Page 14 of Alpha's Unclaimed Mate

I’m about to back away when I hear Luke question him. “So you’ve offered her a job to keep her around…why? So you can control her life and have her available for a convenient fuck in the office?”

I wait for Theron’s denial, but he breaks the last bit of my heart with his answer.

“What do you want me to say? I’m not giving her a job because she deserves it. She’s lived on my family’s dime all her life, so it’s not like she can survive on her own. I’ll create a position for her, so at least she’ll be giving something back to us.”

Not wanting to hear another word, I turn away, feeling more worthless than the dust motes dancing in the sunlight. I’m just a useless irritant to him. How did I ever think he was in love with me?

I race back to my room, slam the door shut behind me, and rest against it as if keeping a storm from breaking through.

The words “stray,” “weakling,” and “wallpaper” keep echoing through my head.

I’m his fated mate, but he wishes it was Vanessa instead. I’m just someone his family took pity on. He doesn’t care about me; he’s just continuing their generosity by offering me a job and using me on the side.

My first instinct is to run. I can’t stay here anymore. Everything I have was given to me by these people out of pity. Suddenly nothing seems comforting.

I find my college backpack and start throwing in essentials at random until I reach for the small box that holds all my money. Beneath the rolled bills, I spot the shining piece of jewelry, the only expensive item I own. As I pull it out and stare at it, I feel frozen.

“Hey! That’s cheating. You peeked,” Theron whispers, his voice sending a delicious shiver down my spine. I squeeze my eyes shut, savoring the feeling of his touch.

“God, Seren, I love how you get goosebumps every time I’m near you.” His fingertips dance across my cheek, tracing a path to my lips. He captures them in a soft kiss, the gentle pressure spreading delicious warmth all over my body.

Suddenly, a sharp crack echoes through the night, like a twig snapping underfoot. My eyes fly open, wide with alarm. “Theron, what was that?” I gasp, pushing away from him before he can deepen the kiss.

He grabs my arms, his grip surprisingly firm for such a lighthearted moment. “No. You’re not going anywhere.” His voice hardens, a stark contrast to the playful tone from moments before. “When I told you no one would come here, I meant it. You have to trust me.”

“But you said…” I try to protest, but he places his index finger on my lips.

“Eyes closed,” he orders again, his tone a touch softer this time, and I happily follow the command.

He takes a step back and I hear a soft rustle before a cool, smooth sensation brushes against my skin. A necklace. Every fiber of my being wants to peek, but Theron loves to play this game, and I don’t want to spoil it for him.

He chuckles when he sees my eyes pressed together in a silent struggle, then places soft kisses on my eyelids. “Alright, alright, impatient one,” he whispers, his voice warm against my ear. “You can open them now.”

My eyes fly open, and a gasp escapes my lips. Around my neck rests a breathtaking Venetian glass necklace. The pendant is a large, square amethyst with a deep purple hue, twinkling under the moonlight like one of the stars in the sky.

Tears well up in my eyes. It’s more than beautiful. Theron picked it for me. Just for me. But I can’t keep it. It seems too expensive.

“Happy eighteenth birthday, my Seren-hen.”

I keep running my fingers over it, my mind racing. How will he react if I return it? What will his parents think if I keep it?

He holds my chin between his fingers, tilting my face up so I meet his eyes.

“It’s a family heirloom, but it’s mine, and I’ve decided that only you can have it. It’s yours now. And anyway, if it’s yours, it’s still mine, right? Because you are mine.” He smiles and kisses me.

He told me over and over again that I was his, and I believed him. But he never said he was mine. It’s my fault for being so naive.

A surge of fury replaces the ache in my chest, and I fling the necklace across the room. It strikes the farthest wall and cracks, the glass beads surrounding the pendant shattering all over the floor.

Watching it break into pieces doesn’t even start to make me feel better. But suddenly it’s as if everything is forever changed. The thought brings a deep sense of grief.

Sinking onto the bed, I pull my knees to my chest, the ragged sobs slowly morphing into a choked silence. The weight of his betrayal presses down on me, suffocating. I close my eyes, wishing everything would disappear…including myself.

CHAPTER 6

THERON

Luke’s voice, laced with concern, cuts through some of my anger. “If you feel this way about her, why not just let her go?”

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