Page 109 of Unforgivable

"She was punished for seducing herowntruemate," Ezra says in a voice that holds more than a little disbelief. "Damnit, how fucked up is that?"

"Jax must not know the truth," I tell them. "And it explains everything, doesn't it?"

Ezra starts chuckling in disbelief. "You realize that our female almost died while that fucker was sent on an extended honeymoon with some random bitch who isn't his?" Absolute loathing coats every inch of his voice.

"Shh, let her sleep," I warn him.

He cuts off his laughter and nods, his eyes fixed on Lyri.

"It's not fair. Goddess, it's not fair," he whispers.

"He'll never get another chance with her. She ours, now," I tell them, unnecessarily.

"We'll have to kill him. There's no way Daan'll let us keep his truemate no matter how fucking stupid he is," Thjis says. "He won't be able to stop instinct from taking over."

"Let him try," I say. I look at them, "we need to take the time to train at least three hours every day. Get back to peak fighting condition." They both nod.

Ezra suddenly smiles, "she liked the blindfold, didn't she?"

I smirk, "yeah, our Luna has a beautiful submissive streak in her. Goddess, we're lucky."

---

Lyri

Blue-eyes is the first one I see when I wake up. Probably because he's only inches away from me, gazing at me solemnly.

"Hi," I whisper.

"Hi, pretty. How're you feeling?"

I feel my face heat up. Um... "I feel fine," I say. I'm sad. I'm scared. I'm exhausted.

He kisses the tip of my nose. "Can you... my Lyri... can you tell us what happened?"

I move to sit up, and Thjis jumps in, practically elbowing Rhet out of the way to help me sit up. I smile at his sad brown eyes.

"Hey, Bear."

"Beautiful," he says quietly. He kisses me, then helps arrange me against the wall. He then climbs into my bed, followed by Ezra. Rhet sits at the end of the bed, and I inhale shakily. They've surrounded me, my pack of males.

"I... Alpha Jax... when he..." I take a deep breath and start over. "I was walking home, alone, my clothes were all torn," I hiccup a laugh and bury my face in my hands. "I was so stupid!"

Ezra rubs my back. "Just tell us what you can. Take your time."

I toss him a grateful smile. This is hard. I don't understand everything myself. I just don't know why? Why did he do this to me? What did I do wrong?

"I shifted and knew. That same night I knew. He didn't even speak to me. He didn't reject me formally. He... I guess he couldn't, could he? He told everyone that Cloe was his truemate, and I just knew that... He avoided me, mostly. He made everything clear. It was all so clear, but... when I finally got enough courage to approach him," I take a deep breath, "he told me that I wasn't what he wanted. He loves Cloe, and I would never replace her. I wasn't enough for him."

I feel so cold, trembling head to toe. I lean against Thjis and feel Ezra rub my arms, my legs, trying to warm me up.

"What happened that night, baby?" Thjis prods me gently, moving me past that excruciating time.

"I was a virgin. I spent all this time and effort trying to win him without resorting to those old cliches, ya know?"

"Like making him jealous?" Thjis supplies.

I nod, ignoring the dark glare on his face. At least it's not directed at me, but at the helpless quilt.

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