Chapter 21

Chapter 21

“At least he’s at a safe distance now, I decided. Though “safe” was relative. He wasn’t right on top of me anymore, and I could breathe. But every time I breathed in, a woodsy scent came to my nose that had nothing to do with the forest we were standing in Goddess help me, I wanted nothing more than to have Mason Hale lean over me again and do whatever he wanted

“Focus,” I muttered under my breath, not aware I’d said it aloud.

Hale smirked. “Problems?“

I ground my teeth together, annoyed. “No. I’m just gathering my thoughts.”

“You want to start with the first mark and go from there?” Hale asked.

I scowled. “That wasn’t the deal.”

“Humor me. Is the first one that bad of a story?” Hale replied.

I rolled my eyes. “It was Thomas Croft; itook about five seconds. I think I nearly fell into the river with shock that the Moon Goddess would actually have chosen me for him. I was eighteen. He was nineteen

“His loss,” Hale shrugged.

That actually made me feel a bit better. True, nothing had happened between Thomas and me, but it had still stung to be outright rejected like that. Kind of like how Hale had done it at the ball. Except for a lot less public.

“So.. number two?” Hale prompted with a raised brow.

“Ugh, fine.” I took a moment, trying to separate my memories from the pain. “I met an Alpha at the border while I was on patrol in the neutral zone. Jessop Town. We hit it off right away. Ended up going to a tavern. One thing led to another–you. know how it goes, I’m sure. Then he changed his mind and rejected me. Fin. The End”

“What do you mean, one thing led to another?” Hale asked very, very quietly.

My l*ps turned down with bitterness. “What’s the matter, Mason? Are you mad I’m not going to be your unspoiled flower? Typical. You’ve probably been with half the girls in the pack, but I have S** with one man, who also happened to be my

mate-

“I don’t–I don’t care about that,” Hale breathed.

I looked up at him and saw the hurt and barely–contained rage in his eyes. “Liar.”

Then I was up against the tree again and Hale was over me. “I don’t. I don’t care that I won’t be your first. I care that he hurt you. He hurt you, didn’t he?”

My eyes stung and I looked away. “He just.. wasn’t ready for a mate, that’s all. At least, that’s what he said. I mean, well, I think he actually said he didn’t want to be tied down. Whatever. He was nice. Things happened. Then it was over. Rejection ceremony, whole nine yards. I mean, he’s an Alpha, after all, so he can’t just reject me. He has to reject me in front of the Moon Goddess and…”

Hale covered my mouth with his hand, pressing his forehead to mine. I’m sorry, Kora. I’m so sorry. He didn’t deserve you, and you

didn’t deserve to be dicked around by him. I won’t make you tell me any more if you don’t want to.

I nodded, and Hale took his hand away.

“Well, except one thing.” Hale said.

1 groaned. “What?”

“What was his name?” Hale asked.

Furrowing my brow, I locked eyes with Hale. “Why is that so important?”

“It just it just is,” Hale insisted.

“Are you planning to go kill him?” I snorted.

When Hale didn’t answer, I blinked at him. “Seriously? Really, you don’t have to. That is all over and done with. I was twenty-

“So, it’s been a whole live years,” Hale grunted.

“And I seem to be mated to someone else now, if you hadn’t noticed.” I pointed out.

Hale pressed his hips against mine, and I felt his hard length against my belly.

“Oh,” he said, “trust me. I’ve noticed.”

Then why?” I asked with a swallow, confused.

“His name,” Hale demanded.

Unless I was prepared to have angry S** against a tree in the middle of the woods, I figured I’d better give Hale this one thing. “Lyle. His name was Lyle. Is, I suppose.”

“Lyle Shadowmoon?” Hale hissed.

The tumblers finally all clicked together in my head and my jaw went slack with horror. “1… I didn’t know his last name

Hale punched the tree for the second time, and it actually split in half. Before I went tumbling, however, Hale caught me with an arm around my back.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered. “Oh Goddess, I’m sorry, Mason. I swear, I didn’t know.”

“The Moon Goddess has one FCKED UP sense of humor,” Hale chuckled darkly.

I closed my eyes, prepared for his wrath. I deserved it. I’d slept with my mate’s rival, the man whose pack had done so much to harm ours,

Instead, Hale sighed and hugged me against his chest, stroking my hair. “At least he rejected you. I don’t… I don’t think I could have overcome seeing you at his side. I think that might have done me in.”

“When I found out who and what he was, I would have rejected HIM,” I assured Hale. I wrapped my arms around him, hanging on as though the world were spinning, and he was gravity.

Hale nodded. I felt him take a deep breath of my hair.

“His eyes changed,” Hale said after we stood that way for a while.

“Whose eyes changed?” I had no idea what he was talking about.

“The day of his betrayal. Your father’s eyes changed colors Hale murmured.

I was silent for a long time. “Magic?” I finally breathed.

“It’s hard to say. I mean, I can’t think of another explanation. At any rate, it’s not evidence enough to exonerate him,” Hale said with a tinge of misery in his tone. “It’s not enough to exonerate you.”

“Well, we’ll just find more, then,” I replied eagerly. “I mean, there must be something to explain it, right?”

Hale sighed. “What if you don’t like the answers we find?”

“It’ll still be answers. I just I want to know,” I said,

“Okay.” But Hale didn’t let go of me. We stood there in the forest, wrapped in each other’s arms.

I remembered dreaming about this sort of thing as a child. Now that I was grown up, and Hale was actually holding me, I just wanted to laugh at the sheer impossibility of it. I bit my l*p so I wouldn’t

“Do we go back to the castle now?” I asked. “You said you’d recall Shawn from the spearhead team

“I will.” Hale still didn’t let me go. “Do you still have feelings? Regrets about Lyle?”

My stomach turned. “His name makes me feel sick now, actually.”

“Good” Hale finally released me/

I inclined my head, trying to puzzle him out. “Were you jealous?” I asked as we began walking through the woods back

toward the castle.

“Jealous?” Hale repeated, feigning innocence.

I scoffed. “Never mind.”

We walked about half a mile before Hale finally said, “Yes.”

After our silence, it startled me. “Yes, what?”

“Yes, I was jealous. I will always be jealous of anyone who had your affections who wasn’t me,” Hale gritted out.

“Oh.”