Betrayed Mate

4

Great, now people younger than me were calling me names.

Ignore them, Em, Briar linked with a growl. They’re idiots.

If I’d witnessed what they just had, I’d probably be thinking similar thoughts, though I wouldn’t have been as callous. I refused to kick others when they were down, but most shifters didn’t think like my pack.

“It’s easy to judge someone when you haven’t been in their fur,” a deep voice interjected, and the laughter stopped.

I recognized the voice, and a tear trailed down my cheek. This evening was growing worse by the second, and I was mortified that he, of all people, was standing up for me. Instead of making it better, Ryker Grimstone had put a larger target on my back.

The bastard.

“Of course the wolf who ran away while the royals and his own pack were slaughtered would side with her,” a man hissed.

I walked quicker, and the scents of my own pack filled my nose. I blinked, clearing my eyes enough to see at least twenty of my pack members forming a barricade on either side of us, blocking the other packs from seeing me as easily.

Removing my arms from Dad’s and Briar’s, I wiped the moisture from my cheeks and lifted my chin. We’d passed nearly everyone, and I couldn’t wait until I could run home without looking even weaker.

For now, I kept my pace steady, pretending I had some sort of dignity.

Dad and Briar must have sensed what I needed. They didn’t attempt to hold me again. Instead, the three of us moved faster, and I exhaled as numbness overtook the shock.

At least I wasn’t falling apart.

I focused on my breathing, trying to retain my internal calm. I needed to be strong for everyone.

The forty of us who’d come to the ceremony moved in unison, each person making a point to not look in my direction. I had no doubt that order had come from Dad.

In silence, we made it back to our neighborhood. I’d never been so relieved to see the clusters of two-story brick houses nestled on one hundred and fifty acres of the Shadowbrook Woods, which the nearest city was named for. Twenty-two of the twenty-five houses were occupied by our pack.

Our house was closest to the trail exit, and as soon as it came into view, the sting of pain and heat of anger began to pierce the numbness I wanted to cling to.

I picked up my pace, passing my family and beelining for the back door. As I rushed past the firepit, I shut down my pack link, wanting to be alone to process the hell of a night I’d just had. With my emotions surging back, I didn’t want to risk talking to anyone.

“Ember!” Garret, one of my closest friends, called out to me.

Another tear slid down my cheek. I refused to turn around and let the pack members see me like this.

“Let her go,” Dad rasped. “She needs some time alone.”

Inside, I ran through the kitchen, my feet slipping on the cold tile floor and then down the hallway into my bedroom. I shut and locked the door.

Leaning my back against the painted white wood, I slid to the floor and let my heart crack open.

I wasn’t sure how long I cried. All I knew was that my eyes were swollen, I couldn’t breathe through my nose, and I had a pounding headache. I was quite certain that it stopped only because I’d run out of liquid to make more tears.

A hint of musky lavender hit my nose, so when a faint knock sounded on the door, I wasn’t surprised at all.

“I know you’re keeping your link inaccessible, but I wanted to let you know that I love you and I’m here for you when you need someone,” Briar said softly from the other side of the wall.

My heart twisted painfully, stealing my breath. I sniffled. Shutting them out was selfish. They all cared about me and were worried.

I wiped my nose with the hem of my dress, stood up…and opened the door.

As soon as Briar saw my face, her own creased with worry. “Oh, sis.” She placed her hands on my shoulders, but before she could hug me, I took a large step back, my eyes burning with unshed tears once more.

Clearly, I hadn’t run out.

“Please, don’t.” I would prefer to link with her because each spoken word had me fighting a sob. But if I made my link accessible, I’d have a lot more people linking to check on me. I couldn’t handle that. Not right now.

She dropped her hands and nodded. “No hugs. Got it. How about we get you out of those clothes?”

I glanced down at the cream dress Mom had bought me for this ceremony, and my heart tried to implode.

Turning toward my closet, I caught my reflection in the mirror—puffy, bloodshot eyes, the flowers in my crown hanging half off my head, and dirty feet. The only thing that didn’t look bedraggled was the stupid dress. Reid had pointed it out in a catalog we’d been looking through after he’d declared that he wanted to celebrate our bonding with a ceremony.

