Page 51 of Mated

“She was very mean,” I add. “She said I was trash.”

His expression darkens. Instead of saying a word to me, he reaches out, pats my head, and goes on his way. I assume Isabella’s day is going to get worse. Good.

I’m tired of living like a victim. I might not have the breeding these people think I should have, but that doesn’t make me weak.

Cain

I made it very, very clear that any disrespect of my mate would lead to terrible consequences, but of course Isabella had to test that. The woman has no sense. She’s spent far too long being able to bully others in this pack because she comes from a goodfamily and because she’s sought after as a mate by many—just not by those she wants. She’s waiting for her mate bond to become apparent. We’re all waiting for her mate bond to become apparent. The sooner some unfortunate male takes her as his own, the better.

“So you come to me to complain that my mate hurt you, and when I talk to her, I discover that you’ve been running your mouth again. Do you really think you’re beyond consequences, Isabella?”

Isabella is looking out the window in dramatic heroine fashion. If there is ever anybody who lives their lives as if they are the main character, it is her. She tosses her long dark hair and gives me a wounded look.

“She put her teeth onme, Cain.”

“Don’t use my first name. You’ve lost that privilege.”

“You don’t understand. Shebitme. I don’t mean nipped. I mean she wanted to take a chunk out of me. And her eyes… there was something in them.”

Isabella is shaken up, which is surprising because nothing ever seems to make an impression on her. She’s the bane of Abel and Bardo’s lives, the most challenging orphan in our pack besides myself.

“Let me see.”

She shows me the bite. It is well placed in the fleshy part of her arm. It looks deep. It broke the skin in a few places. I can see the intent to hurt in it, and there’s even a chance it will scar.

I feel a burst of pride. My little mate is starting to bare her teeth quite literally. This is not a bad thing. She didn’t shift and attack.She bit back at a comment that was unnecessarily cruel and entirely disrespectful.

“Looks like you got what you deserved.”

“She’s not what you think she is,” Isabella whines. “You’re not understanding me. When she bit me, when her teeth met my blood, I felt it. She’s not like us.”

“That’s been apparent from the very first time we met.”

“No. I mean we all thought she was a silly domestic puppy, but she’s not. I’m telling you, Cain. You don’t have a helpless little dilute on your hands. She’s something else.”

“I think I would have noticed that in the mate bond.”

“Maybe not. Mate bonds blind us. They’re powerful enough to make people overlook all sorts of faults and flaws. That’s literally what they do. I don’t have a mate bond with her, and I’m telling you, there’s something wrong with her.”

Isabella is really laying it on thick. Her eyes are wide, her tone is earnest. She looks and sounds scared, but suffice it to say, I am not open to feedback that suggests my mate is anything other than made for me, or made for Denholm.

“In that case, I advise you stay away from her and refrain from sharing your opinion. I can make both easier. You can report to Linus and help him with the categorization of the library. He was saying he needed someone young and strong to help him move the books.”

“You’re making me do manual labor?”

“You’re lucky I’m not sending you to the dungeon. You deserve it. Next time you antagonize my mate, that is what will happen. Thirty days in a cell. No right to appeal.”

Her eyes grow wider still. “But what if it happens by mistake?”

“Stay away from my mate, Isabella.”

I turn and walk away, aware that I am letting her get away with this somewhat, but meaning every word. Isabella has been warned. If she runs afoul of my mate again, she will truly suffer.

“Report to Linus,” I say over my shoulder. “Tell him he can do what he wants with you.”

“Oh gag,” I hear her mutter under her breath.

My jaw tightens. I can’t change the habits of the pack overnight. Isabella is a problem that should have been dealt with long ago. The truth is, we feel sorry for her. Her younger sisters all found their mates in their early twenties. Isabella is twenty-five and going slowly mad with unrequited desire. That’s why she’s such an irritant. She needs to be pinned down and fucked until she has a civil tongue in her head.

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