "Sable?—"

"My wolf howled non-stop." She was right in front of me now, close enough to inhale her scent—the silver overtones in honey and rain. "I woke up in the middle of the night feeling like someone was carving out my chest with a dull knife. And the worst part wasn't even the pain."

I had to ask, even as my gut braced for the blow. "What was the worst part?"

"Thinking I deserved it." Her eyes were wet now, but she didn't look away. "Thinking that maybe you were right—that the Goddess would never choose a mate, let alone a fated one—for me. I wasn’t worth?—"

"Stop." The word came out harsh. I grabbed her hand without thinking, held it tight. "Don't even think it."

She pulled her hand back. "Why not? You did."

And there it was. The truth I'd been avoiding. "Yeah. I did."

She blinked, like she'd expected me to argue.

"I made you doubt yourself," I said. "That's worse than the rejection. Worse than cutting the bond. I looked at my mate and made her think she wasn't worthy. That's unforgivable."

Sable's breath hitched. She turned away, walked back to the window. Her reflection in the glass looked fragile. Seeing it on a woman like her, so strong, my heart broke.

I followed her halfway, then stopped, giving her space. "You want to know what happened after I cut the bond?"