Page 118 of The Alpha's Protective Mate

I don’t think Charlotte knows how she looks right now.

There is devastation in her eyes, a terrible grief that has my wolf twisting in worry and stress.

“Engaged?” I stare at her, shocked by her words.

“Doreen Baxter,” she whispers. “Your fiancée. She showed up at the cafe just after you left. She wanted to put me in my place as the dirty whore who touched her soon-to-be mate.”

“Charlotte—”

“When were you going to tell me about Doreen, Robert?” Her voice is quiet. “When it was time for you to do your duty to the pack?”

“Char—”

She takes a step toward me, and now I see the rage in her eyes. “I’m so sick of people throwing me away. I don’t know why I thought you were different. I don’t know why I believed all that garbage you spouted every day. I should have known better. I should have trusted my own instincts. Instead, I let you move me into your home, let myself become dependent on you!” Bitter laughter spills from her mouth, and I see the glimmer of tears. “God, I’m stupid. I did the exact thing I told myself I would never do. I should never have fallen in love with you—”

“No!” I snarl, cutting her off and grabbing her. “I didn’t lie to you or break your trust, Charlotte. Doreen isn’t my fiancée.”

“Her father showed up to confirm it an hour later!” Charlotte hisses at me. “You expect me to believe everyone is lying to me except you?”

“Yes!” I say furiously. “You have to trust me! Doreen is…” My jaw tightens. “Doreen is the top candidate for being my mate. That’s all. I don’t want her. My human side doesn’t want her. My wolf doesn’t want her. It only wants you. It’s only ever wanted you, Charlotte.”

“Then why did her father come—”

“Because word of my relationship with you has begun to spread,” I admit. “The pack can’t touch you right now because they don’t want to incur my wrath. They don’t know what you are, either. Gregory was trying to scare you off.”

From the look on Charlotte’s face, she doesn’t entirely believe me. Her lack of trust in me hurts, but it’s understandable.

“Do you need me to prove it to you?” I ask, calmly now. “I’ve told you all this before. There are candidates being pushed by my pack elders and prominent families who want their daughters and nieces to be Alpha Female. But I don’t want any of those women, Charlotte. None of them look at me the way you do. None of them make me feel alive like you do.”

Her eyes waver, and I grip her arms tighter.

“When we get home, I’ll call Harry. You can ask him yourself. If that doesn’t satisfy you, I’ll make both Gregory and his daughter stand before you, and you can ask them. I’m not going to throw you away. I’m more worried about you walking away from me. You’re getting your abilities back, Charlotte. Soon enough, you won’t even need me anymore. And that makes me fearful. It’ll be easier for you to leave me when you don’t need me.”

“What?” Charlotte blinks, stumbling backward. “What do you mean, I’m getting my abilities back?”

“You must have been feeling stronger lately.” I watch her, my heart twisting in my chest.

From the look in her eyes, she has been, and being as clever as she is, she must have pieced things together.

“I knew—” she swallows, “I knew that something was changing, but I didn’t think my abilities were returning. How can you say for sure?”

“The blood you threw up,” I tell her. “Somebody fed you a poison when you were still living in the clan. That night at the coffee shop, the black blood you threw up was the poison. It had never left your system. You’ll probably vomit a couple more times, but then you’ll be fine. Nobody will be able to call you a defective vampire again. If you wish to return to your clan or join another one, nothing is stopping you any longer.”

Charlotte’s breathing is labored. “I don’t want to join a clan. I don’t want to go back. You know that.”

“I’m saying it’s an option now. You don’t need me anymore, Charlotte. In the end, you’ll be the one to toss me aside. Not the other way around.”

It kills me to say these words, my wolf howling inside and battering itself against me, trying to come out.

She stares at me, her body trembling.

“Th—That’s not true.” Her voice is hoarse. “I would never…Doreen said…Her father—”

“I love you,” I say, simply. “And my wolf gave you our mating mark that night, our first night. I wouldn’t do that if I intended to walk away from you, Charlotte. But I can’t feel our bond, and I wish I could.” I point toward the waterfall, the cave. “I deeply wish right now that the fact that our ancestors were together and that they looked like us means our fates are entwined.” I cover the distance between us. “I’m yours. That’s it. Nobody else has a claim on me aside from you. And nobody ever will. So, don’t say I’m throwing you away. I would never do that.”

I can see the tears sparkling in Charlotte’s eyes. I can read the fear, the self-doubt, and it kills me. She’s one of the strongest women I know, and she’s standing here crying because of me.

Something within me hardens. I grab her hand. “Come on. Let’s go.”

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