A Mate's Denial(39)
The words blurred beyond recognition. She was gone. She’d done it. Denied him. Thrown his love away like trash. The prophecy was true. The Elders were right. The wolves were right.
Trager spun, looking for something that made sense. Last night, she’d loved him. There hadn’t been any doubt. Today, she wanted to leave. What had changed?
He raked his hand through his hair, tugging. His chest… everything hurt so much.
He couldn’t lose her. He couldn’t.
He was going to turn. No stopping it. His wolf wanted out.
Trager ran for the door, bounding out into the lawn…
But the wolf stopped short, a new instinct rising. He took in a deep breath.
Blood. Kerrigan’s.
Trager ran through the trees, using his senses to find her. The trail led him to the dirt road where the 4-Runner was parked. Kerri sat on the ground, her suitcase next to her.
“What happened?”
She flinched at his tone, but he didn’t care at the moment. He grabbed her hand, where the blood was coming from.
“I tripped,” she muttered. “Cut it on a rock.”
“What were you going to do? Just walk to Joplin?” He was angry. Hurt, and angry.
“No,” she snapped. “I’m not an idiot. I called a cab once I got cell service. But he got lost and called to cancel. I was going to find my way back to the cabin.”
Trager glared at her. “Come on. We need to clean this up.”
He helped her stand, and before she could object, he lifted her shirt over her head.
“What are you doing?” she screeched.
“Shh.” Carefully, he wrapped the tee shirt around her wounded hand, then picked up her suitcase. “Let’s go.”
They walked back to the cabin in silence. Trager was too furious to speak calmly.
Inside, he set her suitcase by the door, and retrieved the first aid kit from the bathroom.
Kerrigan was waiting for him in the kitchen.
“Hand, over the sink.”
She complied, and he poured antiseptic over the gash. It wasn’t too deep. They could get away with a bandage or two.
She drew in a hissed breath, making his chest pull tight. “Sorry,” he muttered.
“It’s fine.”
He noticed her eyeing the note on the counter. Her lower lip trembled.
“Talk to me,” he said, as calmly as he was able.
She waited until he’d finished wrapping her hand, before answering. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
“Just tell me what it is,” he growled. “Tell me why you don’t want me.”
“I do want you,” she cried. “But there’s something I haven’t told you. Something you won’t like. It will change things.” Her eyes were brimming with tears.
His heart thundered in his chest. “Tell me, Kerri. Tell me now.”
“I can’t have kids.” She threw her arms in the air. “There, okay. I can’t give you six babies. I can’t give you any babies. You can’t watch my belly grow. You’ll never have a family with me.”
Trager swallowed. Her admission was a blow to his chest. A sucker-punch of epic proportions. His mate couldn’t bear young? It wasn’t something he’d even considered. They’d never have children. No pack of their own making. No little Kerrigans running around the house.
This changed everything. Everything. His wolf howled at the injustice.
***
The look of shock on his face is what did her in, made the tears spill over. She waited. Waited for him to tell her he understood why she left. That a wolf was nothing without children. That it was over. Waited for something.
“You should have told me.” His voice was quiet.
“I know. I tried. Last night, I tried to ask you. But… we got distracted.”
He ran a hand through his hair. Paced the space of the kitchen.
Still she waited.
He stopped in front of her. “If this is why you ran, then stop. Just stop. Because it doesn’t matter.” He placed his hands on either side of her face and made her look at him. “I love you. I love everything about you. Even this. I’ll love you always. You can run if that’s what you want, but I’ll never stop. Ever.”
Her face crumpled and she fell into his chest sobbing.
“I’m broken. I can’t give you what you need.”
“I need you to be mine, Kerri.” His whisper was tortured and rough in her ear. “I need that more than anything in the world. More than a pack, more than young, more than air to breathe. You, in my arms until I die, that’s what I need. That’s what I need.”
“Trager, I can’t…” Her voice broke, but so did part of her resistance. He held her so tightly, she almost believed she wasn’t falling apart. Like a shattered glass, but his grip was too tight for the pieces to fall. When he let go, she’d crash, she knew it.