Page 22 of Protector Dragon's Shattered Mate

“And I had no idea you thought we were mates,” she said. “Why are you telling me this now that it’s time for me to leave?”

“Because I don’t want you to go,” he said, not bothering to cover the strain in his voice. “If you leave with Rhett, I may never see you again.”

“That’s true enough. This could be goodbye for us. And I don’t intend to stay in the States long-term.”

“Are you still planning to go to Canada? Even now?”

“Yes. I am.”

“How can you just walk away from what we did? Did last night mean nothing to you?”

“Levi, yes, last night meant a lot to me. But that has nothing to do with my future plans. I’m planning to meet Rhett. Last night had changed nothing.”

“But you let me take your virginity. You let me be your first. Is that even true?” He knew it was a low blow, but he couldn’t stop himself.

“How could you say that to me? How could you even insinuate that I would lie to you about being a virgin?”

“I’m sorry. I was wrong to say that, but I just don’t understand how you could share that with me and then leave.” Did she not have any feelings?

“I know that being part of a pack and having a mate, and even having children sounds like a really good thing to you because of the happiness you’ve seen come from those situations. But that’s not what it represents to me at all. Your clan growing up may have been uptight, but they weren’t abusive, they loved you and they wanted you, and from what you said they want you back now. Mine don’t want me. They used me and they treated me like dirt. So don’t assume that you could ever understand how I feel.”

He was taken aback at her vehemence. “I didn’t know you felt that strongly about it.”

“Well, you never bothered to ask, and I work really hard to keep my feelings under wraps because they’ve never done me one bit of good. They’ve only ever made my life harder. So, it’s easy just to feel nothing.”

Again, her fire surprised him. But he was glad for it. She never would have survived the wolves or escaped them if she’d been meek and mild. He just wished it wasn’t directed at him.

“You need to go,” she said suddenly.

“Why do you say that? We can talk about this.”

“No. We cannot. I have had enough choices taken from me. I’m not going to volunteer to go through it again.”

His stomach plunged. “Dammit, Sofia, I’m sorry. That’s not who I am.”

“It sure seems like it is. You want one thing and I want another. There’s no compromise with you.

He was screwing this up. There had to be some way to get through to her. He’d always been a mild-mannered guy; he wasn’t sure anyone had ever been this angry at him before.

He reached out and grabbed her arm, but she yanked it away.

“Let me tell you something,” she hissed. “We will never be together. I’m going to meet Rhett. I am going to speak to theshifters that live with him. You do not get a say in this process; you do not get an opinion. You gave that right up.”

He reached for her again. “Dammit, Sofia, listen to me.”

“No. I’m done listening to you. This conversation is over.”

“I’m not leaving you alone in the woods,” he yelled.

“I can take care of myself.”

“Apparently not. You were in the woods when the wolves got you.”

She whirled around and pointed her finger in his face. “That was shitty.”

“How? It’s true. It’s not safe out here for you.”

He followed her.

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