Chapter 11 His Resolve

~Flynn~

I watched Liam take her farther from me, my vision blurring as I tried to focus on what the woman in front of me was saying. I could barely stand. That bastard almost ripped my throat out, and I wasn’t healing fast enough to recover. Damn it!

Warmth crept down my neck, but all I could think about was going after her and taking her away from him. She still loved me, despite all that I’d done, and I couldn’t be more relieved.

There were a lot of things to do, asking for her forgiveness takes priority.

Will she forgive me that easily?

I saw her raise her head to look at me, my woman in the arms of another man; I let out a low growl.

Then this woman named Lexy waved her arms to get my attention. Looking at her, she had her arms to her sides, both hands balled in fists, and she stomped her foot on the ground. What a high-tempered woman.

“Shift back so I could see your wounds,” she said, in an imposing tone. “She’ll be fine. He won’t do anything to her.”

That’s not what I was worried about.

I didn’t give a damn about Liam. He’d realize later that it was his mistake to come between me and my mate. Mate – the Goddess really did give her to me as mate, and I blew it. Hopefully, she’d take me back.

I swear I would never hurt you again – never, Anna. I promise. So please, don’t leave me with him.

When Liam threatened me this morning that she might leave, it scared me. I never banished her so I could always keep an eye on her; she wasn’t by my side but at least I could always see her from a distance.

How could I have possibly laid a hand on her – I’ve always loved her. I was blinded by my rage for years, blaming her for their deaths when it wasn’t her fault. It was mine.

I had to go. I need to know if she would stay in the pack… with me. I still had the ring. It was only for her. From a time we didn’t know if we were to be mated to each other, I’d already decided that the Luna Ring was only for her. She belonged to me, by my side, as Luna of the White Lake Pack.

Walking forward, I swayed on my feet. I had to let her know. But my strength left my legs and I fell sideways to the ground.

Damn it! Why am I so weak!

I slowly shifted back into my human form, feeling my bones crack as they fixed themselves in place, and Farrell’s black fur disappearing into my skin.

“Won’t you heal me quicker, Farrell? We have the Alpha blood, don’t we?” I asked, getting annoyed.

He didn’t reply. All I heard from him was a sad whimper, and I knew something was wrong. The last time he did this was… the night when I rejected her and forced her to reject me. I almost passed out from the pain of the rejection, feeling a part of me had gone missing, and when I reached my room, I immediately collapsed and lost consciousness.

When I woke up, it was already morning. Farrell whimpered and howled in my mind, regret weighing heavy in my heart. I headed down to the kitchen immediately but found that she wasn’t there. Only a half-empty bottle of wine, which meant someone had taken her. And of all the werewolves that came over for the mating ceremony, it had to be that damn Liam!

“You look like you’re dying,” a voice said, and I realized it was Carson.

When did he get here?

I felt a sting on my neck, and I hissed.

“Relax. It’s just alcohol,” said Lexy, who was now kneeling beside me.

When did she get there?

“Thanks for bringing my kit, Carson,” she said, and was it just me, or did her pitch raise a little higher?

“No problem,” Carson said coolly, squatting beside her. “Is he dying?” he asked, with a smug look on his face.

“You’d want that, don’t you?” I said casually.

“Maybe,” he said. “Did she really face him for you?”

“You were watching?” I asked, raising my head only for Lexy to slam it back down, her hand placed firmly on my forehead. “You could treat your patient a little gently,” I said, annoyed and Carson grinned.

This woman surely has guts.

“And you,” I said, pointing at Carson. “What kind of deal did you make with them? I swear if this has something to do with – ow!”

Lexy flicked my forehead this time, interrupting my talk with Carson. “What was that for?” I demanded.

She actually smiled as she said, “Keep still so I could get this over with.”

“I am still! All I’m moving is my mouth!”

Damn. This woman keeps getting on my nerves. She’s almost like Carson in that sense.

“Hey, Flynn,” Carson said.

“What?”

“You should forget about Anna now,” he said. “She’s already found her mate. You’ve no choice but to let her go.”

Found her mate? How could that possibly happen? I am her mate! We rejected each other but we could still take it back. The Goddess wouldn’t give her to another so soon, would she?

“I think you’re forgetting something, Carson. I’m her Alpha. It’s up to me to decide if she leaves or not,” I said firmly.

There was no way I was letting her go so easily. And whoever this second chance mate of her was better back off.

Anna is mine.

“You’re the one forgetting something, Flynn. If she’s mated to an Alpha, it’s up to her,” he said. “And whether you like it or not, she is mated to an Alpha. Why do you think Alpha Liam almost killed you?”

My brain lagged in processing his words. It couldn’t be.

That bastard’s her mate?

This had got to be some sort of a joke!

“It’s true. He just found out today,” said Lexy, folding a piece of gauze. “And he wouldn’t treat her the way you did,” she said, and it stabbed my heart like a knife.

“She told me,” Carson said. “I didn’t think you’d stoop so low, Flynn.”

“Done!” Lexy chirped and stood, holding the first-aid kit in one hand. “I’ll leave you two to talk.”

She casually walked away, and I sat up, tilted my head to stretch my neck on both sides.

When she was out of earshot, Carson slammed me back down on the ground, holding my neck in a chokehold as he straddled me.

“How could you do that to her!” he shouted, tightening his hold.

My hands instinctively went to his wrists, but he wouldn’t let go.

Sorry, man.

Using my strength, I gripped his wrists tightly until he let go. If he didn’t, I would’ve crushed them.

“You fucking – “

A low-pitched slap sounded in the clearing as his right fist landed on my face. “You almost killed her!”

He raised his left fist and punched the other side of my face. “She almost died!”

I know.

He rained punches on my face. I let him take his anger out. He was right. I almost killed her that night. She was my mate and I beat her up and forced her to accept my rejection.

I deserved this. No, I deserved more than this.

How could I claim to love her when I didn’t show her that I did? No wonder the Goddess mated her to another – to an Alpha, so she could finally leave me.

Carson threw his head back and shouted in frustration. Then he looked down on me, panting. “She’s like a sister to me and you know it. I thought you loved her, man,” he said.

Grabbing the neckline of my shirt, he forced me to sit up and look him straight in the eye.

“Why? Why the fuck did you do that to her?” he demanded as he shook me violently before pushing me back down.

Then, he laid on his back beside me, drawing deep breathes.

“I wish she leaves you,” he said.

Sitting up, I spat the blood in my mouth before replying, “I’m taking her back, Carson. She’s my Luna.”

He scoffed. “Should’ve proposed to her a long time ago, man. Let her be. She’s finally found her mate.”

“I’m her mate!” I declared. “She’ll stay. You’ll see.” I forced myself to stand. “When I take back the rejection – “

“You rejected her?” he asked in disbelief, sitting up. “You were her mate?”

“I am her mate,” I corrected. “She’s not meant to be with that bastard.”

“You’re insane, Flynn. Let her be happy right now. Haven’t you done enough?” He stood beside me, placed a hand on my shoulder, and put on a serious face. “She’ll be happy with him, man. It’s time to let her go.”

I shrugged his handoff. Walking away, I said, “She’ll be happy if she stays with me. You’ll see.”

He didn’t follow after me. I felt his eyes on my back. “If you really love her, you’d know that she’s better off without you.”

Of course, I do. But I don’t want to accept it when I still have a chance to prove to her that she can be happy with me. I’ll make her the happiest woman in the world, for the rest of our lives. I’ll go down on my knees and grovel before her if I have to.

She won’t leave me. We are mates. We are mates…