Page 89 of Rogue Games

Dean knew I was up to something, but he’d hoped I’d show him that I could be trusted, and that I could trust him.

That’s why he left me in his house, alone. It was a test. One I failed miserably.

“I’m so sorry,” I whisper.

“You threatened to take my fucking pack, Jamie. After all of that, you wanted to leave me homeless, to take away my family, even though you knew I wasn’t a bad person.” He stalks forward, breathing hard as he steps inside my personal space and stares down at me. “You think I’m going to kill you when we get mated. I would never.”

It’s just a slip of the tongue, saying when instead of saying if, but I’m floored, my heart cleaved apart by a longing I can’t begin to explain.

I can’t breathe. “I’m sorry. I was an idiot. I just wanted to hurt you, like you were hurting me. But it was too far.”

Reaching for him, it feels like someone’s stabbed me in the heart when he recoils, moving away so I can’t touch him.

Dean tilts his head back and looks up at the stars, a pained look on his pinched features. “How am I supposed to have a Luna who, deep down, thinks I’m capable of being a monster?”

I have no answer for him, or, not a good one. “I’m sorry.”

Turning his back on me, Dean starts to walk slowly away, leaving me standing there, alone, with my wolf curled up on herself, protecting herself from the hurt of being left behind by her one true love.

“So am I.”

41

DEAN

“Can’t we start again? Like normal mates, meeting for the first time on a pack run.” Jamie’s voice wobbles as she chases after me. “I’m not a rogue, you’re not an alpha. We’re just us.”

Why is she making this harder?

Rounding on her, I throw my hands up in the air. I’d love nothing more than if this was our first meeting, and we weren't both too broken to just accept our mating and live happily ever after.

“No, we can’t just start over. Actions have consequences.” Doesn’t she understand that this is just as hard for me?

It never even really began. Our wolves knew we’d reject each other without giving us a fighting chance. By staying quiet, they gave us the opportunity to spend some time together.

But we still messed it up.

I’m angry at her, but I’m also furious at myself for getting so attached to someone I knew was trouble.

“Then don’t end it,” she says, like it’s the simplest thing in the world.

But maybe it is to her. She’s found her mother and somewhere to live. Things are looking up for Jamie, where my life has turned into one giant headache.

I’ve got my own alpha watching my every move, a territory full of strange wolves, a competition that’s already bordering on disaster after the first event, two wolves locked up below my packhouse that need to be dealt with, one of who’s mate was parked in my office all day, begging for his release.

That’s even before we get to the fated mate who thinks I might kill her. And my own fears that she could be right.

I’m already getting shit from the elders for dancing with the rogue, warning me not to put the pack through any more turmoil. Little do they know it’s not just an attraction I have, this is the real deal.

Which makes her even harder to resist.

Fuck. I know touching her is a bad idea, but I can’t stop myself running a finger along the side of her neck where my mark would go.

My wolf can’t take his eyes off the spot. He’s obsessed, and I feel his resolve slipping the longer I breathe in her alluring scent. I feel the tingles in my fingertips, and that warm fuzzy feeling from just being near her.

I long to pull her close and comfort her. To tell her she’s mine and that everything is going to be okay.

“Tell me you don’t want me, and I’ll accept your rejection right now,” she demands quietly.

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