“I chose him. I’m choosing him.”
“We can work through this. We can figure it out. Can’t we baby? We can fix this.”
“No, we can’t,” I almost choked on the words.
“I don’t believe you! I don’t know where this is coming from. Just the other day, we were making love and talking about pups. You couldn’t, no, you can’t change. This doesn’t make sense,” his voice was hoarse. “Just… just give me a chance. Whatever you’ve done, whatever I’ve done, I can- we can fix it. Baby, please.”
“How can I make this make any more sense? I don’t want to fix it. I don’t want to be with you. I made a decision, my decision. I don’t need to explain anything to you. You knew already, didn’t you? Isn’t that why you came here? Isn’t that why you didn’t link me when you came near the border? Isn’t that why you haven’t tried to talk to me all day?” I yelled.
I took the anger from how I felt about him not reaching out to me and pushed it into my voice. Goddess, this was killing me. I wouldn’t blame him if he didn’t want to be with me when this was all said and done. I don’t think I could forgive myself. I hated this, I couldn’t do this any longer. I needed to get out here. I’d driven the point home, hadn’t I? Shane had to believe me now, had to know I was loyal.
“Please,” Ethan said as his head dropped forward. His voice cracked and his shoulders shook. I couldn’t look at him any longer. “Please, my Queen.”
With his endearment for me on his lips, it felt as if my heart was being torn out of my chest. I wanted to scream and shout and throw myself onto the floor. I wanted to tell him it wasn’t true and to beg for his forgiveness.
I wanted to punch Shane, hit him, and tell him this was all his fault. I wanted to hurt him for confusing me. I wanted to get out of here. I didn’t want to see Ethan like this. I had a plan to stick to and I needed to hurry up.
His injuries weren’t too deep but I worried about his internal ones. I needed to figure out what I was doing and fast. I needed to get out of here, needed to do something else. Turning away from my mate, I rest my hands on Shane’s chest and look up at him. I wait as his chin dips and his eyes lock on mine.
“Didn’t we have a good time today? Let’s leave. I don’t want to be here any longer,” I plead. My back is facing Ethan and Shane’s gaze searches my face. I don’ see suspicion in his gaze but he’s unsure. When he’s taken the bait, his arms wrap around my waist.
“Mm, we did have a good time, didn’t we?” Shane murmured.
“We did. Let’s pick up where we stopped.” Shane’s eyebrows lifted and I knew his interest was peaked. It was as if Ethan was completely forgotten and I had his full attention.
“What about him?” Shane asked. Well, there goes that.
“Um…”
“I’m going to give you a choice, Ady.” I was scared about what he was going to have me choose between. I had a feeling and I was scared he was going to make me decide between the two of them, or worse, Ethan’s fate. I would do anything but I was not going to sentence my mate to death. “Me or him?” Shane asked.
“Didn’t I already answer that?”
“I want to hear it, I want you to tell me right now, to my face. We’ll get rid of that mark on your neck and replace it with mine.”
Shane pressed his forehead to mine and I knew he was desperate. I could hear the unasked question lingering in the air. He wanted to know if I would choose him again, he wanted to know if I meant it. Could he get rid of my mark? Other than killing Ethan, was there a way to do it? I’ve never heard of a wolf bearing two marks.
“I choose you, Shane. Make me yours.”
“Fuck,” he groaned. “I don’t think you know how long I’ve waited to hear you say that.”
His hands were all over me, squeezing my backside, sliding up my hips, up my neck, and in my hair. I gasped. Shane was everywhere as his lips crashed against mine. Tears pricked my eyes and streamed down my face as I wrapped my arms around his neck. Our lips found a rhythm and his hot tongue darted into mine. I didn’t know who I was crying for, was it for Ethan, or was it for Shane? Could I cry for both?
“Please.”
I could hear Ethan behind me and I wanted to fall to my feet. I did the opposite, I kissed Shane back passionately. I slid my hands over his shoulders and down his back. I wrapped my lips around his tongue and slid back and forth. When he understood what I was doing, he growled with need. His hardness pressed against his jeans and I leaned into him. When we separated, we stared into each other’s eyes and our chests were heaving as we fought to catch our breath.
“Fuck, I swear you always know how to get me hard.”
“Damn it, Adea, LOOK AT ME!” Ethan roared.
I took one last breath and cooled my features before I turned my head to look in his direction. I kept my hands on Shane and made sure to adopt an expression of indifference as I locked eyes with Ethan. His eyes were wide and he looked delirious.
“You don’t go from planning a future together to choosing someone else overnight. It’s not that easy, it’s not that fucking simple. You don’t love him. You love ME! I don’t know why you’re doing this,” Ethan pleaded. “Tell me why you’re doing this.”