Page 51 of Rejected Plus-Size Mate

“I’m perfectly fine now,” he says, stroking my cheek. “Everything is alright now.”

“You’re hurt, you’re bleeding—”

“Most of this blood isn’t mine,” he answers, his voice hard. I can see that closed, shut-down look in his eyes again, the same expression he wore when he was telling me about hischildhood and life with the Sawpit Pack. Pain lances through me as I think of this gentle man being exposed to so much violence.

No one ever took care of him.

The thought brings more tears to my eyes, and I shake my head violently, tugging on his arms to bring him into the living room. I wrap blankets around him and curl up next to him on the couch, wrapping my body tightly around his.

“I didn’t think it was going to be such a tough mission,” I whisper, emotion choking my voice. “I thought it was just scouting or something.”

Kyle shakes his head. “Bae wanted us to cut off some of the Sawpit Pack’s allies from attacking in Silverton. When I went out earlier, I had no idea that any of our enemies were near Silverton. Once I found out, and I knew that you were there…”

A shudder runs through him, and I squeeze him even tighter.

“Are you hurt?”

He shakes his head. “No. I had a few wounds, but they healed.” He pauses, sighing. A little muscle jumps in his cheek, and my heart goes out to him.

More trauma. More nightmares. How much can this man take?

“What happened?” I ask softly.

He looks away from me, closing his eyes. My arms tighten around him, as if I could protect him from all the pain in the world.

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to,” I add.

Kyle looks at me, his beautiful blue-green eyes wide and brimming with emotion. “The mission itself went well. Weshould have been in and out of there without too much trouble. Then I got into a scuffle where I recognized one of the Sawpit wolves… and he recognized me.”

“Oh no,” I cover my hand with my mouth, shaking my head. Kyle frowns, his face twisting in pain.

“Liam and Brody jumped in. It was fierce. Brody got badly injured, and Liam…”

Kyle looks away, shuddering. I just sit in shock, waiting for the story to come out.

“Liam died. He died because of me.”

“No!” I cry, shaking him. “Don’t blame yourself. It was a dangerous mission, it could have happened to anyone. This isn’t your fault.”

“But it is, Leslie,” he says, turning back to look at me. His face is very serious now. “They should have just let the other two rip me apart and retreated. It would have been better for everyone.”

“How can you say that?” I gasp, my fingers digging into him as I shake him again.

He looks away. “Those wolves will come after me ten times as hard for betraying them. If they just kill me on sight, they might not stop moving on us, but at least it wouldn’t have the strength of a vendetta. The others would have gotten away, reported to Bailey, and Liam would still be alive.”

Cold shock is creeping through me as I realize just how close I came to losing him. It’s terrifying to learn that he would so willingly sacrifice himself and take himself away from me.

If I ever needed a reason to guard my heart, there it is. I can’t stand to lose him, it would be like having my soul torn out!

“That’s not all,” he says, looking up at me and wrapping his arms around me. “They took Body, and I went after them. Seth told me not to. I completely disobeyed orders, but I couldn’t let Body take the fall for me, so I rescued him.”

“That’s good, though,” I answer, relieved. “You brought him back, yes?”

“Yes,” he replies, nodding. “But those Sawpit fuckers will come after me even harder now. You don’t understand—I’ve betrayed them over and over and over again. At first, they just wanted resources. Now they want revenge, too.”

He sighs, and I can see the pain written all over his face. When he looks back at me, his eyes seem devoid of hope.

“They will look for me, Leslie. They will want to destroy everything I love. They will kill with purpose now, trying to hurt me instead of just taking territory.”

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