“I would have never done so without your consent. This was forced upon you. This should never happen to anyone.”
“Is she going to be okay?” The voice came from behind them.
“Yes. I’ll make sure of it,” Galen answered.
“Anthony’s mate was turned the same way. Maybe she can help,” Brent said.
“No! No!” Myka struggled to her feet. “I want you both—all of you—off my land. Don’t ever come back. Just leave me the hell alone!”
How had this happened to her? She needed to go inside and climb into her nice warm bed. Her head pounded, her body ached, her shoulder was on fire, and she wanted this nightmare to be over. Surely if she went to sleep, she’d have a good laugh in the morning over the seriously fucked-up dream she’d just had. None of this could be real.
“I can’t leave you, Myka. I won’t let you go through this alone.” Galen stood slowly and took a step toward her.
She backed away from him, and he stopped. The pain that marred his beautiful face in obvious response to her rejection nearly sent her to her knees. The man she’d fallen in love with was not . . . She didn’t know what he was not, but she couldn’t be with him.
“I want you gone,” she said through clenched teeth as she turned and made her way toward the house.
After going inside, she locked the door. Yeah. A lot of good the locked doors and windows did earlier. She stumbled to the bathroom and started the shower. She winced as she peeled her now-ruined dress from her body. The fabric stuck to her shoulder, and she sobbed as she yanked it away from her skin. She stared down at the torn dress, and her chest ached. Maybe it was better this way. The dress that had meant so much to her earlier because it had come from Galen was beyond repair, just like her relationship with him.
After showering and washing the bite as best she could, she stood in front of the mirror, wrapped in a towel, trying to get up enough courage to look in the reflective glass that would make this nightmare all too real. Slowly she raised her eyes and stared at the punctures along her shoulder. She turned sideways and saw more on her back.
She was going to become a monster. Would she be a danger to Patrick? She began to cry. Her body shook with racking sobs that undulated through her. She couldn’t abandon Patrick. She loved him. He needed her. That was when she realized that no matter how much he’d hurt her, she needed Galen. He was the only one who could answer her question. Fear shot through her. She’d told him to leave. Was it too late? Had he already gone?
She ran to the front door, unlocked it, and jerked it open before running across the yard to the barn to find Galen standing by the stalls. His hair was damp, the dirt and blood were gone, and he had on jeans and a T-shirt.
“I got all of the horses back in their stalls.”
“I didn’t know they were gone.”
“Yes.”
“Galen, I, um—”
“I’m not leaving.”
“Oh.”
He gasped when he turned and looked at her. “You’re going to freeze out here. You only have on a towel.” He took a step closer, but stopped abruptly. He reached out toward her shoulder, but pulled his hand back before touching her.
“This changes everything.” She glanced down at the bite.
“I know.”
“I can’t be with you—not like we were—any longer, but I need you. You are the only one I can turn to who can help me through this.”
“Myka, I will never leave you. I love you. I will always love you. We were meant for one another, and whether you accept me or not, you are my mate, and I will protect you until the day I die.”
“I love you too,” she whispered. “But things are different now. I don’t know how I’ll feel in the future, but right now, I feel betrayed, hurt, and overwhelmed.”
“I’m sorry. You’ll never know how much this hurts me. What happened tonight is my fault. If I had only been strong enough to leave you, to lure them away before all of this happened.”
“I’m tired. I don’t want to get into deep conversation right now. Just answer me one thing.”
“Anything.”
“Am I a danger to Patrick?” She held her breath.
“No. You never will be either. He’s perfectly safe.”
She let the breath out in a whoosh. “Why were they chasing you?”
“Terrance, the one who bit you, told them I was a rogue. They’ve been chasing me for six months.”
“A rogue? That’s what Terrance was talking about. And what is Sanctuary?”
“A rogue is a lycan who doesn’t abide by our rules. Our species is in danger of dying out. All potential mates—like you—are of the utmost importance to our survival. If one is found, she is meant to be cherished, and kept safe at all costs. Rogues do not follow that law. They believe potential mates are fair game for torture, rape, and murder. They use them for amusement more times than not. Once a rogue has been located, if the potential for reformation is there, they are sent to Sanctuary to go through a program. If they reform, they are allowed to live.”
“And if they can’t be reformed?” She raised a brow.
“They are put down,” he answered quietly.
“Oh my God! That’s wrong. Why don’t you send them to prison?”
“We can’t. Think about it. If humans find out about our existence, we will be hunted to extinction. We are already facing it as it is. That’s why potential mates are so important.”
“How do you know I’m a potential mate? How do you know I’m your mate?”
“All potential mates have two scents—one that all lycans can smell, the other only a fated mate can smell. I can smell both on you. That means you are my fated mate.”
“If another lycan, one besides you, had found me, what would have happened?”
“Nothing. You would have been watched. Protected. And any honorable single male in the area would have been free to see if you were his. If you were, he would have been free to approach you. It would always have been your choice, though. No potential mate is ever forced to accept a mate or change. Ever. Not by an honorable lycan. Unfortunately, rogues are not honorable. I’m sorry the choice was taken from you tonight.”
“Are the others gone?”
“Yes. They won’t bother you again.”
“What about Terrance?”
“I’m not sure. I can only assume he has already been dealt with. He hurt you. He would have had no problem murdering you for his own gain. And I will not lie to you. Had things been different, had I gotten my hands on him, I would have killed him for hurting you. He lied about me. I gave him a chance when, in my heart, I knew he was beyond reformation. It’s my fault. All of it. I should have taken care of the problem. Instead, I let it get out of hand, and my mistake caused you pain.”
“I’m going to bed now. You and I will have a long talk tomorrow. Patrick won’t be home until the day after.” She turned to go back to the house, when his words stopped her.
“You love me?”
She kept her back to him as her shoulders sagged. “Yes, but as I said, things are different now.”
She continued to the house, where she crawled into bed and fell into an exhausted sleep.
He’d lost her. Myka would never trust him again. Galen tore his clothes off and let his wolf roar to the surface. He ran for the woods with sorrow burning through his soul as brightly as the sun. He’d finally found his mate, and now he’d lost her. She said she loved you. It didn’t matter. He’d seen the hurt shining in her eyes.
She wanted him to stay, but for how long? Once she learned everything she needed to know about lycans, after she shifted for the first time, would she send him packing? He’d no longer be of use to her after that. Even if she did ask him to leave, he’d never go far away. He’d watch over her for the rest of his life. He had a little over three weeks before the next full moon, before her first change. He’d convince her to stay with him before then. Somehow he’d make her trust him again. He had to. He was lost without her.