Chapter 59
CHARLOTTE’S POV
(100)
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I was the one who had always wanted answers. I wanted to know my past, to know the father of my child, to give Liam the life he deserves. But after listening to the voice recording Gavin brought to my office, I wished I had never listened to that. I wished I had never pressed play.
I let Astra loose and ran into the woods, pushing myself until my chest burned and my legs gave up. Even that wasn’t enough. I went back to the house, changed my clothes, and drove to a gym far away from the estate. I didn’t want anyone to recognize me. Liam was at his swimming lesson with his nanny and two of Ace’s bodyguards. Les was at the hospital, called in for an emergency surgery after her patient’s condition suddenly worsened. I left earlier than I normally would. Gavin’s visit had scattered my thoughts, and I couldn’t focus on anything.
I was alone at the gym, hitting the punching bag again and again until my arms felt numb. I didn’t stop until my strength ran out. When I finally collapsed on the floor, the tears came without warning. No matter how hard I tried, the voice from that recording wouldn’t leave my head.
“I’m not a whore. I’m not a whore.” I repeated these words several times in my head. I didn’t even realize when I fell asleep on the cold floor, exhausted and empty.
I woke up to find myself curled up in someone’s arms, both of us lying on the cold floor. His hold was strong, leaving me no room to move, but I didn’t panic. I knew that scent anywhere, and it always drove me crazy with need.
How did he know to find me here? Was there anywhere he couldn’t? I squirmed a little in his arms, and he moved with me, sitting up and pulling me against him. My back rested on his broad shoulders, and his hands wrapped around me from behind, holding me close. My body snuggled closer to his touch like it needed him. I was like a woman in heat and only his touch could calm the fire inside me.
Neither of us spoke. We stayed like that for a long while, just breathing together. My stomach grumbled, and he chuckled, the vibration of his chest brushing against my back. I hadn’t eaten anything today. Between running through the woods and punching the bag until I dropped, I was starving, and it showed.
“Come, let’s go feed you,” he breathed behind my ear, sending hot shivers down my spine. He always did that to me. He made me lose control too easily. That was why I asked him to stay away from me.
“I’m not hungry,” I said, folding my arms across my chest.
“But your stomach says otherwise. Whatever you’re feeling right now will pass once you eat.” He joked, a soft laugh leaving his lips. Something about it snapped inside me.
I shot to my feet, anger rushing through me. “Do I look that easy to you? You think you can just feed me like a child and I’ll forget everything that happened?”
Confusion crossed his handsome but tired face as he stood up too. “That’s not what I meant. I just wanted to feed you.”
“I’m not a child you can feed and make him forget the reason he was crying, Ace. I’m a grown woman,” I shot harshly.
9:01 Wed, Feb 11
Chapter 59
“Tm sorry if I upset you, I didn’t mean to…”
150
He started, but I raised a hand, shushing him. He froze, standing there quietly, staring at me. His eyes were a cloud of pain, hurt, longing, and it made my chest hurt, my heart feel like it was cracking.
“Leave me alone, Ace. I meant it when I told you that days ago. Unless it’s really important, you don’t have to see me.” Every word I said fought against what I wanted, my heart wanted to run to him, to throw myself into his arms, but my pride and fear held me back.
He reached out to touch me, and I stepped back, making him flinch. The hurt in his eyes was raw, almost unbearable. “Do I really repulse you that much? You can’t even stand my touch?” His voice cracked slightly, soft, almost begging.
I opened my mouth to speak, but nothing came out. My throat felt locked. How did he even reach that conclusion? “I know you hate me right now,” he said quietly. “So tell me. What do you want me to do?”
“Stay away from me,” I said, stepping back again. My back hit the wall, but he didn’t stop.
“How?” His voice cracked. “I tried. I stayed away for days and it almost destroyed me. I wanted to call you a hundred times every day. I wanted to come to you, to see your face, to hear your voice. But I didn’t. I held myself back because you asked me to.”
He stepped closer, closing the little space left between us, his body caging me in. I could feel his heat, his breath, everything.
“Hate me if you want,” he said slowly. “Push me away, cuss me out, do whatever you like. It won’t change this.” His hand pressed against the wall beside my head. “I’m yours, Charlotte. I’ve always been. Every broken part of me belongs to you.”
That was all it took. His lips crashed into mine and every wall I built shattered at once. I kissed him back with equal fervor, pouring every ache, every anger, every hurt into it I’ve felt for days into the kiss. He drank it all, like he’d been starving. His mouth moved against mine with pain, with need, with something raw and desperate. I could feel it in the way he kissed me, everything he couldn’t say, everything he carried alone. His hands tightened on me like he was afraid I’d disappear if he let go.
We finally pulled apart only because we had to breathe, our foreheads touching, both of us shaking.
I placed my hands against his chest to push him away but he stood like a statue, unmoving. “Stop pushing me away, baby,” he pleaded, his voice low and strained.
But that voice in my head wouldn’t stop. “You all are the same. Today I just found out that the man I’ve been looking for threw me away like garbage.” The words burned as they left my mouth.
I couldn’t read the look in his eyes at my words. “You’ve been looking for a man? Which man is that and why have you been looking for him?” His tone turned possessive, and I could hear the jealousy creeping in despite him trying to hide it.
“Liam’s father.” His expression changed from neutral to shock in that same second.
