Page 58 of Redeeming His Omega Mate

“You—” Her voice wavered, but the fury in it was unmistakable. “You ruined everything.”

“Serena, look—”

“Shut up!” she exploded. “I don’t want to hear your voice. I don’t want to see you.”

She turned to Damian, her chest rising and falling with ragged breaths. “You humiliated me,” she choked out, tears streaming down her face. “And for what? Her?”

“I know how you must feel, Serena,” Damian said solemnly. “And I truly am sorry—”

“Are you?” she cut him off with a scoff. “Because you didn’t look sorry up there.”

Damian’s expression tightened. “Would you rather I commit you to a life of misery? Of lovelessness? Or longing for another woman?”

Serena stumbled back as if the words had struck her. “What is it about her?” Her voice cracked, thick with hurt. “How is she any better than me?”

Although I had never liked her, I felt a pang of sympathy for her because I knew what it was like to be publicly rejected.

“Serena—” Damian attempted to pacify her, but once again, she cut him off. I could see his lips twitch in anger.

“Do you know she’s been lying to you?” she asked, tilting her head toward me but not taking her gaze off Damian.

Damian’s brows pulled together.

My breath caught. What was she talking about?

Serena let out a sharp, brittle laugh. “I thought if I kept my findings to myself, I wouldn’t give you a reason to go back to her. But I was sorely mistaken, wasn’t I?”

Damian’s voice flared with irritation. “What are you talking about?”

“When I first arrived at the pack, I noticed the lingering stares, the tense conversations. For two people who were supposed to be strangers, it sure didn’t look like it.”

I stiffened.

“Then, there were the murmurs,” she continued. “It didn’t take long for me to figure out that Tala was no stranger in Stonehart. And she had quite the reputation. The Alpha’s rejected mate,” she scoffed. “I wanted to understand why she lied. So, I had her followed. You’d be shocked what money can make people do.”

My stomach lurched.

Serena turned to me, her lips in a cruel smile. “Why don’t you tell Damian why you took that little trip to the pack’s mystic?”

Damian’s gaze flickered to me. “You visited the pack’s mystic?”

“Go on, Tala,” Serena drawled. “Tell him why.”

I swallowed, my mind racing. “Damian—”

“I’ll answer for her,” she cut in, her voice brimming with satisfaction. “She visited the pack’s mystic for a special potion to mask her and her daughter’s scent. Now, I don’t care why she masked her scent, but why would she want to mask her daughter’s scent?”

Damian turned to Serena, his patience waning. “If you have something to say, Serena, say it or get out of my face.”

“No, you don’t get to raise your voice at me, Damian,” Serena snapped. “You don’t get to be the one angry here. You left me in the aisle, remember? And all for what? For a woman who has been lying about having your daughter?”

I froze, my breath catching. I had sorely underestimated Serena, and that was my mistake. Guess she wasn’t as self-absorbed as I thought.

I watched as Damian’s gaze slowly shifted to me, his expression questioning.

I wanted to speak, to deny it, to say something, anything, but the words lodged in my throat.

Because what could I say?

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