“You don’t understand. If I don’t use, I’m still there.”
Devin understood better than he could say. “I’m always there. I never left, and I never will.”
Behind him, he heard Lena gasp. If his words shocked her, that was good. She could feel relieved she wasn’t mated to him. Then she’d be worse off than her sister because while pathetic Fergus could use to get rid of his memories, Devin knew he’d never stoop that low. He’d just be damaged—a half Wolf—for the rest of his life.
Devin let Fergus down. The man fell to his knees before slumping onto the floor. His sobs echoed throughout the room.
Seconds passed before Elizabeth started to scream. She jumped to her feet startling everyone, including her mate who ceased his racket to look up at her. Faster than he would have thought possible for such a strung-out Wolf, she was on Lena, grabbing the box out of her hand.
“I’m not sorry.” Her sister called over her shoulder before she ran from the room. Fergus rose to his feet and chased after his mate, suddenly losing his sense of shame. Screw that. Devin rushed after them only to be stopped by Lena who stepped in front of him again.
The Female had to learn to stop doing that. She might get hurt. “Let them go.”
He looked down. Her eyes were red-rimmed, but no tears escaped her violet depths. “What?”
“I said let them go. This is a private, family matter, none of your business. You’re not my mate; you’ve told me enough. I finally believe you, because no mate of mine would ever want to humiliate my sister like that.”
She had to be kidding. “I was trying to protect you. What was in that box, Lena?”
“Five weeks of income.”
“What?” He shouted, unable to prevent the outburst. “Why would you have that money in your house?”
She shoved at him, which surprised him enough he took two steps back. Fury was visible in her stance. “In case you’ve had your head up your ass too far to notice, the banks are all closing down. Where else am I supposed to keep it? I suppose I could shift into my Wolf form and bury it in the backyard. Would you prefer that?”
“No, Lena…”
She interrupted. “Just shut up. I had this all under control.” Her voice hitched, which clawed at his heart. “Get out, Devin. I think we shouldn’t see each other any more. I thought I could do this, but I can’t. I need a mate. If you’re not him, then we have nothing left to say to one another.”
Chapter Five
How could she apologize when she’d been the biggest idiot on the planet? Lena stomped her feet as she waited for the bus to arrive. It would be a lot easier if she could have shifted and run to her job, but her boss didn’t like his workers to show up with rumpled clothes. So they used the old human means of transportations.
No one had seen a human in a hundred years, but the Wolves now operated their buses. Lena hated riding the bus. She’d have done anything for a car, but that was about as likely as Devin forgiving her for being a total jackass.
The damn bus ran late. She looked at her watch and confirmed what she already suspected; it was after six thirty in the morning. There was no way to avoid her tardiness. Normally, this would cause her endless amounts of stress, but nothing could outdo her guilt about what had happened with Devin.
He hadn’t spoken to her in a week. She kept thinking he would come over so they could pretend the whole thing never happened. That was how they handled things in her family. Apparently, however, Devin behaved differently. Lena was probably going to have to march over to his house between her two jobs and tell him how terribly she wanted his forgiveness.
The bus pulled slowly down the road toward her, illuminating the still dark early morning with its lights. Yes, she’d go over there after she got done with work. They were friends.
Her heart ached at the thought as she climbed onto the bus. She took her seat and stared out into the distance, watching the sun start to touch the world around her.
She wanted to be so much more than Devin’s friend. Leaning her head against the side of the bus, she tried not to obsess on the subject. How could he still feel so much like her mate if he really, truly didn’t feel it? Why couldn’t she let this go?
When he’d first burst through the door to interfere in things between Elizabeth, Fergus, and her, she’d been relieved. Her mate had come to set things right. But then she’d remembered—he was not, nor would he ever be, hers. Whatever Elizabeth and Fergus were—and lately that involved being drug-addicted thieves—they were family. They would always belong to her.
Still, she’d behaved badly. Super badly. Lena hoped they could still be friends, but they had to stop being lovers. Her bruised heart couldn’t take it anymore.