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)
Silver wouldn’t look at him.
“Is what she says true?” Mateo asked.
“When Harper first arrived, it was hard. She didn’t try to be a burden on anyone, and in all honesty, she wasn’t. There were some who didn’t trust the banishment and feared what her presence would do to them. It took a long time for her to settle in. She didn’t want to live. It was like watching a mate who had one die. Between Franny, and I like to think myself, Harper started to want to live.”
“I caused that.”
Silver sighed and pulled out his cell phone. For several moments, he was clicking away, and then held up a picture. “That was taken the first year she was here with Franny. The two began to be friends.”
Mateo was shocked. Harper had lost so much weight that Franny’s arms around her looked like they were lead weights on her shoulders. Her face was gaunt, and he saw the odd angles of her cheekbones. She looked close to death. He hated the sight of it.
“Fuck,” he said.
“Yeah, she was in a bad way. A lot of the pack worried, and then she started attending beauty school at the local community college with the humans. She stayed to herself, didn’t bring any notice to us, and slowly found her path.”
Mateo felt like a fucking bastard. “I’ve got to go,” he said.
“Mateo, I didn’t tell you this to make you feel guilty.”
“I know, you showed me this for me to realize how I’ve been fucking up, and I know I’ve been fucking up bad.” He shook his head. “And I’ve got to fix this.”
He shook Silver’s hand and made his way out of his home. They didn’t need cars, so he took off, running toward Harper’s place. He didn’t pass many people as it was quite late.
Once he got to her house, he took a moment to catch his breath, and then he walked up to her door and knocked. Standing on her doorstep, he waited for the door to open. Seconds passed, maybe a minute, before Harper opened the door.
“Mateo, what’s the matter?” she asked.
“I’m sorry,” he said.
“What?”
“For everything. For what I did to you. I am sorry. I had no idea that’s how you were going to … be.” He had no idea what to say or do.
The woman before him now wasn’t dangerously thin. Her curves were back. She’d been a fuller woman, even when she transitioned.
“They told you?”
“Silver showed me one of the pictures of you the first year you were here.”
“You’re not supposed to know about that.”
“I should have known,” Mateo said. “You could have been hurt.”
She shrugged and pressed her lips together, and he saw the tears glisten in her eyes.
“Does this mean you’re going to leave?” Harper asked.
“No, I’m not going anywhere. I know I fucked up. I know that’s on me, and there is no way for me to fix this, back at my pack.” He took a step toward her and where she had her hand on the doorframe, he placed his over it. “And I’m not going to back down. I’m not going to give up. You’re my woman, Harper. You’re my mate, and one day you will forgive me.” He held onto the door, and knew he took her by surprise when he brushed his lips against hers.
It wasn’t the bruising, passionate kiss he’d hoped to give her, but for now it would have to do.
Chapter Eight
“You can be pissed at me all you want, but Mateo needed to know the truth, and I’m not the one who showed him that picture. Dad was.”
Harper rubbed at her temple.
Mateo had shown up for work, it was now lunchtime, and he’d offered to get himself, Franny, and Harper lunch. He’d been gone ten minutes. She’d waited until he had left before confronting her best friend.
“I can’t believe he would do that,” Harper said.
“Look, you and I both know you were in a bad way, and it had everything to do with Mateo. It wasn’t anyone else’s fault but his. We all know that,” Franny said. “Why are you so upset?”
“Because…” She didn’t have anything to add. Her lips still tingled from the kiss he’d given her the previous night, and she wasn’t feeling too happy about it. She shouldn’t be getting kisses, or feelings. She had to push Mateo away.
“Because?” Franny asked.
“It wasn’t his place to know. He was the one who pushed me aside like I didn’t matter. He didn’t care what he did then, and I don’t think he should be told what happened in-between.”
“Ah, so you’re being stubborn. I get it.”
“I’m not being stubborn. Mateo didn’t need to know.”
Franny’s brows rose up.
Harper rolled her eyes.
“Why do I even bother?” she asked.
“Well, I could also ask that, and besides, you can act that way if you like, but we both know you’ve got a thing for your mate,” Franny said.