Page 100 of Villainous Fate

She’s my Mate, but she loves my best friend.

The battle going on inside her heart plays out on her face. She’s lost in a sea of emotions, drowning in questions no one could answer, and I can tell she doesn’t know what to do.

She loves Deacon.

She’s our Mate!

He’s my best friend.

The Fates chose her for us!

The guilt will crush her.

We can fix it.

Back and forth. Sometimes, it’s me versus my wolf; for others, it's me versus myself, my conscience.

I never would have betrayed him, even for her. But The Fates chose her to be mine.

How can we pass up such a blessing?

Waiting is the hardest part. Standing here, listening for her words, her acceptance, her response to this seismic shift in our world.

Will she choose me? Accept our fate?

Will she reject me? Lose our wolves? Leave us both broken?

No one has rejected their Fated Mate in centuries. They can’t even trace the last time it happened through anything but old folk tales and children's bedtime stories. All I know is rejecting your mate means turning your nose up at The Fates. Since they give you your wolf, they can take it away.

A fate worse than death.

Silent tears stream down Grace’s face, her body shakes with empty cries, and all I want to do is comfort her and tell her everything will be alright.

But will it?

Speak! Say something! Please, anything. I need to know this turmoil is not my own.

My silent pleas are finally answered, and the minute I hear her speak, pain tears my heart, scarring it in ways that will never heal, and I wish I could unhear the words.

“Marcus…he won’t survive this…”

Chapter 48

Grace

Air.

I need air.

Doubling over as I enter the house, I can see black spots floating in my vision.

I. Can’t. Breathe.

My heart is racing, and I claw at the halter top, holding up my dress like it’s keeping the oxygen from entering my body as I collapse on my bed.

This wasn’t the plan.

I’m Deacon’s.

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