“My mate. I’ve always wanted Liam to have a father like the other kids, so I’ve been looking. But the problem was that I didn’t even know who I was searching for.”
9:02 Wed, Feb 11
Chapter 59
100
256 vouchers
“How did you know Gavin?” he asked suddenly, his eyes narrowing as something dark flashed across his face.
“I thought Gavin was Liam’s father.” His jaw dropped, but the fire in his eyes burned even deeper with jealousy, “Liam looked so much like him.”
“What are you talking about? Liam looks like me too. He has my eyes, my face, everything. Why would you think Gavin is the father and not me?” His words came out fast.
My cheeks flamed. “Because there’s no way anything could have happened between us. You have a Luna, you said it yourself, you rejected your true mate for her. So there’s no way.” The heat in my face deepened as I spoke.
“I’ve told you several times that it’s not like that with Moon and I anymore.”
“Yeah, you said that. But in the beginning it was like that between the both of you,” I fired back.
He cleared his throat, his jaw tight. “So… is he Liam’s father?” His voice dropped almost to a whisper at the end, like he was scared of what my answer might be.
“Nope. He’s not, but he does know who my real mate is… or was,” I said, my voice trembling. “He played me a voice recording of when my supposed mate called me a cheap prostitute, just like my mother. He said I gave myself too cheaply to him.”
I recalled the time I had one of those moments, my head would go crazy and I would hear and see things about my past. I remember a voice saying I was too easy. My eyes burned as I said the words aloud. I bit my cheek to stop myself from crying. “Maybe I was too easy… but how could he…” My voice cracked. “How could he say that about me? Was I really that bad? Was I really a prostitute like my mother? Who… who is my mother? Is she even alive? I have too many questions, but one thing is certain, I never want to meet my mate anymore. Whoever he is, I don’t want to know him.”
Ace’s fists were clenched and unclenched, his knuckles white. His jaw was tight, and his body trembled slightly. He looked like he was wrestling with a demon inside him that no one else could see.
“He didn’t tell you who it was?”
I shook my head. “No, and I’m grateful he didn’t.” I paused, then continued, my words tasted bitter in my mouth. “I guess I have no right to judge you anymore for rejecting your mate. It looks like it’s the new normal for male wolves. You all are the same.”
“I’m sorry, Charlotte,” his voice came out painfully low and rough, like he was hurting for me.
“You don’t need to apologize on his behalf. You’re not him, and whatever happened between us had nothing to do with you.” I bent to pack my bags, ready to leave.
Then I stopped and shook my head, a short humorless laugh leaving my lips. “That Gavin must be crazy.”
Ace’s head snapped up. “Did he say something else? Did he hurt you?”
“No,” I said. “But he asked me to marry him. He wants to be the father of my son, Liam.”
“What?”
9:02 Wed, Feb 11
Chapter 59
CY
55 vouchers
“How did you know Gavin?” he asked suddenly, his eyes narrowing as something dark flashed across his face.
“I thought Gavin was Liam’s father.” His jaw dropped, but the fire in his eyes burned even deeper with jealousy. “Liam looked so much like him.”
“What are you talking about? Liam looks like me too. He has my eyes, my face, everything. Why would you think Gavin is the father and not me?” His words came out fast.
My checks flamed. “Because there’s no way anything could have happened between us. You have a Luna, you said it yourself, you rejected your true mate for her. So there’s no way.” The heat in my face deepened as I spoke.
“I’ve told you several times that it’s not like that with Moon and I anymore.”
“Yeah, you said that. But in the beginning it was like that between the both of you,” I fired back.
He cleared his throat, his jaw tight. “So… is he Liam’s father?” His voice dropped almost to a whisper at the end, like he was scared of what my answer might be.
“Nope. He’s not, but he does know who my real mate is… or was,” I said, my voice trembling. “He played me a voice recording of when my supposed mate called me a cheap prostitute, just like my mother. He said I gave myself too cheaply to him.”
I recalled the time I had one of those moments, my head would go crazy and I would hear and see things about my past. I remember a voice saying I was too easy. My eyes burned as I said the words aloud. I bit my cheek to stop myself from crying. “Maybe I was too easy… but how could he…” My voice cracked. “How could he say that about me? Was I really that bad? Was I really a prostitute like my mother? Who… who is my mother? Is she even alive? I have too many questions, but one thing is certain, I never want to meet my mate anymore. Whoever he is, I don’t want to know him.”
Ace’s fists were clenched and unclenched, his knuckles white. His jaw was tight, and his body trembled slightly. He looked like he was wrestling with a demon inside him that no one else could see.
“He didn’t tell you who it was?”
I shook my head. “No, and I’m grateful he didn’t.” I paused, then continued, my words tasted bitter in my mouth. “I guess I have no right to judge you anymore for rejecting your mate. It looks like it’s the new normal for male wolves. You all are the same.”
“I’m sorry, Charlotte,” his voice came out painfully low and rough, like he was hurting for me.
“You don’t need to apologize on his behalf. You’re not him, and whatever happened between us had nothing to do with you.” I bent to pack my bags, ready to leave.
Then I stopped and shook my head, a short humorless laugh leaving my lips. “That Gavin must be crazy.”
Ace’s head snapped up. “Did he say something else? Did he hurt you?”
“No,” I said. “But he asked me to marry him. He wants to be the father of my son, Liam.”
“What?”
9:02 Wed, Feb 11
Chapter 60
Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.
