From school, the drive is only tab out 20 minutes. Yesterday I took the time to set up the electricity and water. I also made a key cut in case she ever needed to go to the house and I placed it in a hiding spot last night and messaged her so she would at least know where that is to get in.
As I drive, I think about how to explain away my actions. Hell, I bet she'll be pissed off considering the way she left, but at the same time, that is how I always acted even before. I can't go out of character, can I?
Jace stayed quiet on the drive there. He purposely blocked me from his thoughts and feelings. Before he did that, I could sense that he was filled with anger and hurt so it's probably best I didn't get those feelings right now. I needed to figure this out on my own.
When I pull up to the cottage there’s no car in the driveway or any lights on in the house.
'it's in the middle of the day,' Jace mutters softly to me. .
I sigh. Of course he is right again. I park in the middle of the driveway and kill the engine. I sit in the car for a few seconds before gathering up the courage to go in and deal with the fallout of my stupidity.
Let’s face it, usually when things get hard, I just take off. But right now I need to go in there and face the music. I try to gather my thoughts, trying to make sense of my reasoning. I honestly don't know what my reasoning is but I couldn't let her know that, could I?
Slowly making my way out of the car, I catch her strong scent in the air.
'Did you know she was going to be here?' I ask Jace.'No, but I had a hunch she wanted us to follow,' he replies.
Seems his mood still isn't changing even though we know where our mate is.
I knock softly at the door before letting myself in. I know it’s probably a little stupid but I wanted to give her a heads up that I was coming in.
I take a deep breath and walk into her scent filling the room, forest wood and freshwater. Another scent grabs my attention, stopping me in my tracks, making me numb and forget all of my stupid reasons for being such an asshole.
Salty tears.
She's curled up on the couch crying silently, some of her sniffles come through as she sits there. Her legs were held tightly together with her arms wrapped around them, and her head buried into her knees.
My chest clenches as I see her in this state.
Fuck! I promised her I would never make her feel like this. I promised her I would try to be worthy of her, to be her mate.
Closing the door behind me I slowly make my way toward her.
"Ashleigh, sweetheart," I softly murmur as I drop to my knees to be level with her. She hasn't said anything, she hasn't moved since I arrived, and even her sniffles and crying haven’t stopped. She knows I’m here, right?
Jace hasn’t said anything to me since walked in the front door, opting to give me the silent treatment. I hope he could try and contact Kia while I try to talk with Ashleigh.
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry that happened, I'm sorry I didn't stop it."
Still nothing, her crying stopped that much I could tell, but no other movement or gesture towards me. I move my hand slowly to touch her arm and she flinches away before I could even touch her.
Fuck, that hurt! She doesn’t even want me to touch her.
"Fuck, sweetheart, please say something," I beg.
This time she looks up and stares straight into my eyes. Hers are all puffy from crying and her cheeks are red and swollen. The light grey shirt she is wearing has her tear stains all down the front.
Seeing her like this fucking kills me.
"I, Beta Ashleigh Steward, reject you…”
Oh, hell no! I was not letting that happen! I did the one thing I could think of to stop her from saying those words. I lunged forward and kissed her.
For a brief moment, she melts into the kiss, her lips moving with mine. The mate bond pulses through me, alive with the need to complete the process.
It is the best fucking kiss of my life. Her lips are soft and tender, trembling a little as she tries to calm herself, I could taste her tears as I try to deepen the kiss but she has other plans.
She pulls back suddenly. I feel her aura pulsing through, it seems Kia is also present.
"You don't deserve to be my first," she growls, pushing me away as she gets up and walks towards the back door.