Our gaze locked. I wanted to tell him a lot of things. To ask a lot of questions. I wanted to know when it had all gone wrong. If I did anything to make him this way. Maybe we could fix it. We could put this all behind us.

But I couldn’t. A huge part of me still loved him. It would take a while for me to completely hate him. But the rational part of me hated me, for breaking me this way.

“I, Claire Stone accept your rejection,” I whispered and the pain came.

I didn’t scream. I didn’t cry. Didn’t utter another word while I broke completely inside. The pain tore at everything inside of me while tears flowed freely from my eyes. But I stood and locked gaze with him until he turned around and left.

I stood there for a long time even when the mate bond had been severed. I felt empty. Like a huge part of me had been ripped out. A guard came hours later to unlock the gate.

But I still stood there waiting for what I had no idea about until my legs gave up under me. Not having the strength to leave the pack that night, I slept in the cell.

The next morning, I made my way to the home Jack and I once shared. Where I had thought my future lay. Seeing the house again brought a fresh wave of pain but I swallowed it down.

Thankfully, Jack wasn’t around. Taking the few things I needed for my trip, I made my way out of the pack.

It was pure torture as the twigs and tree branches slapped t my face and arms. I couldn’t brush them off because of how weak I was. I hadn’t eaten good food in four days and felt myself on the brink of collapse.

My wolf retreated to the back of my mind since the rejection. She was hurt by the rejection. And feeling her pain made my pain so much worse.

I got to the border of my pack, feeling like a thousand bricks lay on my chest. It felt heavy. But I didn’t dwell on the pain. Instead, I kept walking. After walking for hours, I could no longer feel my legs, my head throbbed and my breaths came out in rapid pants.

My heart hammered so much in my chest that I began to feel lightheaded. The sun had gone down and I had no designated place in mind to go. Maybe to the rogue pack. But all I knew was, I wanted to get as far as possible away from the pack that stole everything from me.

As my vision danced, my legs wobbled under me and I felt the ground coming towards me at a fast speed. My head connected with the ground painfully before my vision went black.

The feel of someone dabbing a wet cloth at my head made my eyes flutter open. I realized I was lying face up in a bed. The ceilings were white with a chandelier hanging from it. And the room smelt faintly of coffee.

The feel of the hand dabbing the wet cloth again made me look towards the side. An old woman was sitting beside me on a cushion.

Our eyes met briefly. She didn’t say a word as she stood up and picked up a bag beside her. She walked to the door but stopped and looked at me.

“Rest up. They’ll be here soon,” she left making my brows furrow on the people she was talking about.

My best guesses were the people who found me in the woods and brought me here. As I lay there in my thoughts, I took in the décor of the room.

From the king-sized bed to the chandelier, I knew the owner of the room must be some important person. My thoughts were answered when the door opened and a very attractive man with blond hair walked in.

The coffee I had smelt earlier became stronger. He eyed me with his brows furrowed. His eyes danced between every part of my body. And his steps were slow and cautious as he walked in.

His presence took me back to the first time I met Jack - the excitement, pleasure, and passion that raked through me. Most of all, my wolf was up in my mind wagging her tail happily at the sight of the man.

Midwalk, he stopped abruptly while our gaze was still locked. He opened his mouth and uttered the word I never thought I would hear again.

“Mate,” he growled, making electricity run along my spine. The one that made my toe curl and knees weak.

I looked away, my throat tightening as my hands balled into fists under the duvet I laid. I didn’t want a second chance mate. Not when I’m still healing from the betrayal of my first mate.

“You don’t want a mate?” The man asked, reading my thoughts. It wasn’t hard to guess from my body's reaction to his announcement.

I hated that his voice sounded like silk, making my stomach warm. It was the effect of the mate bond. One I didn’t ask for.

“I never said that,” I managed to choke out amidst the emotions that threatened to spill in me.

The man's footsteps got closer. And I shifted a little towards the opposite side of the bed. I’ve had a mate once. I knew mate bonds could turn someone irrational.

He stopped in the middle of the room like he knew what I was thinking again, “I wouldn’t have brought you in if you weren’t on the brink of death,” he stopped and I looked away from his eyes. They were doing things to me that I didn’t like.

He sighed long, “You can leave if you want. I cannot force you to be my mate.” He stopped and I looked down at his feet which began tapping the floor.

“Although I’ve waited my whole life for this. But we’re no longer in the 80’s. Everyone can choose to be with whom they want to be. I cannot hinder your plans.”

My throat tightened once more because I had once been in his shoes waiting eagerly for my mate. And the happiness I felt in having found him.

I understood his pain. How would I have reacted if Jack had given even the slightest hint that he didn’t want me then?

“I’ve mindlinked my brothers that you’re awake. I skipped the part of you not wanting a mate,” he sighed again, “they’ll be here soon.”

My brows creased. His brothers don't have to know about us. I looked around the room again. Maybe I was in a family home. And every one of his family members saw him bringing an unconscious girl home.

My thoughts stopped when the door opened and two men walked in. They had a striking resemblance to the other man in the room. But each of their hair color and physique were different.

Before I could piece everything together, they both strode into the room and muttered that same word together, “mate.”