Page 88 of Meant for Them

“Ariel, I love you. Preston loves you.”

Those were the three words she’d been waiting to hear, but now they had no meaning. These men didn’t care enough to confide in her. Ariel rushed to the bedroom, closed and locked the door, and then called Beth. She wasn’t about to walk home.

“I texted you to let you know I got home safely,” Beth said as a way of a greeting.

“I haven’t had the chance to check. I hate to do this, but something really, really bad happened. Can you pick me up? Now?”

“Did something happen to Benson and Preston?”

She couldn’t bring herself to even state that these men were really beasts, and not human men. “It’s a long story. Please?”

“I’m out the door now.”

As Ariel packed, tears rolling down her cheeks at the betrayal. Werewolves? Really? Yes, he’d shown her, but how was it possible, and why lie about everything? They didn’t trust her enough to reveal their secret? The sad thing was that she understood why no one knew about their kind. They would be hunted as freaks. But if they really loved her, they would have told her sooner. Hell, if Preston hadn’t been so weak and fallen, she might never have learned their secret.

Once she had packed her belongings, Ariel pulled on her coat, grabbed her purse and suitcase, and strode out the living room. Preston—or the wolf of Preston—was in the same spot. She nodded to him. “Is he going to be okay?”

“If you’re worried about him, you could wait around a few hours and see.”

That was a dirty trick. “Beth is on her way to take me home.”

His jaw tightened. “I don’t think that’s wise.”

“So now I’m a prisoner? You said Hammer and his friends were in jail.”

“Yes, but who’s to say Paul Franklin won’t want some kind of revenge for capturing his men?”

“Let him take out his revenge. I had nothing to do with any of it.”

He moved closer. “You aren’t thinking straight. Regardless of who Preston and I are, you are still Trent’s sister.”

She didn’t want to hear any more conspiracy theories. “I’m waiting outside for Beth. Please let me go.”

“I thought you cared for us. Even loved us.”

She did. “Goodbye, Benson.”

Ariel pulled open the door and was met with a cold blast of air that helped wake her up, but it didn’t boost her spirits. She was miserable and confused. Staying there, however, wouldn’t help clear her head.

Two minutes later, Beth pulled up in her gray Toyota Corolla. She hopped out of the driver’s seat and rushed over. “You’re leaving them?” she asked as she took the suitcase from Ariel’s grasp.

“Yes.”

“What happened? Less than half an hour ago, you were willing to marry them.”

“That was before.” Ariel yanked open the car door and slid in.

Beth returned to the driver’s side. Without another word, she took off. “Tell me what happened?”

“Can we stop and get some pizza? I’m starving.”

“Of course.”

Her best friend kept quiet the whole way back to town. “A veggie pizza, I’m assuming?” Beth asked.

“How about one with spinach and mushrooms?”

“You got it.”

---