Rejection (The Mate Games 2)

Me: You told me you loved me.

King: I lied. I just wanted to fuck you and leave you. Just like you left me. How’s it feel now that the shoe’s on the other foot?

Me: Fuck you, Kingston.

King: No thanks. Already been there. Didn’t enjoy it the first time.

Hot tears blurred my vision. I screamed in rage as I hurled my phone against the wall, my wolf just as angry, desperate to get out and run. Why was this happening? I’d finally brought them together, started to feel whole.

My front door burst open, a hulking Viking and angry vampire prince standing there, gazes trained on me with laser focus.

They spoke at the same time.

“What’s the matter?”

“Who hurt you?”

The two of them were at my side in the blink of an eye, each with a tender hand touching me.

My voice wavered. “I think Kingston just broke things off. With a fucking text message.”

Noah’s brows pulled together. “He can’t have done. That doesn’t seem like him.”

I let out a bitter laugh. “Really? It seemed just like him to me. The old him anyway. Angry at the world. Hateful.”

Alek trailed the pad of his thumb over my cheek to wipe away a tear. “We’ll get to the bottom of this. If he thinks he can break your heart and get away with it, he clearly hasn’t been paying attention.”

Noah reached for me, pulling me toward him so he could tuck me against his chest. “If he wants to end things, he owes you the courtesy of having that conversation with you in person.”

“I don’t want to look at him right now.”

“You don’t have to,” Alek said soothingly.

“It might be better if you do. It would make you feel better to clear matters up. Or, if he really does want out, then he can fuck off. Alek and I will take care of you.”

The thought of seeing Kingston right now tore me in two directions. On one hand, I wanted to give him a piece of my mind, show him what he was throwing away. On the other, I might not be able to see him without breaking down. For all his jealousy, he still owned so much of me. How could he not understand that? What had changed between me leaving his bed and now?

I wiped away the tears still trailing down my cheeks. “You’re right. I need to hear him say it. Otherwise a part of me will always feel like maybe there was something else I could have done. And when you love somebody, you fight for them, right? Even when they act like total assholes.”

Alek cupped my cheek and leaned close, kissing my temple. “That’s right. We fight.”

“Come on, we’ll go with you.”

“That way we can punch him in the throat if he gets out of line,” Alek said with a grin just a little too bloodthirsty for his words to be a joke.

“He’s not in his room. Moonrise was five minutes ago. The headmistress lifted the ban for him so he could shift and heal.” I glanced at the window where, even covered by clouds, the moon made the sky glow.

“Lead the way then, dove.”

The three of us walked hand in hand down to the clearing. We arrived just in time to see figures standing in shadow, my gaze immediately locking on Kingston as he pulled a pair of sweats up over his hips.

As hurt as I was, I couldn’t deny the flutter of arousal the sight of his mostly naked body triggered. His gorgeous chest was on full display, healed and perfect, and the sight brought no small amount of relief to me. The light of the moon as it peeked out of the clouds caught on the nipple piercings I loved to swirl my tongue around and tug on with my teeth.

Taking a deep breath, I willed myself to focus and stop thinking with my vagina.

“Wow. Way to show up for your mate,” Derek said, standing off to the side and looking at me with far more ice than I’d ever seen in his expression. He tossed Kingston a shirt, but my surly wolf didn’t bother covering himself.

“I figured you’d skip it tonight, Sunshine. I’m surprised to see you here.” Kingston’s voice was cold and detached, a note of hurt hiding in the depths.