Total pages in book: 35
Estimated words: 33372 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 167(@200wpm)___ 133(@250wpm)___ 111(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 33372 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 167(@200wpm)___ 133(@250wpm)___ 111(@300wpm)
Rage deserved someone better. Yet, even as she thought that, she couldn’t help but feel anger at the prospect of another woman taking her place.
None of this made any sense. There was no way she could be jealous of another woman if she had already stepped aside. That was unfair and it was cruel.
So, back to the bed she went and sat on the edge, arms folded, a little annoyed with herself. She felt sick to her stomach, because all she wanted was to be with Rage. Climbing out of bed and walking away from him that very morning had been one of the hardest things she had ever done.
Rose had agreed to come and collect her, but she hadn’t come without questions. Her sister believed she was being stupid and cowardly. Relationships were always complicated but Rage had chosen her.
It didn’t matter what argument she tried to make, Rose had found some way to combat it.
She was human—Rage chose her.
What if she couldn’t help raise babies—did it matter? Rage picked her.
She was never going to be enough for him—that was stupid, but Rage picked her.
Most of the arguments had ended with the same words—Rage had chosen her.
Did it really matter that Rage had chosen her? He’d made a mistake or his wolf had. She wasn’t good enough for Rage.
There was a knock at her door. Karina hadn’t even realized she’d been crying, but she wiped at her cheeks to find them wet.
“Who is it?” she asked.
The door opened and she expected to see her mother, but it was her father.
“It’s me, honey.”
“I’m fine. Just ignore all of this.”
William stepped inside the bedroom and closed the door. He moved toward the bed and sat down beside her.
There had been many times over her life that her father had come to her bedroom and found her crying. One of them had been because she’d been having an adventure at school, and she’d fallen. The stupid rock she’d fallen on had cut her head, and it had bled really bad, causing her teacher at the time to call her father.
Karina remembered hearing the conversations between her parents, that maybe it would be best if they sent her to a human school. She didn’t want to go, and she’d begged them not to force her away. It was bad enough being part of a pack, and they were always so careful with her.
“I’m not crying,” Karina said.
“I know. I remember the drill. They’re not real tears. Your eyes have gathered too much moisture from the atmosphere, and they’re raining so we have lovely weather.”
Karina burst out laughing. That had been one of her excuses for crying.
“That sounds so bad. How did you not burst out laughing at how stupid that sounded?”
“You’re my little girl and I knew you were hurting. I wasn’t going to do anything that would make you even more upset. You didn’t deserve it.”
She took a deep breath and sighed. “I don’t know, Dad. I think I’ve been a horrible person.”
“Ah, you mean because your mate is alone at the diner, waiting for you because he has declared his love for you, and he wants to spend the rest of his life with you. He doesn’t care that you’re human.”
“He loves me?”
“Yes, Karina, he loves you.”
“I’m a horrible person.”
“No, you just don’t have the best hearing.” William reached out and slid her hair behind her ear. “What are you afraid of?”
“Not being enough for him. He’s an alpha, Dad. You’ve told me all the time that I must be careful. I’m not like the other pack members. I get sick. I get hurt. I don’t heal. I may not even be able to age slowly.” She shrugged. “I don’t know anything.”
William took her hand. “These are all words of a concerned mother and father, Karina. Now tell me what your heart feels.”
Karina sighed and took a deep breath.
“I … I…”
“Only what your heart feels, sweetheart. Without any judgment.”
The tears she had been trying to keep at bay since her father came into her room finally released. She couldn’t hold them back anymore.
“I love him, Dad. He is so kind and caring, and he doesn’t want me to hide away. He wants to take me on his adventures with him, and he makes me feel I can do anything.”
William smiled. “So, what is the problem?”
“I can’t do anything, can I? I have to be careful.”
“Karina, honey, we all have to be careful. You, me, your mother. I have never told you this, and I never wanted you to find out, but your mother didn’t get sick or weak for no reason. There was a reason.”
She listened as her father explained what happened. He told her about the rogue, the scar she had seen on her mother’s stomach, but never knew what it was.