A Mate for York(56)

“No, no…” She repeated the word several times. “This needs to end before…” She let the sentence die.

“Before what, Cass?” He was growling but couldn’t help it. “Before what?” he growled again, louder this time when she didn’t answer him.

“Before we’re in too deep!” Her voice was shrill.

“Too fucking late. I’m already in over my head and so are you. Why are you being so damned stubborn? I want you, Cass…I want us.” He cupped her chin, forcing her to look at him. “I want you as my mate.” And there it was. Out in the open. All his hopes, dreams, every one of his feelings were on his sleeve. Exposed.

Her heart rate picked up a whole lot and she licked her lips before sucking in a shuddery breath. “I can’t.”

It hurt to breathe. His chest ached. “Why? You’d better have a damned good reason.”

“I’m infertile!” She all out yelled. Saying the one thing he least expected. Cassidy sniffed, pulling free of his grip. “Don’t you see? Your kings would never accept me into their program. I’m broken…flawed. There will be no children’s laughter or cute, cuddly babies in my life.” Her tears fell freely but she wiped them away with an angry swipe pulling in a breath which she held deep inside her until the tears stopped.

“Fuck, Cass.” It wasn’t the best thing to say in this situation but he was at a total loss.

“I have a really bad form of anovulation. It’s normally treatable with drugs but…” She shrugged once, pulling her lip between her teeth. “It didn’t work on me. Sean and I tried to conceive for over two years. We had plenty of shitty sex but it didn’t help…nothing did. The chances of my ever actually conceiving a baby is almost at zero. I don’t ovulate like normal women…” The tears continued to stream down her face. Big drops of pain and anguish. “I don’t ovulate period.” Her lashes were soaked. Her nose ran freely. “I even tried fertility drugs, designed to stimulate the ovaries into producing eggs. It was awful…” She continued to cry. “I got hot flashes, bloating and terrible headaches. What I didn’t get was pregnant. I can’t be with you, York.”

“Cassidy,” he whispered. It felt like his heart had just been ripped out of his fucking chest. He was in a semi state of shock. Numbness seeped into him.

What the fuck did he say to that?

How did he make this better?

“I can’t join your program.” She yelled, pushing him in the direction of the door. York allowed himself to be shoved. “I can’t become your mate. You need to go now.” Her voice was a little hysterical.

York struggled to think coherently. It felt like his whole future had just been snatched away. Another shove and he stumbled in the direction of her front door. “We need to talk about this,” he said.

“What’s to talk about?” At least her tears had dried up. “Just go, York. Choose one of those women.” Her voice hitched. “You and I both know that your uptight king will never allow an infertile woman into the breeding program.” She gave a humorless snort. “I can’t let you forgo on your dreams.” Another hard shove and he was outside her front door.

He couldn’t recall her even opening it. “Cass, please.”

Her face crumbled as she closed the door in his face. He pushed his hands up against the wood. “Let me in.” He knocked a few times. “Cass, please. Let’s talk about this. This doesn’t change my feelings for you. It doesn’t change anything.”





Chapter 14




Buildings and houses sped by. York had to force himself to take his foot off the gas. To stop at the red light. He gunned it as soon as the light turned green, having to force himself to slow down all over again. His knuckles were white on the steering wheel. Everything inside him was a tense churning mess.

After standing outside her door for at least a half an hour, York had finally left. Only because he was afraid one of her neighbors might end up calling the cops. He didn’t want trouble for the covens. Not with all the negative press the program had already received.

As he turned onto the open country road, York pushed down on the gas putting Sweetwater behind him.

The longer he had stood there banging on her door, the more he realized that he’d meant every word. He loved Cassidy. It didn’t matter that she couldn’t bear him children. If his choices were a lifetime with someone he didn’t love and a house full of kids or being with Cassidy, there was just no contest. York was hooked on her beautiful smile, her stunning eyes, that splash of freckles over her little nose made something inside of him clench every time he saw them. The sound of her laughter, the softness of her touch…every damned thing about her drove him wild. There was no one else for him.