They Took Turns Pretending to Be My Mate Chapter 10

They Took Turns Pretending to Be My Mate Chapter 10

From then on, Sam became noticeably more attentive.

It was his first time courting a she-wolf he cared about, and he was far more awkward than Kane or Kyle had

ever been. He had no idea how to woo me with words.

Instead, he would shovel every last bit of snow from my doorstep before dawn.

He would cut up the meat from his hunts and quietly leave it outside my kitchen door.

Whenever Lola asked him to teach her how to braid scarlet cord, he would sit with her for an entire

afternoon.

He did not even dare tell me outright that he liked me. Whenever our eyes met for too long, his ears would

turn bright red.

But it had been far too long since anyone had offered me such wholehearted, uncomplicated affection. As

time passed, I found myself slowly softening.

More than anything, though, I cared about Lola. A pup’s attachments could form quickly and fade just as fast, but as long as she liked him, what reason did I have to deny her?

I decided that after Spring Market, I would finally give Sam a clear answer. I even arranged to meet him.

Spring Market was the liveliest event in Northreach once the weather began to warm.

Lola had never seen a market so large before, and everything fascinated her. When we passed a toy stall, she

stopped dead in her tracks, her eyes locked on all the little trinkets.

She was just about to start wheedling me when someone slammed into her from behind.

My heart lurched.

Just as Lola was about to hit the ground, a pair of hands caught her and steadied her.

“Lola?”

I stared at the travel-worn werewolf in front of me, who had clearly only just arrived in Northreach, and my

expression gradually hardened.

The moment Lola saw who had caught her, she froze. Then she shoved his hands away and ran back to me

Without saying a word, she clutched my clothes and glared at Kyle with open disgust.

Kyle went still when the pup who had once adored him looked at him that way.

He slowly drew his hands back and looked up at me with a bitter smile.

Ella. Looks like I got lucky.”

“I found you before Kane did.”

The fact that he could say that meant he already understood that I knew about the deception he and his

brother had kept up for three years.

But what difference did that make?

Nothing could ever go back to the way it had been.

They had deceived me. That was the truth.

I pulled Lola closer and started to walk around him.

“Ella!”

Panic suddenly crept into Kyle’s voice.

He reached for my arm.

“Just hear me out.”

“Just one thing…”

At that moment, someone burst through the crowd.

Kane shoved past the people in his way, gasping for breath as he ran.

“Kyle!”

“Where did you go?”

“We agreed to meet up in Northreach before looking for Ella together.”

“Why did you run off on your own-”

His voice cut off abruptly.

Kane stopped so sharply that his entire body went rigid.

“Ella?”

Joy flashed across his face.

A second later, he pushed through the rest of the crowd and walked straight toward me.

With one brother in front of me and the other behind me, I was boxed in. Irritated, I tightened my grip on

Lola’s small hand.

Kane stopped in front of me.

His gaze swept over my face again and again, as though he were trying to take in every change the past few

months had left behind

He lifted a hand and tentatively reached for my cheek.

Lola suddenly poked her head out beside me and bared her teeth at him. Her wide eyes were filled with rejection and hostility.

Kane jerked his hand back and stared at her helplessly.

It took him a long time to look at me again. When he finally spoke, his voice was hoarse and strained.

“Ella, I know I was wrong.”

“I was a bastard for all three of those years.”

“I thought a widowed she-wolf like you would be easy to string along and wouldn’t cause me any trouble.”

“If I got bored, I could just move on to someone else.”

“Then I got bored and even talked Kyle into joining in.”

“But I regret it.”

“I regret it so much.”

“I wish I could go back and kill the man I was then with my own hands.”

He paused, looking lost and desperate.

“The truth is, when I went to see you that day, I was going to ask you to seal the mate bond with me.”

“I wasn’t trying to abandon you.”

“I just…”

Before he could finish, Kyle yanked him aside.

Kyle looked at me just as desperately.

I raised my eyes and gave them both a weary look.

“Are you finished?”

Kane froze, then nodded.

“Fine.”

“I forgive you.”

“Now move.”

Kane looked as though someone had dumped a bucket of ice water over his head.

He stood rigidly, watching me walk around him.

The next second, someone grabbed my hand.

It was Kyle.

He turned a cold glare on Kane.

“Are you an idiot?”

“If you let her walk away now, do you really think you’ll ever find her again?”