Chapter 8

“Can I come in and help you back into bed?” Kellan’s voice came through the door, strained and cautious, snapping me out of my spiraling thoughts.

God, I hated that both of them had seen me naked.

I should have been angry, livid even but instead, all I could feel was this crawling embarrassment, seeping into every inch of me. My cheeks burned, my skin tingled and my stomach twisted itself into knots. I couldn’t stop the questions rushing into my head.

What if they thought I wasn’t… enough?

Not soft enough, not curvy enough and not beautiful enough?

It wasn’t like my boobs were small but they weren’t eye popping either. They were just there…just enough for a hand to cup. Nothing to make any one stare twice, Nothing like Leona’s

Another knock came. I blinked and realized I had trailed off again. Something had to be wrong with me. Maybe it was the pregnancy hormones messing with my head, making me zone out every five seconds. Was this normal or Was I losing it?

“Kellan,” I called out clearing my throat, “just get me some clothes, please. I’m cold and need to cover up a bit more. If the doctor comes tomorrow, I can always take off my shirt for him to check my injuries. I catch the flu way too easily and it’s always very bad. Getting sick right now would just cause me more harm. ”

“Oh. Right. Got it. Sorry,” he said quickly. “Give me a minute. I’ll be back.”

He walked away, but almost immediately, I heard footsteps returning.

That was fast. Did he run?

“Do you want to open the door and take the clothes from me,” he asked, “or should I come in and hand them over? I’m asking because I really don’t want you going all crazy on me again. Also, you still owe me an explanation when you’re out of there.”

“Whatever,” I muttered, not even hiding the irritation in my voice. I cracked the door open just enough to stretch my arm out. I snatched the clothes from him and slammed it shut again.

Back in the bathroom, I stood in front of the mirror and slipped off the hospital gown. I tore open a pack of wipes, yanking a few out and rubbing them roughly across my face with more force than necessary. The dirt didn’t completely come off, but it was better than nothing. At least, I looked a little more human now. I also avoided my bruises as best as I could, flinching each time I got too close to one.

Then I gathered my hair into a bun, lifted it carefully to avoid the tender spot behind my ear which has an open wound from my fall and stared at my reflection. I looked… better. Not perfect, but definitely better than before.

The small smile on my lips vanished when my gaze fell on the mark on my neck.

Kade’s mark but this time, it didn’t just remind me of him. It reminded me of her, Leona.

A sharp pain cut through me as the memories returned again. Kade had tried to mark her too, hoping somehow the bite would stick but it never did. The mark always healed, disappearing like it had never been there. He kept trying, over and over, desperate to force something that wasn’t real.

But what he didn’t know was that, no matter what he did, he couldn’t rewrite fate. He already had a mate.

Me.

As an Alpha, he should have known better. He should have known that trying to mark someone else when your fated mate still lived… It was useless. Impossible.

But Kade was too stubborn. Too foolish. And too damn selfish to accept the truth.

I forced my eyes away from the mark, hating the feelings it stirred in me. It didn’t make me feel wanted, it made me sick. Kade had made me question everything, my life, my sanity, my worth.

He made me feel small and useless. Like I was nothing more than the pathetic, weak omega everyone said I was.

If I had known this was how my life would turn out… if he had just told me from the start that Leona was the one he truly wanted, maybe I would’ve run away. Maybe I would’ve ignored the bond completely.

But no.

I stayed, thinking he would change. I was stupid. So damn stupid to think that his feelings toward me would ever shift. That he would look at me the way he looked at her.

“Fuck you, Kade,” I muttered, the words bitter on my tongue. “I hate you. I hate you so much… I wish I’d rejected you before I ever ran away.”

But I hadn’t and now I was stuck.

Stuck with a mate I never chose. A bond I couldn’t break, all because I didn’t say the words when I had the chance.

Kade never officially rejected me either. He didn’t need to. His actions screamed it loud enough. The way he looked at me. The way he touched her. The way he pretended I didn’t exist unless it was convenient.

He never said the words, but I knew I wasn’t wanted.

Not that I could have rejected him even if I tried. I was just an omega, and in our world, an omega rejecting an alpha in front of his pack was practically a death sentence. It would be seen as defiance. Treason. They would’ve torn me apart for even trying.

I shook my head, trying to shake off the pain, and grabbed the shirt Kellan had brought. I yanked it over my head with a little too much force, forgetting my hair was tied up in a tight ponytail. The shirt caught in my hair refusing to slide down, and before I could fix it, my balance slipped.

I tumbled to the ground with a loud thud, the cold bathroom tiles meeting my body hard. A sharp jolt of pain shot through me, and a small cry escaped my lips.

“Dammit,” I hissed, clutching my side.