They Took Turns Pretending to Be My Mate Chapter 03

They Took Turns Pretending to Be My Mate Chapter 03

We were leaving that night.

Lola wanted to say goodbye to Tyler next door, while I quietly began packing.

Lola and I owned very little. All we had were a few changes of clothes and several old blankets.

Everything else had been brought into our house, piece by piece, by the twins.

They had no intention of sealing the mate bond with me, yet they kept bringing things into my house, one after another.

I gave a bitter smile as my gaze settled on the wooden box on the table.

Inside were brightly colored stones polished smooth, a small stuffed wolf sewn from worn wool, several beautiful hawk feathers, and a moonstone bracelet polished to a shine.

The box was filled to the brim with little treasures Kane and Kyle had picked up for Lola over time to make her happy.

Before leaving, Lola hugged the box and told me solemnly, “Mommy, I don’t want these anymore.”

“Can you give them back to Kane? He’s bad.”

Then she ran off as fast as she could, as though afraid she might change her mind.

I knew how reluctant she was to part with them.

She had treasured every item in that box for a long time and would get upset if anyone so much as touched one.

I lowered my head, folded the clothes, and stuffed them into my travel bag.

The door suddenly opened behind me.

Thinking Lola had returned, I did not turn around.

“Lola, check whether you forgot anything—”

Before I could finish, an arm locked around my waist and yanked me back against a warm chest.

A hungry kiss crashed down on me before I could react. His teeth caught the corner of my mouth, and his familiar pine scent surrounded me as he kissed me with the same forceful intensity as every time before.

I went rigid for a moment, then struggled desperately to push him away.

“What are you doing?”

I finally managed to shove Kane back.

His dark eyes fixed on me with irritation as he started to lean in again.

I slapped him across the face.

Kane touched his burning cheek, and his expression darkened instantly.

“What the hell is wrong with you today?”

“I kissed you. That’s all.”

“If you didn’t like it, you could’ve said so. Did you really have to hit me?”

I lowered my gaze and said nothing, my trembling hand clenched into a fist.

Kane let it go and glanced around the room.

When he noticed the travel bag on the bed, he frowned.

“What are you doing? Cleaning up?”

“Didn’t I tell you I was going to fix this house up in a couple of days? Why bother cleaning now?”

He picked up the moonstone-inlaid ceramic jar from the wooden table and gave it a disdainful shake.

“Tsk. What the hell did Kyle give you behind my back?”

I watched him in silence and suddenly found the whole thing ridiculous.

“You were just here this morning. Why are you back again?”

Kane froze for a moment.

“When was I…”

He stopped halfway through the sentence.

His eyes narrowed as his gaze traveled slowly over my body.

The next second, he lunged forward and reached for my neckline.

Terrified that he was about to do something else, I recoiled.

“Why are you pulling away?”

He caught my wrists and pinned them together.

His wolf pressed closer to the surface, sharpening the predatory gleam in his eyes.

“What?”

“You let him have you this morning, but now I’m not allowed to touch you this afternoon?”

“We’ve slept together so many times. Anyone would think you’d suddenly decided to start acting like a chaste widow.”

I froze.

Heat flooded my face as humiliation and rage surged through me.

Kane acted as though he had not noticed. He lowered his head and moved closer.

His gaze lingered on my face as his expression slowly grew distant.

Something flickered across his expression, and before he seemed to realize what he was saying, he murmured, “Ella, the truth is, I—”

“Get out.”

He went still.

“What?”

While he was distracted, I snatched the moonstone-inlaid ceramic jar from the table and hurled it at his face.

Kane reacted quickly and dodged sideways.

The jar grazed his ear, struck the wall, and shattered across the floor.

“Are you insane?”

He stared at me in disbelief, his face twisted with anger.

My eyes burning, I glared back at him.

“Get the hell out of my house!”

Neither of us gave an inch as we glared at each other.

Kane clenched his jaw.

“Fine, Ella.”

“You don’t have many days left before your three-year deadline, do you?”

“I’m leaving, and you’d better not regret it.”

He paused, then scoffed.

“Every widowed she-wolf in this pack bends over backward to please the males. And you think you can give me attitude?”

“I must be out of my mind.”

“I could have any young, unbonded she-wolf I wanted, yet I keep wasting my time on a woman your age who once sealed the mate bond with another wolf.”

With that, he turned, strode out, and slammed the door behind him.

The force of it made me flinch.

Then I slowly gripped the edge of the table and slid down to the floor.