Damien
My hands curled into fists, my chest rising and falling with uneven breaths. “Scarlet, you don’t understand what you’re saying.”
Her expression was unreadable, but her words cut through me like a blade. “I do, Damien. I understand perfectly.”
Panic flared inside me, raw and uncontrollable. Before I could stop myself, my hands found her shoulders, gripping her like she might disappear if I let go. “We’re mates. You can’t just—just reject me. You know what we have. You feel it.”
She swallowed hard, her voice steady but merciless. “I do feel it, but that’s just me. Along with it, I also feel every time you push me away. Every time you make me feel like I’m not good enough. Every time you put the pack before me.”
I tightened my hold, my pulse hammering against my skin. “I was prote
