Page 13 of Mate Forsaken

A cough sounded behind her and she spun, her heart racing. Only to realize it wasn’t Miles. It was Alpha Jericho. She immediately bowed her head.

“You don’t have to do that,” he said. “I came here because I had a visitor last night trespassing onto pack lands.”

She closed her eyes briefly, muttering under her breath. “He’s not here to issue a challenge, Alpha.”

He held up a hand. “I know. He said as much. I want to know why you lied to me.”

“I didn’t lie.”

“You said you had no mate.”

“I said I no longer had a mate. And he’s not my mate. He chose someone else.”

“I don’t need to psychoanalyze the history between you two. He asked for time to change your mind and I gave him a week.”

She shook her head. “It’s not that easy.”

“Forgiveness rarely is.” Jericho headed toward the door. “There will always be highs and lows in any relationship, even among the strongest. All I can suggest is to listen to your heart. Listen to his. This moment won’t be repeated so be sure you canwalk away without regrets before you tell him goodbye.”

He turned toward the door.

“Would you?” she asked, halting his retreat. “Would you forgive him?”

Slowly, he turned back to her, looking thoughtful. “Do you remember what you felt when you walked away from him?”

She gave one, lone nod.

“Are you willing to feel that way again?”

Circe had no answer because if she were completely honest, then no, she didn’t want to ever feel so broken again. He must have seen the answer on her face.

“I would listen to his explanation,” Jericho continued. “And then I would forgive him.”

****

Miles sat on the stoop of her front door, patiently waiting, watching as she approached. She had taken her time, needing to think about the future and what she wanted out of it. All she could focus on was that moment up on the balcony, watching Miles as he greeted guests, and silently said goodbye. She’d cried for days. Had hated him. Then loved him. Then hated him once more. It was a tiring seesaw of emotions. Love, hate. Hate, love. The two emotions danced together for years, and now she wasn’t sure which one had emerged victorious.

When Miles spotted her, he stood. His dark eyes were carefully blank, so she wasn’t able to discern what he was thinking. She stopped in front of him, and they studied one another.

“Would you like to come in?” she asked.

“Yes.”

She hurried up the steps and unlocked the door. He followed her inside.

“Coffee?”

“All right,” he replied. “I feel like we’re going to need a lot of it.”

A wry smile lifted one corner of her mouth. She gestured to the small table. “Have a seat.”

It didn’t take long for the scent of coffee to fill the small kitchen. Once two mugs were filled, she placed one in front of him and then she sat down, wrapping her hands around the other.

“I met your alpha last night,” he said.

“I know. He came to talk to me today.”

“Ah.” He took a deep breath. “Did he warn you against me?”

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