"My goddess, these are the medical records from her visit the day we got back from the Meet-and-Greet. This is what Rue was trying to tell me when he said something was wrong. She was never pregnant to begin with. I didn't know her at all."
“I found these in Jeni’s medical records on the system, Sheila tried to delete these doctor's notes from Jeni’s file. Proof is all there; Sheila did it under her user name and there’s a date stamp as well. She helped Jeni destroy our mating."
"Our mating is not destroyed!" he shouts in frustration.
“I call it as I see it, Devon,” I state blithely. “You just need to come to the same realization.”
I turn to the machines sitting silently on the counter, ripping the printouts from each after reviewing them. I hand them to Devon one by one.
"Positive for wolfsbane." I sigh. "She was probably trying to sedate Rue, which she succeeded at, by the way. Be careful and don’t drink any more tea from her. She likely wants to be intimate."
Smirking to myself, I note that I don’t struggle with the words this time, probably because I’m not trying to insult Jeni, just stating facts.
"It doesn’t matter," he chokes out. "I’m never going to be with her."
"Oh, I think you’re deluding yourself," I glower. "You choose Jeni every single time she forces a choice. When she told you she was pregnant outside our hotel room three years ago, you chose her. When she burst through your office door the first night I arrived, you yanked your hand out of mine so fast it made my head spin. Then you walked out, coddling her, choosing her yet again.”
“But the worst thing was when you sided with her at the lake, when she had the audacity to touch my child after I’d been warned not to let her near Zoe because Jeni’s a danger to her. You knew that! In so many ways this past week, you’ve chosen her. You’ve never chosen me or even Zoe, for that matter. If it’s a choice between us or Jeni, you choose Jeni every time. And she knows it."
“So, yes, Devon, our mating is destroyed.”
At a loss for words, his mouth hangs open. Finally realizing the consequences of his actions, he feels the guillotine blade he loaded beginning its downward trajectory.
"No, I choose you! I choose Zoe." He quavers.
"Devon, I forgive you. And, for Zoe's sake, I can be kind." I grieve as a look of relief crosses his face. "But you chose me far too late."
"I, Amaris Richland Wright, reject you as my mate, Devon Wright, Alpha of the Still Waters Pack."
Devon falls to his knees, clutching his chest. "Amaris, please, I love you."
"Then, you love me too late, Devon. I don't love you anymore." I toss a bottle of Amra to him. "Here's the kindness you never showed me. Take one every morning until you find your second chance or chosen mate. It will ease your suffering." I reach into the small fridge on the counter and hand him a bottle of water. "I'm going to lay down and recover from your girlfriend's attack. Take one of those soon, or mark Jeni while Rue sleeps."
"And those two had better be taken to the Alpha Commander and the elders for punishment, or I’ll do it myself,"I warn.
I walk out of the room, leaving him sobbing on the floor."And sign the darn divorce papers," I toss over my shoulder.
I hate to be cruel, but I'm so much more than that conniving female ever was, and I am NOT going to play second fiddle to her!
Chapter 22 - The Attack
***Trigger warning – Bloody Fight***
Amaris
After Jeni's attack in the clinic, I drag myself to my room and pass out. Thank the goddess, I brought Trish with me; I was wrung out.
I wake up in the middle of the night. The moon is absent, leaving no light to filter through the darkness. Stretching my muscles before getting out of bed, I shift to the right. I'm stiff and sore, and the nearly-healed wounds on my chest pull uncomfortably. Sitting up, I dangle my feet off the side of the bed.
"Well, well, well. Sleeping beauty is finally awake." A menacing female voice comes from the shadows.
I spring to my feet. "What the—who's there?" I make out a faint silhouette and a glimmer of steel in the darkness.
"Who do you think it is?" came the sickeningly sweet voice, drawing closer, and chills ran up my spine at the familiarity of it. I shift toward the door as Jeni's face emerges from the blackness.
"You don't think I’d work this hard and this long only to give up now, do you? You can’t get rid of me that easily. Devon is mine!" She shrieks as she lunges, aiming a bloody knife at my chest. I dodge right and call on Lyra for help, but I can't feel her.Did Jeni lace her claws with wolfsbane when she sliced me open?
I look around for anything that I can use to defend myself, but there’s nothing. She throws her head back and laughs maniacally. "There are no weapons here, Amaris. No protection. No wolf." Her smile stretches uncannily wide.