They Took Turns Pretending to Be My Mate Chapter 02

They Took Turns Pretending to Be My Mate Chapter 02

A thunderous boom seemed to tear through me, as though a bolt of lightning had struck straight through my chest.

I jerked my head up and stared at Kyle, my face drained of color.

“Is this what you want? Or…”

Was this what Kane wanted?

Kyle missed the implication in my question and said apologetically, “To be honest, I only got involved with you for the novelty of it. I never expected nearly three years to pass so quickly.”

“I would never seal the mate bond with a widowed she-wolf. I feel bad for stringing you along for so long.”

He paused.

“How much time do you have left before the three years are up?”

I stared at him numbly. Swallowing the truth, I said only, “Two days.”

Kyle seemed relieved.

“Don’t worry. When the time comes, I’ll speak to the Alpha and ask the Council to assign you a decent mate.”

“You can still come to me if you ever need anything.”

I said nothing.

His eyes dimmed, and he forced a smile.

“I actually have a twin brother. He’s been stationed on border patrol for a while, but I heard he’ll be back soon.”

“When he returns, I can introduce you. Then maybe…”

“Leave.”

I cut him off so suddenly that Kyle froze.

I raised a hand to cover my face. My palm was hot and damp, while humiliation stabbed beneath my skin like a thousand tiny needles.

“Please. Just leave.”

“Don’t say anything else.”

Kyle fell silent.

I did not know how much time passed before his footsteps finally faded away.

Then a pair of small hands clumsily touched my face.

“Mommy, don’t cry…”

At some point, Lola had slipped out of the next room.

She stood in front of me, clearly on the verge of tears herself, yet still fighting desperately to hold them back.

The scarlet-cord rabbit she had adored only moments earlier now lay abandoned on the floor.

“I don’t like Kane anymore. I hate him!”

“Don’t be sad, Mommy. Tomorrow I’ll tell everyone in the pack how awful he is.”

“I’ll tell them he was mean to Mommy. He’s bad!”

The more frantically she spoke, the harder she cried, until she was crying even harder than I was.

A tearful laugh escaped me.

“I’m not sad.”

“I just think I was incredibly stupid.”

I knew all along, and still they were the ones who cast me aside first.

Kane might not have said the words himself, but after so many years of truth tangled with lies, I could no longer tell where one ended and the other began.

Kane had been Kyle, and Kyle had been Kane.

Whether Kane sent his brother to say it or stood in front of me and said it himself, what difference did it make?

Too exhausted to think about it anymore, I looked at Lola and asked softly, “Lola, would you come with me if I took you somewhere new?”

I was prepared to spend a long time convincing her.

Leaving a familiar pack would feel like tearing away a piece of yourself, even for an adult. Lola was not even five.

But before I could say anything more, she answered, “I want to go.”

“Wherever you go, I’m going too.”

I stared into her bright eyes, my lips trembling.

Then I pulled her tightly into my arms.

“All right.”

“We’re leaving tonight.”