Page 33 of Her Fake Mate

I didn’t even consider the fact that she might not have wanted my help with that problem. That she doesn’t actually need it, and my offer was offensive.

That thought, though, opens the door to an even worse one.

Maybe Mia doesn’t want to have something with me. Maybe for her, this is fake. She didn’t feel the need to check in with me before she left because we aren’t together. She wants my help, but I also know she’s too proud to take anything from someone without trying to get it herself first.

Maybe she thinks this is still a fake relationship. Just like we said it was.

My eyes widen, and the road in front of me blurs. Last night, I kind of hinted at the fact that I wanted more. That our relationship was not fake for me anymore. But it wasn’t a real discussion. I made a throwaway comment, a joke that’s been running between us since we started this whole relationship. I said something about ‘my real girlfriend,’ which we’ve both said before.

It hasn’t been fake for me since the kiss at Thorne’s house.

It hasn’t been fake for you since you showed up with coffee on her front porch.

The realization rocks me. Somehow in the past few months, Mia has become a major feature in my life. More than that, she’s someone that I love.

She’s the woman I want to be my mate.

And she might not feel the same way. At all.

My phone rings, breaking me out of the thoughts that are cascading through me in a flood of anxiety and disappointment. I grab it, not bothering to look at who it is. “What?” I snap.

Briony is on the other end. “Wow. Way to greet me with a pleasant tone.”

“Sorry. I’m just…”

“Are you okay?”

I sigh. “No. Mia left.”

“Left?”

“She isn’t with the foxes. She’s gone.”

“Is she okay?”

“That’s what I’m worried about,” I say from between clenched teeth.

She sighs. “Okay. Are you following her on the pack car’s GPS?”

“Yes.”

“Good. I saw you talking to Terra earlier. How’s she doing?”

I pause. The hair on the back of my neck stands up, and I grip the steering wheel of my truck so tightly that my knuckles turn white. “When did you see that?’

“Oh, I was on my way to the store and drove past.”

“What?”

Briony laughs. “You know how you can drive past the hardware store if you want to take a side road to the grocery? That’s what I did because I was on the phone with Evander and didn’t want to get stuck at that stupid intersection where the roadwork is happening.”

She went to the grocery store but didn’t come back with any food.

“No,” I whisper out loud.

The pieces click together in my mind. If Briony saw Terra and I talking on the way to the store… then Mia might have, too.

I held Terra’s hand.

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