Page 52 of My Fated Mate

“This should work.”

Viktar nods enthusiastically. “Oh, this is one of the most precious stones in the pack. She will love it.”

Zane and Rylan don’t look as convinced, but they have no ideas, so they need to step aside.

Relief washes over me as the moonstone necklace nestles comfortably in my pocket. It's not a perfect solution, but it's a start, a tangible expression of the apology that chokes me.

Every second away from Elowen is agony, and the thought of presenting her with the necklace, a symbol of hope, fuels my anxious spirit.

Just as I rise to head towards her room, the door slams open with a bang. Elowen stands on the threshold, a tempest of fury and pain.

Shit. My heart skips a beat.

Her eyes, once pools of warmth, blaze with anger.

"What. The. Hell. Is. This?" She growls, each word punctuated by a sharp breath.

My heart hammers against my ribs. Every ounce of me yearns to wrap her in my arms, to explain, and beg for forgiveness.

But the words won't come. The shame of my actions chokes them back, leaving me a stuttering mess.

"Elowen," I manage, my voice hoarse.

Her gaze rakes across the room, taking in the unfamiliar surroundings and the men with me.

Behind her, some of my pack members stand outside, watching curiously.

"Where am I?" Her voice trembles with a mix of anger and fear. "Did you save me?”

I take a breath and nod. “Y-yes, you—”

“Why did you bring me here?" She cut in immediately.

"This is my pack," I rasp.

"Your pack?" She scoffs. "You have done everything wicked imaginable to me. Why won’t you just let me go? Why did you bring me here? Are you mocking me, Thorne?" Tears well up in her eyes, threatening to spill over.

"No! Never!" I lunge forward, desperate to erase the hurt from her face. But she flinches back, her hand shooting out.

"Don't touch me," she spits, her voice raw. "Don't pretend to care now. After everything you said? After you cast me aside like a used rag?" She throws her head back and laughs. “Or… is it true then? What they all say? I’m thefatedmate?” She laughs again, and this time, her voice is a mere whisper that only I can hear her. “That’s why I’m here, isn’t it? After you rejected me. You think you can bring me here against my will?”

Shame burns in my gut, hotter than any physical wound. "I was… I was stupid," I stammer. It was the truth. I was a fool. “I wasn’t sure.”

"Sure?" Her voice rises bitterly. "Sure of what? If I was useful to you or not? Is that it, Thorne? Is that what mattered more than our bond?" She rolls her eyes. “What am I saying? We never had any bond.”

Silence stretches, thick and suffocating. With trembling hands, I reach into my pocket and pull out the moonstone necklace. It feels insignificant, a pale offering in the face of the storm I've created.

"Elowen," I choke out, kneeling before her. The gesture is instinctive, a desperate plea for forgiveness. "Please. Let me explain."

She stares at me with pain in her bright eyes. I hold the necklace out to her, the moonstone catching the sliver of sunlight through the window. Its glow seems to mock my pathetic offering.

"This…" I falter, "It's a token. A symbol of…"

But the air whooshes out of me as Elowen snatches the necklace from my grasp. Her fury seems to reach a fever pitch.

"A symbol?!" she screams, flinging the necklace across the room. It lands with a clatter on the floor, the moonstone rolling away like a discarded dream, and I hear everyone around us gasp, shocked at her behavior toward their Alpha. "Don't you dare buy my forgiveness with trinkets, Thorne! You hurt me more deeply than words can express, and a stupid necklace won't erase that!"

Every fiber of my being screams at me to unleash the full force of my Alpha wrath. Elowen's act of defiance, flinging the necklace across the room with such disdain, threatens to shatter the fragile control I hold.

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