Page 7 of Mate Forsaken

“It definitely comes in handy.”

She came into the diner a few nights a week to eat supper. Cooking for one was slightly pathetic. Years ago, she had tried dating without success. It wasn’t fair to the men she’d had dinner with, because they could never live up to the memory of Miles. Even the few males she’d had sex with were adisappointment, so she gave up. Part of her was bitter that Miles got to live his best life with the beautiful woman he mated. The other part hoped he was happy.

Being back on pack lands, as well as being around shifters once more, settled her soul like nothing else. The cat shifters had brought a small sense of normalcy during the full moon, but she realized now how much she’d missed being around her own kind.

She finished her dinner, paid her bill, and waved at Esmeralda as she left. Crickets chirped through the night and a cool breeze lifted the ends of her hair. Streetlights illuminated the sidewalks. Circe was glad she lived close to Main Street, so she could walk and enjoy the evening. She hurried up the steps to her little house and unlocked the front door. It wasn’t until she was already inside and had taken a step into the living room, that she realized she wasn’t alone. Fear spiked through her and she shifted her fingers defensively into claws.

“Who’s here?” she growled, letting some of her wolf seep into her tone.

A dark shadow shifted in the kitchen. His scent hit her all at once, letting her know who it was that had broken into her home. Her claws retracted and her arms fell limply at her side.

“Hello, Circe,” Miles said.

All she could do was blink, wondering if he was a figment of her imagination. Or some sort of hallucination. Maybe Esmeralda’s meatloaf had mushrooms, and she was now tripping. That might be better than having to face the man she could never have.

“Nothing to say?”

“W-what are you doing here?” she asked, stumbling over her words. “Howare you here? And why?”

“You’re seriously asking why I came to confront my runaway mate?”

“I am not your mate.”

“You damn sure are,” he snapped.

She took a deep breath to steady her nerves. She shook her head and turned on the lamp next to her recliner. “I’m not hashing this out with you. If that’s all you came here for, you can turn around and get the hell out.”

He stepped from the shadows, and she got her first look at the man Miles Kenneally had become. The boy had turned into a rugged mountain of a man. Muscles rippled under his Henley. His black hair cut ruthlessly close to his head. Scruff peppered his jaw. Fire flashed in the dark depths of his eyes, briefly turning them amber as his wolf pushed to the surface.

He was angry.

Well, so was she.

“Go home to your mate, Miles.”

“I don’t have a mate.”

“I’m sorry,” she said, although she didn’t mean it. She wasn’t sorry in the slightest. Actually, the vindictive part of her was rather satisfied he wasn’t happy.

“No, you’re not.”

“You’re right. I’m not.”

He drew in a deep breath, chest heaving in anger. “You left me.”

“You left me first!” she yelled back. “Did you honestly think I would stay around and watch her live the life I was supposed to have?”

He ran a hand through his hair, pulling the strands into a shapeless mess. “Everything fell apart after you left.”

“It’s not my fault you lost your precious little alpha female.”

“I lostyou!” He shook his head. “You were supposed to be there for me. I thought you loved me.”

“You’re unbelievable. Let me put this into perspective.What if it had been me, marrying another man? Fucking him. Having his babies. All the while, you’re in a house waiting for scraps of affection. Knowing that when I left you, I was going back to him.”

He growled low in his throat and his wolf flashed in his eyes.

“Don’t like that thought, do you?” she demanded. “Yes, I loved you, but I loved myself more. I had to leave because it was the only way to save myself. If I had stayed, I would’ve ended up hating you. And me.”

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