Page 46 of The Broken Aztec Princesses

“You said she died. I thought she was banished.”

“She left the pack. I think she was headed to Cali to her sister’s pack. It was the last family she had left. Luna Celeste said she was taken by Nickolas when she left. She died in the attack when we tried to rescue everyone.”

I paled. I never asked about what happened to anyone that night. After I was told Tori died, I had a mental breakdown and no one ever brought it up again. I never asked, I didn’t want to know the cost of that night. Tori’s life was already a high price.

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. It was... it happened how it needed to. I wasn’t what she wanted and, from what I’m told, she did the right thing at the end, so I’m sure the Moon Goddess will give her a better mate in her next life.”

“I—” I wanted to tell him there was no better mate, but he continued before I could.

“When you were talking about Ada, I couldn’t h—”

“You thought I knew about Traci. You panicked, thinking I would tell Cade when I mentioned it happened to him,” I finished for him.

“I didn’t know if you knew or not. When you asked me what happened, I figured out you didn’t and I didn’t want to tell you.” Chris looked away. “I didn’t want you to know I wasn’t good enough for my mate. That the person that was made for me didn’t trust me to protect her. I thought you would send me away.” He snorted. “You sent me away anyway.”

“Chris... I—You didn’t—You’ve seen the worst of me. I told you things I haven’t even told my therapist. I was just hurt that you didn’t trust me enough to tell me what was bothering you. It was irrational. You don’t owe me anything.”

“I trust you. I am just... bad at talking.”

The way he said this as if it was new information to anyone who knew him made me snort, and his eyebrows furrowed at the noise.

“You grunt half of your responses, Chris. The whole world knows you’re bad at talking,” I explained.

Chris’ cheeks became stained with pink and he grunted, making me laugh and his blush deepen. I felt the need to give him a boon, so I took a deep breath and willed myself to tell him.

“Full disclosure?” I started. Chris stayed quiet, letting me continue. “I lost my mate, too.”

“H-What?”

“During the Blue Moon massacre last year. I met him minutes before he was killed. It’s one of the reasons why Nenetl became so weak after we were raped. She was already weak, and that was the proverbial nail in the coffin. Dr. Campbell said I was lucky she was alive at all.”

“What happened?”

“I tol—”

“In the office,” he interrupted and, in part, I was thankful not to have to recount how Billy died.

“Oh, I was nervous after you left, and Nenetl started howling and wouldn’t stop. I wanted to reach out but couldn’t bring myself to look even weaker in your eyes, especially when I thought you didn’t trust me. I think she was having a breakdown. I think in part she needed it. I’m sorry, though. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“No, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have been so rude.”

“I shouldn’t have reacted the way I did. You have a right to your privacy, but thank you for telling me.” Trying to lighten the mood, I added, “Hey, the full moon is only like two weeks away, and there are a lot of women here who need second-chance mates.”

“Second-chance mates are rare, Violet. They’re for alphas and ranked members mostly. So their wolves don’t go feral. You have a higher chance of getting one than I do,” Chris pointed out.

“No one is going to want a damaged woman for a mate.”

“You’re not damaged, Violet.”

“We’ll agree to disagree. Now, I think I need a nap.”

As if proving my point, I let out a big yawn.

“Do you want me to wake you up for dinner?”

“Sure. You should take a nap too.”

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