Page 34 of Rejected Wolf Mate

I panted, leaning my forehead against the back of her head, staying inside her for another moment as we both caught our breath, both of us sweaty, the air smelling of sex.

Finally, I pulled out. She sighed and turned around, looking up at me.

“Not the best apology, I know,” I said. “But I hope it at least got the point across.” My hands went to her waist as she looked up at me. I raised my eyebrows, grinning playfully. “And if I didn’t, I’d be more than happy to try and prove my point again.”

She snorted, giving me a soft, amused smile. But something flickered in her eyes that I couldn’t read. If I hadn’t known her any better, I would have said it was guilt.

She reached up on tiptoes and kissed me on the cheek. “I think you’ve proved your point. For now. But I think I need a shower before anything else. I need to…” She shook her head as if trying to clear it. “I need a shower.”

I got the sense that she wanted to be alone for a bit, so I nodded. She brushed past me toward the bathroom, closing it behind her. A moment later, I heard the shower running.

A bit later, after we had both showered, I noticed she still hadn’t come out of her room. My mind raced. I had sensed something was bothering her. Up until now, I had just assumed it had been our fight. But the more I thought about it, the more I wondered if there had been something more. Something I’d missed that she wasn’t telling me.

I waited, periodically glancing in the direction of the stairs, waiting to hear her footsteps come down.

I couldn’t let it sit. I wanted to make sure everything was okay. So, I walked over and knocked on the door.

A long pause followed, and I wondered if she wasn’t going to let me in at all.

“It’s open,” she finally called.

I stepped inside and found Astrid wrapped in a towel, lying down on the bed and staring up at the ceiling.

“Everything all right?” I asked, coming to sit next to her.

She swallowed and rolled over away from me, not answering.

“Astrid?” I asked.

“Sorry,” she said, taking a deep breath. “I’m fine.”

I frowned, suddenly wondering if maybe I had done something wrong. My mind raced, trying to figure out what it might have been.

“Did I do something?” I asked.

“No… no…” She hesitated. “I’m just processing everything. That’s all.”

“I suppose that’s understandable, considering everything,” I said. “I just wish I hadn’t been so stupid.” I ran my hand up and down her bare back. “We would’ve had so much more time together.”

As if something had flipped a switch, she froze. “Goddamn it, Rand,” she said, exasperated. “Why did you have to stop being an asshole?”

I frowned. “I’m… sorry? I don’t really know what I did wrong.”

“This was supposed to be easy,” she muttered, more to herself than to me. She ran her fingers through her hair. Something about the panicked, stricken expression on her face set off alarm bells in my head. “Hell, it should still be easy. Why did it suddenly have to become complicated?”

“I’m confused,” I said.

Tears filled her eyes, and her hands trembled as she rubbed her face. “Fuck,” she muttered.

“Astrid…” My arm wrapped around her, pulling her against me. “It’s all right, baby. You can tell me anything.”

She pushed me away, shaking her head. “You don’t understand,” she murmured.

I stood, frowning. “What? What don’t I understand?”

She ran her fingers through her hair, taking deep breaths as she prepared herself for whatever she was about to say. Seeing her like that put me more on edge.

“I’m in trouble,” she said. “No… I’m not. Thea is. Thea’s in trouble, and it’s all my fault.”

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