Page 110 of Fated to the Warrior Wolf

There has to be another way.

I hung on to that thought, clutched it like a lifeline.

But was Leigh right? Was this what the Goddess intended all along? Did we have no marks, no further mate signs because this was always meant to betemporary?

Fuck that. Fuck the Goddess’s plans. Fuck it all that gave me the gift of a mate and a child, and then ripped them away from me before we even got the chance to live.

Fuck it all to hell.

I punched the wall hard enough that the plaster cracked and my knuckles throbbed, not even bothering to lean back away from the plaster dust that rained down across my head. I didn’t give a shit.

With my eyes still closed, I sent off a furious prayer to the Goddess.

Your plan is shit, and I refuse to play this game. I won’t lose her, and fuck you if you try to take her from me. I’m going to do my damnedest to keep her, and if you don’t like it, you can float your ethereal goddess ass down here and rip her out of my cold, dead hands. Do you hear me? She’s mine, and I’m keeping her. Our child doesn’t deserve to grow up without a mother.

I wasn’t really sure she was up there listening, but if she was? Good. She should know what I thought of her shitty plans.

I shoved off the wall and stalked to Kane’s office to catch the end of the debrief, determination and fury burning like a lantern in my chest.

FIFTY-FOUR

Leigh

Iwalked back toward my room, feeling a little lost. Gael looked devastated. He hadn’t said a single word to me since I walked out of Kari’s house or on the entire drive home. I was trying to pay attention to Sergei’s update, but other than the occasional ooh and ahh, it all went in one ear and out the other. Frankly, it sounded like more emergencies, and that was all we’d had for weeks. You know what emergency number four hundred sixty-seven felt like?

Exhaustion. Sometimes, you don’t have the mental capacity to put out another life-as-we-know-it-ending fire, and that was where I was at.

But when I stopped outside my door, I knew what I personally needed to do.

The drawer.

I’d been studiously ignoring the pull I felt toward it. It was the only drawer I wouldn’t let myself open, except to tuck the latest note inside and quickly slip it back closed. I had lost count of how many I had at this point, but I knew it was more than two dozen. He’d been leaving them for me constantly since the first one, at least one a day, most days more.Sometimes, I sat down at breakfast and found one tucked under a plate with my name on it; other times, it was shoved under the crack of my bedroom door. Once, I found one taped to the back door of the castle, proving he knew I’d been going for my runs every single day, multiple times per day.

But still, he didn’t push. He hadn’t brought them up or asked if I’d read them.

He was too good for me. He was agoodman. And it was time I stopped keeping him at arm’s length. He knew about Kari now. So, what was the point of pushing him away? I blew out a breath and twisted the doorknob, only to be momentarily struck dumb at what I found inside.

Every surface of my room was covered in shopping bags. Every chair, dresser, the ledge in front of my window, the bed. I took a few steps in, and yep—even the bathroom counter was absolutely packed with smaller bags from upscale toiletry and skincare brands.

I sniffed and scented Cristian and perhaps two of the female housekeepers. On second sniff, I was certain one of them was Ivy, who I’d met and fought beside the night of the castle attack. But why?Why would they suddenly buy me all this stuff?I wondered as I ran my hand over the tissue paper sticking up out of one of the pink bags.

And then I saw it. The same kind of creamy envelope I’d gotten so many of, taped to the front of a gorgeous pink leather purse at the foot of the bed, where I could easily spot it.

My mind immediately went back to the night before, when I’d haphazardly rambled the only thing I knew how to say in Spanish.My name is Leigh, and I like pink purses.

Oh, Gael.What are you doing to me?I closed my eyes a moment as the tears began to threaten.

Once I had myself mostly under control, I crossed the last few feet and lifted the note off the front of the gorgeous bag. With a deep breath, I peeled back the tape and lifted out thefolded piece of paper. The note was short, only a few lines, but still, it took my breath away.

Princess,

Feel free to return or exchange anything you don’t like. I asked Cristian to do some shopping on my behalf, since we were busy with the council today. My mate and child deserve the best, and that includes taking care of the basics, like clothes. I hope you will accept this as the gift that it is and use your card to buy anything else I might have overlooked or gotten wrong.

Oh, and one more thing.

Me encanta comprarte carteras rosas.

Always,

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