I found him in his study an hour later, sitting behind the massive oak desk that had belonged to his father. Zeke looked up when I entered, and I saw my own pain reflected in his green eyes. "She told you." It wasn't a question. I closed the door behind me and walked to the chair across from his desk, my spine straight and my chin lifted. If I was going down, I'd go down with dignity. "Yes." "Cecelia—" "Is it true?" He was quiet for a long moment, his hands clasped on the desk in front of him. When he finally spoke, his voice was barely audible. "Yes." The simple word destroyed the last fragment of hope I'd been clinging to. "How long?" I asked. "How long what?" "How long have you been fucking my sister?" He flinched at the crude language. "Cecelia, don't—" "Answer the question, Zeke. How long?" "Since the second week after our mating ceremony." I closed my eyes, absorbing the blow. "So our entire marriage has been a lie." "No." He stood up abruptly, moving around the desk toward me. "No, Cecelia, that's not—" "Don't." I held up a hand to stop him. "Don't come any closer. Don't touch me. And for the love of the Moon Goddess, don't lie to me anymore." He stopped mid-step, his jaw clenching. "I never lied to you." "You've been screwing my sister for six months behind my back! What would you call that?" "I never promised you love." The words were like a knife to the heart. "No, you didn't, did you? Silly me for thinking that might develop naturally between mates." "Cecelia, please try to understand—" "Oh, I understand perfectly." I stood up, smoothing down my skirt with hands that only trembled slightly. "You never got over your first love, so you found a way to have us both. You marry the adopted daughter to secure the peace treaty, then keep the real daughter as your mistress. Isn't that very smart of you?" "It wasn't like that." "Then tell me what it was like, Zeke. Explain to me how this happened." He ran a hand through his dark silky hair. I loved whenever he did that. My stomach would clench and butterflies would flutter everywhere, but now I hated it. It was a reminder that like my sister, his good looks could guarantee him everything. "When I chose you at the betrothal ceremony—" "Why did you choose me?" I interrupted. "I need to know. Was it always part of some elaborate plan?" "No!" I could hear the pain and desperation in that one word, but I refused to be deceived. "No, Cecelia, I chose you because... because I thought it would be easier." I tried to stop the tears from moistening my voice. "Easier how?" "Easier to do my duty without my heart being involved." I laughed, but it sounded more like a sob. "You chose me because you didn't love me." "I chose you because I thought I could learn to love you," he said quietly. "I thought if I married Layla, I'd spend my whole life fighting the mate bond, trying to be the Alpha my pack needed instead of the man she wanted. But with you..." "With me, you thought you could be both." I finished for him. "Yes." "And then Layla came back." He nodded, his eyes fixed on the floor. "The moment I saw her again, I knew I'd made a mistake. The feelings I thought I'd buried came rushing back, stronger than ever." "So you decided to have an affair behind my back, Zeke." My voice cracked. Hearing this from his mouth was not making this any easier. "I tried to stay away from her," he said desperately, trying to come closer to me. I stepped back. "For the first week after she arrived, I avoided her completely. But then she came to me, crying, begging me to explain why I'd chosen you over her. She said she needed closure." My hands shook as I rubbed my temples. "She was tempting you. It was very obvious. You let her." My voice became hard. "You gave it to her." "I gave her the truth. I told her I'd chosen you because I was a coward who couldn't handle loving her the way she deserved." "And then?" "And then she kissed me." I felt something inside me die. "And you kissed her back." "Yes." "In our house. In the pack house where we live as mates." "Cecelia—" "Where?" The question came out as a growl. "Where did you betray our bond?" "It doesn't matter—" "It matters to me!" I slammed my hand down on his desk, making him jump. "Where, Zeke?" "The library," he whispered. The library. Where I spent most of my afternoons reading, where I'd foolishly imagined bringing our children someday to share the stories I loved. "And after that?" "After that, we... we couldn't stay away from each other." "So you've been meeting in secret ever since." I chuckled, but not in amusement, in rage. I was angry at myself that I let this happen. They were sleeping with each other under my nose, but I trusted them so much and I let this happen. "Yes." He confirmed, his eyes never leaving mine. "While coming home to me every night and pretending to be my devoted husband." "I never pretended—" "You marked me!" I touched the scar on my neck, the physical reminder of our bond. "You claimed me in front of the entire pack, promised to cherish and protect me, and then you spent the next six months sneaking around with my sister!" "The marking was part of the ceremony. It didn't mean—" "It didn't mean anything to you," I finished for him. "I get it now. The great Alpha Zeke Brooke, finally being honest." He stepped toward me again, and this time I didn't stop him. When he reached out to touch my face, I let him, even though his touch felt like poison now. "Cecelia, I'm sorry. I'm so fucking sorry. I never wanted to hurt you." I bit my cheek to prevent the tears from spilling. "But you did it anyway." "Yes." I shook my head, chuckling to myself again. "She said that you want me to release you from our bond so you can marry her instead." "I want you to be free," he said softly. "Free to find someone who can love you the way you deserve." "How noble of you." I stepped back, breaking his hold on my face. "Tell me something, Zeke. If Layla wasn't pregnant, would you still be asking for your freedom?" He was quiet for so long I thought he wouldn't answer. When he finally spoke, his voice was barely a whisper. "I don't know." "I see." I walked to the door, then paused with my hand on the handle. "One more question." "Anything." "Do you love her?" "Yes." "Have you ever loved me? Even a little?" The pause that followed told me everything I needed to know. "I, Zeke Woods of Brooke pack reject you, Cecelia Mayers as my chosen mate." I screamed as I doubled over in pain. I took deep breaths as I struggled to stand erect. "I Cecelia Mayers accept your rejection." At this point, I was proud of myself for not crying. "Thank you for finally being honest." "Where are you going?" "For a walk. I need some air." "Cecelia, wait—" I opened the door without looking back. "Don't follow me, Zeke. I think you've done enough for one day." I was going to the seacliffs to clear my head, and to think clearly and for once in my life, I was going to listen to what I wanted instead of what everyone else needed from me.
