Total pages in book: 35
Estimated words: 33127 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 166(@200wpm)___ 133(@250wpm)___ 110(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 33127 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 166(@200wpm)___ 133(@250wpm)___ 110(@300wpm)
She turned her back on him and began to clean up the mess.
He must have stood there for several minutes, because that was how long it took for her to hear the bell. She pressed her lips together.
“Wow,” Franny said. “He brought flowers, Harper.”
She turned to her other friend. “You don’t think I should have rejected him?”
“I don’t know what to think. He’s not my mate, but … what about our discussion yesterday? The full moon is close, Harper. You can’t just…”
“I can,” Harper said. “I’m not going to live my life afraid of him getting bored. I don’t know what changed his mind, but you weren’t there when he banished me. Even my father tried to get him to change his mind and it didn’t happen. Nothing would sway him, but now that his mind is made up, I’m supposed to, what, be happy about that? He broke my heart. His answer to finding out I was his mate was anger and disgust. Have you seen what happens when two people finally find each other?”
Franny nodded. “Yeah, their happiness is … palpable.”
“The whole pack witnessed his rejection of me. He didn’t like the fact I was his mate, and now, because he has finally accepted it, I’m supposed to be happy about it?”
“No, you don’t have to be happy about it.”
Harper took a deep breath. “Even though they were really pretty flowers.”
“I noticed,” Franny said.
Harper smiled. “But I can’t be with him. I won’t.”
****
Mateo sat at the kitchen counter, attempting to enjoy his late-night cereal. Women were supposed to love flowers and chocolate. He’d not gotten the time to get the chocolate, but he’d spent hours at the florist trying to come up with the perfect bouquet for Harper.
She didn’t want any of them.
To add to his problems, he had allowed himself to open up to her, to feel her wolf. It had been brief, and his father had always told him to only ever do it in extenuating circumstances. Alphas had the ability to communicate with all wolves, and to open a channel for them to help heal. In most situations it is used during the transition where wolves shut down or struggle to deal with the pain.
Mateo had used this gift sparingly, but he’d needed to know how Harper was feeling. Her wolf hated him. Even as she admitted there was a bond between them. They were mates, her wolf didn’t want to mate with him. She wanted nothing to do with him, and this was rare. Even his father had told him it was unheard of.
Whatever he did to Harper, the wolf, she’d taken it personally, and to protect herself as well as her human, she was fighting back the only way she knew how, and it wasn’t looking good for him.
“I thought I might find you here,” Franny said, stepping into the kitchen. She was dressed in a pair of sweatpants and an oversized shirt.
“Do you want me to leave?”
“No, you don’t have to leave.”
Franny folded her arms across her chest. “Today wasn’t a good day for you, was it?”
“You mean, where my mate gives me a taste of my own medicine? No, today was not a good day.”
She sighed. “Harper’s hurt.”
“I know.”
Franny moved around the kitchen, and he watched as she grabbed a mug and started to fill it. He went back to eating his cereal. It was his second bowl of the day.
“I need to ask you something,” Franny said.
“Ask away.”
At first, Franny was silent, as if she didn’t want to speak to him. Mateo knew if he lost his patience with her, it would just be another reason Harper would hate him. She clearly adored this young woman, and even though he didn’t understand it, he wasn’t going to come between them.
He had to figure out how to win Harper. His own wolf was pretty pissed at him as well.
“Are you planning on leaving anytime soon?” Franny asked.
He chuckled. “Hoping to get rid of me?”
“Actually, no, I’m asking this out of concern for my friend.”
“Harper?”
“Yes, uh, the full moon is approaching, and I’ve seen the way mated couples act, and well, is there a chance she is going to need you?” Franny asked.
Fuck, shit, fuck. He’d not thought about the full moon. For him, it was already torture enough, knowing where his mate was and not being able to go to her.
“That look on your face says my fears are right.”
“What fears?” he asked.
“Hello, you and Harper. In case you didn’t know, she’s not exactly your number one fan, and I don’t want her to be upset or to suffer because of decisions she made when she wasn’t in her full mind.”
“Thank you,” he said.
She let out a growl. “Look, buddy, you can take this personally, or you know what, maybe you and I can help each other out.”