I cannot believe that fucking Lion prick made such a scene!It’s not Melinda’s fault that she was born to a man who forced himself on her mother. Goddess, I could rip Adonis’s heart out!I chase Melinda for ten minutes before catching her and tackling her to the ground.“Get off me!” Melinda screams as I straddle her, pinning her arms above her head. “Jai, let me go!”“No!” I yell. “No, I will not let you go. What he said was wrong, Mel, don’t listen to him.”“Why should I care what he said? He’s not the first person to reject me, and he won’t be the last. I’m used to it,”Then, with all her mite, Melinda pushes me off of her. She scrambles back against the nearest tree and brings her knees to her chest.My heart aches for my mate, and now I realise why she’s trying to push me away. She wanted to reject me before I did so to her.I sit down in front of Melinda with my legs crossed and sigh.“Melinda, this is why you’re trying to reject me, isn’t it? You thought you’d reject me before

“Where are we?” I ask as soon as we come to a stop outside a wooden cabin. When Jai pulled me away from my mother, I had no mind to stop him. It’s not my mother’s fault that her father won’t accept me; I know that, and I don’t doubt her love for me. My whole life, she has protected me as best she could from Mike while trying to show me all the love in the world. My life may have been lonely, and I may have been shunned and rejected by everyone else, but not her. Mum is my best friend, and I don’t want to lose her. But I won’t make her choose between me and the father she has longed for since the day Mike kidnapped her. Mum will be moving on soon with Adam and Jessie. They’ll be able to see Adonis whenever they want, and I won’t be in the way to cause problems. If what Jai said is true, this is my new home if I put my faith and trust in him. I want to try and be the mate Jai deserves, and I pray I don’t mess things up. Jai and I walked around for about an hour before coming upon th

A hand on my face wakes me from my dreamless sleep. I crack my eyes open, realise someone put me to bed, and smile.“Mum,”Goddess, she looks so healthy, so beautiful. She’s wearing a dark green dress with a white jacket, her hair is loose and curled, and her makeup is light. I’ve never seen my mother look so stunning.“How did you know I was here?”Mum smiles. “There is nowhere you can go where I won’t find you. You’re in here, you see.” She points to her heart.I smile at that.“Baby girl, I just came to say goodbye.”My heart sinks, and I scramble to sit up.“Goodbye? Why? Where are you going?”Mum takes my hand in her own. “Jessie, Adam and I are leaving for my father’s Pride.”My jaw drops.Why didn’t I see this coming?I knew Mum and Jessie would be going to Adam’s pack, but I didn’t realise she’d want to go home – the place she was raised.I’m not surprised I wasn’t invited to join then; Adonis would never allow that.“I don’t want to leave you here, Melinda, but your mate is h

“Jai, if you could just wait outside?”My eyes widen at the tall, dark-skinned man in front of me. Richie, so Jai told me is the doctor’s name. Not that I think Richie would hurt me, I don’t get that feeling from him, but I don’t know him either.I’m not a weak little girl who needs her man to hold her hand. But I’ve never been in this kind of situation before. When I said I was rarely around others, I meant it.I’m not going to be over my past in one day. It doesn’t matter how wonderful my mate is or how well I’m treated here. Mike put horrible doubts in my head about so many things that pushing them away is hard.Goddess knows I wish I could have lived an easy life. But I didn’t, and I can’t change that or my mindset, well, not in one day.I’ll learn to live a better life in time; I know I will. With Jai by my side, things don’t seem so bad, and I know we’re going to be good together. But right now, I need him here with me!Is that too much to ask?“No,” I clutch Jai’s hand in mine.

“Adonis, tell me that’s not true!”I clutch Adam’s hand tighter in mine as Mum stands yelling at Dad. We settled Jessie into our room before Dad called Adam and me to his office. Mum wouldn’t wait a moment longer for Dad to tell her what the hell he thought he was playing at. I was worried about leaving Jessie, but luckily, she fell asleep. I was concerned because she hadn’t long woken up, but Adam said it was nothing but the travelling that had worn our baby out; I believed him because I had no reason not to.Mum, Dad, and all three of my brothers are here. I thought we were going to have family time, but Dad went right into how Melinda must be slaughtered for the good of the family and the Kingdom.It’s wrong! The only known cases of women being raped and getting pregnant recorded didn’t involve a child already born. When the crime is reported to my father right after the event, he forces the woman to take the morning-after pill. If the lioness is too scared to report the crime and