“You’re amazing, thanks again. Whatever resources you need will be at your disposal. Just let me know.”
“I will.”
“Okay great, thanks again. I’m forever indebted to you for this.” Jo offered a warm smile.
“Oh, having our Luna forever indebted is extra motivation.” Mina grinned and my heartbeat increased, already knowing what she was hinting at. She couldn’t fix this.
“Well I will be. Anything you need, anything at all, you come to me.” Jo left and the second Mina shut the door behind her she threw her hands up.
“I know, I know, but this is a prime opportunity.”
“How?” I yelled. “Do you honestly believe that party planning is going to be a fair exchange for ruining Zion’s life?”
Mina rolled her eyes. “You didn’t ruin his life, Nes. He simply went on sabbatical but is home now. All is well.”
“He wasn’t on sabbatical; he was traveling through unwelcoming pack territories searching for me, his fated mate, when I was right here enjoying the lap of luxury that his pack offered while they were worried sick about him.”
“I know, just hear me out…” She grabbed my hand and I snatched it away.
“Jo is not going to forgive you, and if Jo doesn’t as Luna, the pack will follow her lead and they will hate me also. I let him leave, and now that you’ve made this promise, I have to reject him because what Alpha will be willing to mate a wolf that can’t do the simple duty of providing him with a legacy.”
“You don’t know that you can’t.”
“Yes I do. It’s why they made me leave. Sula prophesied our future and do you know what she saw? Rolf’s legacy ending with him because I can’t have children.”
Mina blinked a few times. She had no idea why I was so adamant about not accepting Zion as my mate or why I was determined to reject him. I had only told her partial truths about what happened.
“Is that what happened? That’s why they made you leave and offered Neyla to him in your place? You can’t have children?”
I shook my head and quickly swiped a tear that fell. “No, I can’t.”
“Oh hell, Nessah. I didn’t know. Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because it fucking hurts. They chose her over me. They chose the status of one of their daughters being mated to the Alpha heir that could promise them with status and prestigeover me? Why would I want to relive such devastation and disappointment?”
“I’m so sorry.” She threw her arms around me, hugged me tightly, and guided me to the sofa where we sat side by side. “But how can you be sure? There’s no guarantee with magic. Witches get things wrong. You might be able to have kids and if that’s the only reason you want to reject Zion then…”
“They do get things wrong but what if this is not one of those times? What if I accepted the bond and he has no legacy because of me? He’s a pure blood, Mina. Do you know how devastating that would be?”
She blinked a few times, then her eyes softened. She understood and she agreed.
“We can…”
“No we can’t. You stay, I’m leaving. I can’t risk running into him. Leaving is better than having to reject him. Zion can’t know about me.”
She spoke quietly. “He already knows.”
“Not really. He assumed Keerah was his mate.”
“She’s not and he knows that now so he’ll be unsettled if you leave.”
“He’ll be miserable if I stay. Rejection is painful, catastrophic, and very ugly.”
“It will be all of those things for both of you.”
“This isn’t about me.”
“It should be.” Mina frowned hard.