“And that is a sick, cruel joke.” She got to her feet and glared at Duke. “Is this why my parents were adamant for me to come home early? So you can impose some kind of Alpha crap on me?”

“Mabel, please, sweetheart,” her father said.

Duke stood. He was the Alpha, but she wasn’t afraid of him. If this were anyone else, he wouldn’t interfere, but he did because it was his precious son.

“You dare to defy me?” Duke asked.

“I dare to defy that you’re asking me to mate to the man who has made my life miserable. We’re not just talking name-calling. The lies, the rumors, the sick, twisted games he played. Did he tell you about the used condoms in my locker? Or maybe the fact he posted my number on a porn website? How about the time he stole my clothes from the gym? Or how he had me convinced one of the nicest guys in the pack had asked me out, only to discover it was a mean joke at my expense?”

Tears filled her eyes at the memory of the many years she’d come home and lied to her parents about her day. She’d never told them the extent of the bullying. To most, finding out your fated mate was none other than the Alpha’s son was a great time for celebration. For her, it was a cruel twist of fate that made her sick to her stomach. “I will never mate with someone so horrible. If you call me protecting myself defying you, then throw me out of the pack. I’ve been living on my own for a long time. I can handle it.” She wiped at the tears, turned her back, and excused herself, running up to her bedroom.

****

Lucas felt the pain.

He watched her go and hated himself even more.

“I’m so sorry, Alpha,” Gary Little said.

“It doesn’t matter,” his father said. “I thought my presence might help the situation, but I fear it has only made it worse.”

Lucas’s hands clenched into fists. This was the longest he’d been in her company since he’d discovered she was his mate. After that night, which should have been the greatest night of his life, it had all gone downhill from there. Each night that he’d been alone, he knew it was his own fault. By hurting her all those years for no good reason, he’d suffered. There was nothing he could do about it but live with the problems he caused.

“Right, we better get going,” Duke said. “We will be back, though. Every single day that she’s here.”

“We’d appreciate that. I know it’s a stressful time and everything. We’re sorry,” Gary said.