I was breathing heavily. Scott had ushered the scouts out of the room before I exploded. My wolf was pacing just at the edge of my mind. Pushing me, egging me on. I started to pace the same way behind my desk, the chair had fallen on the floor and I just left. “Alpha.” Scott closed the door quietly behind him. “Alpha, you need to calm down.” He was looking at me through his own wolf eyes. I could see his neck turned and I realized that the room was filled with a storm of my Alpha presence. It thundered angrily. Scott was only one of two that would try to speak to me now. My father being the other, unaffected by my storm. Frowning, I paced more. Feeling my wolf pace next to me was comforting now. “Desmond.” I glared at him and growled. He flinched a little but held his ground in the room. “Desmond, reign it in.” The scouts told me that May had decided to not wait for the authorization. She decided to just leave on her own. No divorce, n

I could hear raised voices outside the room. It didn’t matter. Nothing mattered anymore. The pain was constant now. At first, I could deal with it. I could sleep and just wake up through the waves that would come. That was hours ago though. I couldn’t function now. My mother and father checked in on me every couple hours. At some point, I curled up in the corner of the room on the floor and stayed there through the majority of it. My back was against the wall and I buried my face in my knees in the dark room. What made it worse was that all this pain was also affecting my mate. My sweet human mate was writhing in this same pain. I could feel her through the bond. Her fear, her resignation, her sadness. I could feel her brush against me as well. I let her feel the regret, sadness, and longing I had for her. I didn’t want her to go through this too. I wanted to ease her pain even if it meant making my own worse. “Helena, for the last time, you cannot see him!”

To say I turned a few heads was an understatement. The moment I walked into the town, I think everyone stopped to stare. It was actually embarrassing. I knew this was what was going to happen but I didn’t think it would be as bad as the movies. When someone rides a bike past and runs into a pole because they were staring. That’s exactly what happened. You would think I would be used to it but I didn’t really stay in small towns like this for long periods of time. Big cities were used to eclectic groups of people and no one would give me a second glance. I walked across the street into the grassy park of the center square. Ducking into the marble gazebo, I reveled in the shade. The weather wasn’t hot but the two hour walk in the sun wasn’t exactly fun. Leaning against the gazebo railing, I looked out over the main city streets. The most attention I received had been from the pack members, not so much the fey or the tourists. 

“Can I see it? The mark?” Desmond asked after a few minutes. He looked like he has been sitting on the question for a while. I nodded. “I wasn’t planning on going into town today, so I didn’t take a potion.” Pulling up my shirt, Desmond’s hands slammed down on mine. “What do you think you are doing?” “I thought you wanted to see…” “You don’t have to take your shirt off for it!” I looked at him, smiling as he was completely panic stricken. “Actually. I do.” The panic was replaced by confusion but I pulled off my shirt and moved my hair to the left side, baring my neck to him. “The hell…” He didn’t finish as his fingers reached out and traced the giant mark on my neck and shoulders. I shivered, biting back a moan as pleasure coursed through me. His light touch against the area was making me melt. My brain turned to mush and I couldn’t even think of anything anymore. Closing my eyes, I tried to hold it in, stuff it down.

***Desmond’s POV***   I felt the shift in the bond. My laughter quieted as I looked at my mate. She was leaning against the house, her head up. Noticing the tears streaming down her face, I quickly moved up to her. My hands held her head and I searched her face. The bond was wavering between multiple emotions from her but the major one was despair. “Olivia?” She shook her head but I pulled her head to me, our foreheads touching. I held onto her until she finally looked at me, tears streaming down her face. “I’m here. I’m not going anywhere.” I brushed her cheek with my thumb. “I’m yours, Olivia.” More tears fell from her eyes and she tried to shake her head but I held her head straight. “You are my soulmate. I was picked for you. No matter our lives or how complicated or messy it is. That is a fact that will not change. Do you understand?” She nodded slowly, the tears not falling as quickly now. “I’m sorry.