Semua Bab Fate Or Mates: Bab 21 - Bab 30

ANGELA’S POVJulius’s grip tightened on my wrist, his fingers digging in like he owned me. I tried yanking free, ready to snap at him, when a voice cut through the noise behind me.“Let her go.”I froze. That voice. God, I knew that voice. My chest reacted before my head did, a strange mix of comfort and panic flooding me. I turned, my heart thudding like it had its own plan, and there he was.Aaron.For a second, the whole world blurred out. Julius, the crowd, the music, everything. All I saw was him. He looked furious, his eyes dark and locked on Julius, and yet something inside me fluttered anyway, like my heart remembered him before my brain could catch up.Julius, of course, was not about to back down. His face twisted with anger, and he stepped forward, chest puffed up like a rooster. “And who the hell are you to tell me what to do?” he barked. “You are just a gardener. A fucking nobody.”Aaron did not flinch. He did not even blink. He just stepped between us, steady and unshake

ANGELA’S POVI stood there, feeling a little hollow, unsure of myself. My eyes caught Drew, Rainey’s brother, standing off to the side with a girl. She leaned close to him, and I figured she must be his mate. He gave me a cheerful wave, all smiles, and I tried to return it, though my mind slipped back to the shifting crowd almost right away.“Thank you all for joining this year’s ceremony!” The Alpha’s representative spoke loudly from the stage, his voice carrying over the dispersing bodies. It seemed the Alpha could not make it to the ceremony after all. Funny how Rainey was certain we would be mates.Anyway, as I stood there, something in my stomach twisted while the Alpha’s representative continued to address the crowd. It was not nerves exactly, but something familiar. The same odd heaviness I felt when Aaron turned away from me at the festival yesterday. If I am right, and part of me is scared I am, then he is here. Close enough for me to feel him.My gaze flicked around without t

ANGELA’S POVI woke to sparks pouring over my arms. When I lifted my head from the car window, I blinked hard and tried to place where I was. Aaron had driven me home, and I could not remember telling him the way to my uncle’s house.His hand was big and warm around mine. When I opened my eyes, he drew back slowly, like he was checking if I was really awake. I almost whimpered when his fingers slipped away. It felt odd; touching someone should have felt wrong and then, suddenly, not wrong at all. Without thinking, I reached out and grabbed his hand again, my fingers locking around his. I felt the muscles in his forearm tense under my palm.Curiosity took over. I started studying the tattoos on his arm: half moons, two wolves facing each other, ink that disappeared under his sleeve. I slid my hand up his arm, following the warmth and the tiny shocks under his skin, lifting cloth to see where the designs ended.A low growl filled the small space between us. Aaron jerked his arm away. “D

ANGELA’S POVNothing is fine, but I didn’t say that. How do you tell your mother you couldn’t find your mate and you’re going home to a marriage that could kill you? Instead, I lied because it was easier. “I’m fine, Mom. Just tired.” Because sometimes tired feels like the smallest, safest truth you can give.The call with Mom ended, and I let out a long, tired sigh as I flopped back onto the bed. My chest felt heavy. Frustrated didn’t even begin to cover it. I stared at the ceiling for a while, trying to gather myself, then pushed up and went back to folding clothes into my suitcase. I was halfway through when the door creaked open.Rainey slipped inside, leaning against the frame with a small smile. “Hey, want to go shopping? One last hangout before you leave.”I dropped a shirt into the suitcase and looked at her. The idea sounded good. I didn’t want to waste a whole day brooding. “Yeah, why not,” I said, and a smile came easier than it had all morning.A little while later we drift

ANGELA’S POVThe drive started out so quiet I could hear my own breathing. My hands stayed locked on the wheel, but I kept sneaking little glances at him. Aaron looked too calm, sitting with one arm hooked on the door and the other resting on his leg like he belonged there. Like none of this made him the least bit nervous. That steadiness of his set my nerves on fire.When the streetlights slid over his face, every flicker showed me something new. The hard line of his jaw, the way his lashes cut shadows, the corner of his mouth twitching when he realized I was staring.“Eyes on the road,” he said, soft but teasing.I huffed, squeezing the wheel tighter. “I am.”“Mm. Sure.” That half smile of his made my stomach turn over. I hated it, but I also didn’t. I wanted him to keep needling me.We turned onto his street, and I swear my jaw nearly dropped. My foot almost slipped from the gas. His house loomed ahead, iron gates, tall hedges, a mansion glowing like it had been painted into the ni