Page 22 of Fated Despite the Moon

The anger that had subsided from the frigid shower burst back to life with a vengeance. His wolf was on its feet snapping at Makayla and urging Caleb to put her in her place.

"Yes," Caleb said. "There is plenty to eat if you want to come down here and make it."

She licked her lips. "That's okay. I wasn't really hungry-"

His restraint shattered. "Not hungry? Well, did you ever stop to think that I might be hungry?"

Her eyebrows pushed together. "I'm sorry?"

"Me? You know, Caleb. The guy who has been cooking for you and cleaning for you and putting food on your plate and hanging a roof over your head. Did you ever think maybe I might be hungry?"

Her eyes narrowed. "I didn't ask you to put a roof over my head. You and my mother decided that for me."

His wolf snarled. "Excuse me?"

Her expression softened. "I'm just saying I didn't really get a choice in the matter. It was come here or be cut off."

Her words slammed into him like a wrecking ball to the gut. "You chose me so you could keep your father's money?"

She bit her lip.

His anger mixed with embarrassment at the revelation. She’d married him for money. Her own money. How much more could she possibly insult him? "I didn't have to help you. I could have said no."

She crossed her arms over her chest. "Why did you help me? In case you haven't noticed, I'm not really the domestic type. It's not my fault you made a deal that you now regret. Just say the word, and I'll get on my plane and head back to California and out of your hair forever."

His limbs shook with rage. "Is that what you want? For me to give you an excuse to run? Fine. The bonding ritual was never fully completed and the mating never consummated, so I release you. I release you from your obligation to me. And I am thereby released from my obligation to you and your child. That door is never locked. Feel free to leave anytime."

He stomped to his bedroom and slammed the door. He threw on a shirt then shoved his feet into his boots. Grabbing his coat, wallet, and keys he headed back out the front door. He had to leave before he said something even worse.

“Seems more like you aren’t really what she’s used to.”Hannah’s words pummeled him again and again.

He jumped into the cab of his truck and threw it into reverse. He'd be damned if he'd spend one more night in a house where he was unappreciated. All he wanted was to get to know her. To comfort her. To care for her and her child. But all she wanted was her fancy houses and money and ability to do what she wanted when she wanted. No wonder her mother had wanted her to come to Wolf River. Makayla was nothing more than a spoiled little rich girl who would rather be a trophy wife to some millionaire than use the brain in her head to get what she wanted. Hell, with her stubbornness, she could be anything in life, but instead she was content to do nothing.

He spun the truck around and gunned it down the drive. He had never expected to meet and be bound to someone so completely the opposite of himself.

* * *

Makayla stood rootedin her spot at the top of the stairs, watching Caleb’s tail lights grow dimmer through the front window. Her stomach grumbled, and her gaze traveled to the stove. The burner was still on. She hurried down to the kitchen and turned the button on the stove back and forth until the flame extinguished. She stared at the knobs and turned each of them making sure they were all in the “off” position.

Then she slid to the floor and shook her head. Caleb had told her she could go, but in truth… there was nowhere for her to go. Her friends had begged her to let them come up and get her. They'd promised to take care of her and the baby, but she was no fool. As much as she wanted to pack her bags and run, she couldn't.

Every day for the last week she'd gone to the bank in town and taken out three hundred dollars from her trust fund. She couldn't take out more because of the ATM limit, and if she went into the bank and tried to make a large withdrawal, she was sure her mom would flag the account and shut it down before she'd made it out the door. So far she had less than twenty five hundred dollars stuffed in her suitcase. Hardly enough to get her anywhere.

Caleb's words floated back to her and punched her in the gut.“The bonding ritual was never fully completed, and the mating never consummated, so I release you. I release you from your obligation to me.”

Her selfish, childish behavior had even made the gentlest of giant turn to anger and contempt. Caleb who'd been kind to her from the start. He hadn't even known her when he'd said yes to taking in her and her baby. He'd not forced himself upon her in any way. He'd not pushed her to finish the ritual. He'd only asked her to take care of the chickens. Not help fix the house or clean or cook. He’d given her space to do what she wanted. He'd not pried about her past or pestered her to tell him about the baby daddy. And all she'd done is be a selfish, ungrateful pain in the ass.

Tears dripped down her cheeks. How had she become this person?

She knew how. She knew the very minute she'd changed and why. The problem was, she’d spent so much time building up walls to shut people out that she didn't know how to be anyone else anymore.

Back in California she'd hidden from her pain. She'd made friends with humans. Hung out with Hollywood elite. Pretended to be someone else—anyone else. Pretended to forget. Pretended the partying and the dancing and the late nights had made her happy, when all they did was serve as a distraction from the pain. From the truth of what she’d done. And it had worked… to a degree. But here, in her parents’ hometown, people were constantly reminding her of who she was.Simon’s daughter.There was no escape in Wolf River. No forgetting. No distractions. And every stare in the library, every whisper as she walked down the street, every fake smile as she bought items at the market told her what they all thought of her.

She was unworthy. An unworthy daughter, an unworthy mother, an unworthy mate.

Maybe they were right. Maybe she was unworthy, but that didn't mean Caleb was. Caleb deserved more. Deserved better than she had given him. Her mother had made it clear. If she left, she'd be cut off. Maybe that's what she should do. Maybe she should leave before Caleb found out the truth about what she’d done and rejected her. Save them both an agonizing life together with him always looking at her the way everyone else did.

Her father's stern gaze floated into her mind."I didn't raise you to be this woman, Makayla Marie. I didn't teach you to be strong so you could use people and run over them. Don't disgrace my memory by being a spoiled California cliché. This town needs you. He needs you."

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