Roxanne’s POV:
I was pacing back and forth outside the bathroom, waiting for my mate to come out. A few minutes had passed, and he still hadn’t emerged.
When the door finally opened and he stepped out with Thelma behind him, I sighed in relief.
She looked at me for a moment, then gave a low bow, shocking me.
When she had barged into the bathroom to save Bianca, my wolf took over and easily knocked her out. At that moment, we were both furious and wanted to kill her. However, the thought of our mate hating us made us decide to let her be.
“Thank you very much. Master Garren explained how you saved my life from Lady Bianca,” she said, as I instantly looked at my mate, who simply nodded.
“It was the least I could do,” I answered softly.
“Now, Thelma, you know what to do. Make sure she is cleaned up and taken back to her place. If she remembers how you showed disrespect to her, she won’t let you live,” he ordered.
“Yes, master,” she answered, then went back into the bathroom.
Garren grabbed my hand and led me out of the bedroom into another room. Once inside, he let go of my hand and looked at me with a serious expression.
“For now, she won’t remember anything unless she’s triggered,” he said, and I frowned.
“I don’t understand,” I said seriously.
“My lycan, Roman, has a unique ability that can suppress or wipe away someone’s memories if necessary. There was no clean way out after what you did to them, so we had to wipe their memories. Right now, the story I told Thelma will hold because she knows I have never lied to her, until now. She will show you the respect you deserve, even if it hurts her pride, because being saved is a big deal to her,” he answered.
I folded my arms, contemplating his words.
“Garren,” I called softly.
“Yes,” he answered.
“What are you planning?” I asked honestly.
“What do you mean by that?” he asked in return.
“I mean exactly that because there is just no way someone can completely change their character or way of treating someone they didn’t like in just a second. Remember, you didn’t like me because of my father, and you reluctantly hurt me intentionally, be it emotionally or physically,” I pointed out.
“People can change,” he answered as I dropped my hands.
“Right,” I answered sarcastically.
I could see right through his act and words. The real Garren couldn’t easily change. Was it his lycan manipulating his feelings?
“I don’t believe you, and I won’t. I’m not stupid,” I said as he sighed heavily, then moved to a desk and grabbed a bottle of whiskey that was there.
“You are smart, I should give you that, but also blinded by your own beliefs,” he answered simply as he took off the lid and drank from the bottle.
“Meaning?” I asked.
He turned and faced me.
“I still hate your father, and I want him dead. That will never change, but that doesn’t mean I want you dead yet,” he answered as disappointment filled my heart.
“If you had killed Bianca, the council elders would have been a pain in my life and very hard to deal with. They wouldn’t have killed me, but they would have pledged war between us, and that’s not what I want because my life is perfectly planned out. After I hand you and your father over to them, I’ll leave this damn place and cut ties with the coven. I will live a life that I had always admired and wanted without them or you being in it,” he said seriously as I clenched my hands into fists.
Why was my heart breaking at his words? He said it more than once how he wanted me handed over to the council and how he wanted my father dead, yet here I was hurting over his words. Why was I letting him affect me?
“I see, when did you make up your mind that you didn’t need me in your future?” I asked.
“The same day I knew what you were to us,” he answered, then turned and placed the whiskey bottle back on the table.
“Go ahead then,” I said in a cracked voice.
“Ahead with what?” he asked without looking at me.
“Go ahead with your rejection. I promise I will gracefully accept it,” I said as he froze.
I was very tired of us acting like little children. He hated me, fine, and yes, I was going to cry after the rejection. A part of me would want to plead with him, but sadly, my ego wasn’t going to let me.
“It’s not like you and I have a future, that you are right. Because all my life, I have always been in love with Larson. That’s why I kissed and confessed to him. Despite him rejecting me, I still kept on loving him. Even now, I still feel that way for him, so your rejection won’t make a difference…” I let out a scream when I found myself pushed roughly onto the bed in a split second.
My mate’s eyes were glowing bright red, and his fangs were showing. His facial expression made me shudder.
He was very furious, and I could see it in his eyes how he was going to strike me down if I were to say any wrong word.
“I should really give it to you, Roxanne, because you sure know how to fucking mess up our composure,” he growled as I tensed.
“Are you that desperate to meet your moon goddess in person?” he asked in a low, husky voice.
It was a simple death threat he was giving me, yet I wasn’t having it. I smiled as tears blurred my vision.
“At this point, I’m very tired of you, Garren. Perhaps meeting the moon goddess would be a great thing to do because I want to ask her a simple question. Why you and not him?” I asked sadly as a tear trailed down.
He hit the side of the bed, startling me, then slowly moved and sat at the edge of the bed.
“The moon goddess is perfect, and she has never been wrong because her decisions are always right. But if that’s the case, then why do we endure rejection from the very person who is supposed to love us forever? Why do we endure pain from them, be it emotional or physical? Surely she is not perfect. If she was, then can’t she see how hard it is for me every day, going through the same pain and wondering if my mate will ever see me for me, not for my father’s mistake? Waiting every day for him to just love and want me,” I said as tears continued to fall.
He turned and faced me with a calm expression.
I moved my hands to cover my face as I sobbed.
I quickly dropped them when I was dragged onto his lap.
I wanted to push him away, but his arms wrapped around me. Just like that, I gave in and leaned against his chest as I cried.