Rage pounded in tune with the ache in my head, and I gripped the sweetheart neckline with my hands. Betrayal and agony egging me on, I ripped the dress in half and let it fall then marched to my closet. I picked out jean shorts and a maroon top and slid them over my body.

“Uh… I thought we’d get into pajamas and stream something together.” She lifted a brow. “I heard there’s a new season of Nailed It.”

Yanking the camellias from my hair one by one, I shook my head. “Maybe later, but not right now. I have something else in mind.”

Briar bit her bottom lip. “Em, if you’re planning to go see Reid, I think it’s best—”

“Fate, no!” I tossed each flower on top of my cream dress. “I don’t want to see that asshole ever again.” Tears began to gather once again, but I’d cried enough for one night. “What I have in mind doesn’t require going to his territory.”

“Can I come with you?” She rocked back on her heels.

I scanned her, taking in her jeans and black shirt. “Okay.” In fact, it was probably best I didn’t go alone. If one of the scouts from our pack saw me, they’d inform Dad, and I doubted my parents would leave me by myself.

Knowing it was inevitable, I opened my pack link. Where we were heading, we needed to be able to reach the packs in case of attack.

I grimaced, waiting for Garrett or his sister, Carol, to link, but my head remained silent.

“Dad told everyone to leave you alone tonight,” Briar answered my unspoken question.

My shoulders sagged.

I scooped up the dress and wilting flowers and went to the kitchen, Briar right behind me. Our parents were in the living room, watching television, Dad in his leather recliner with his back toward the hallway and Mom sitting on the black leather couch.

At my footsteps, their heads snapped in my direction.

“Oh, Em—” Mom started.

“Please don’t.” Tears tried to escape again. “I don’t want to talk about it. I just want to sit by the firepit with Briar. We won’t be gone long.”

Dad laughed, taking note of what I had in my arms. “That’s fine. Do what you need to do, but don’t stray from the backyard. It’s too risky at night.”

“Understood.” I moved for the door then paused. “Oh, and Dad?”

He glanced over his shoulder once more. “Yeah?”

“Thanks for holding off the pack.” I pressed my lips together, unsure if I was about to smile or cry.

“I’d do anything for you girls.” He winked and smiled reassuringly. “And I know you need time.”

Mom placed a hand over her heart like she did whenever she witnessed something that moved her, and I hurried out the door, not wanting to break down all over again. I had a mission, and it was simple.

Keeping on my heels, Briar stayed with me the entire way through the huge yard.

I went straight to the firepit and tossed the dress and flowers into the center. Then I snagged the long-stick matches we kept underneath the side, lit one, and tossed it on the pile.

“Uh… Are you sure you want to do this?” Briar asked. “I mean, what if Reid comes back and apologizes tomorrow? You’ll—”

I snorted loudly, not trying to hold back my bitterness. My throat ached. “f**k him. After what he did to me, there’s no going back. Fated mate or not, I refuse to be insulted and tossed aside like that. He treated me worse than garbage.”

During my crying bout, I’d come to one conclusion. I would never put myself in a position to be humiliated like that ever again. Our pack stayed away from the spotlight—it was our natural inclination—and the one time I’d gone against it, our entire pack and my family were shamed.

Tonight had proven one thing, I could trust only my family and pack. No one else. Maybe interacting with only them from now on would limit my options, but that was a risk I was okay taking.

The fire took over and devoured the flowers and dress. As the orangish-red blaze grew taller, licking the air around it, it seemed to reflect my inner turmoil; my insides scraped raw and throbbing like the sensation of flames searing skin.

Briar remained silent. She knew me better than to try to get me to talk when I wasn’t ready, just as I knew this scene was making her even more worried about me.

A chill ran down my spine, startling me, especially with the fire sparking in front of us.

This sensation wasn’t from the cold.

Someone was watching us.

My gaze went tentatively to some thick brush at the tree line…and dark eyes met mine.

Eyes that seemed familiar but belonged to no one in our pack.

My breath caught, and I braced for an attack.