They’d been friends for years, and then their wolves had fallen for each other. They’d made love and had known they would create a bond and a future.
Only the bond hadn’t formed.
They weren’t enough for each other.
Her heart ached for the man at her side, the man that should have been everything, yet wasn’t.
It was her.
She was the one messing it up.
They were missing something because of her.
She was tainted. She was unworthy.
Bram couldn’t have his future because of the blood in her veins.
And that was something she would have to live with. Because one day soon, she would have to fully cut the ties and let him go. He deserved to find a mate that he could form the bond with. Because she wasn’t it. She would remain alone, unmated, unwanted. Because that was her reality. Her price to pay for what she had done before the Redwoods took her in.
Bram let out a breath and looked at her, sending her heart racing as well as the tears sliding down her cheeks.
“Don’t cry. I can’t take it when you cry.”
She let the tears fall, knowing these had to be the last. “I’m sorry.”
So sorry. For everything.
She’d lost him before she ever had him. And yet she couldn’t allow that to be the only thing that mattered. Maybe if she focused on Ryder and Leah’s mating, things would be better. She had nothing else to lose. She’d already lost everything.
Bram sighed and turned away, leaving her heart in pieces in the process.
Again.
Chapter Seven
Ryder wiped the sweat from his brow and grinned at his brother. Gideon smiled back, only it was more teeth than anything, and Leah knew things were about to get good.
“You two just going to stand around and glare at each other, or are we going to play some ball?” Finn called out from the other side of the field.
Leah leaned against the large rock behind her and let out a small sigh.
“I know, right?” Brie whispered from her side. “It’s like porn out there.”
“Those are my brothers, you know,” Brynn said from Brie’s other side.
“And your mate,” Brie said. “And most of the Redwoods are related to me, but I can still watch the shirtless Talons, and my very sexy and sweaty Alpha of a mate play.” She let out a long sigh and rested her chin on her knee.
Brynn turned to face her mate, Finn, and let out a sigh of her own.
Leah just shook her head, holding back a smile as the two very happily mated women stared at their mates. Of course, Leah couldn’t blame them.
Dear goddess, this had to be the best thing she’d ever seen in her life.
A shifter game of touch football. Shirtless men running into each other, pinning one another down, and bending over as they tried to get to the end zone. Sports porn. Since it was mid-winter, the snow on the ground only heightened the effect of the very sexy, shirtless men. Sweat glistened on their bodies, and steam rose from their skin in the cool air. Leah licked her lips as she watched Ryder run a hand through his hair, the muscles in his arms bunching in all the right places. She couldn’t wait to run her tongue down his abs to those sexy lines that carved his hips. She’d had her hands on him but hadn’t done more than that since she’d been an idiot and wanted to go slow.
Her teeth bit into her lip as he bent over when the play began. He started off, running along his path until he turned at the right moment, catching the ball perfectly. He made it a few feet before Bram tackled him to the ground.
It might be touch football, but they were shifters so things got a bit…physical.
Dear goddess.
It felt good to laugh and play. Without being able to relieve the tension of the potential war and Unveiling, the Pack might falter. The upper levels of wolves seemed to understand that, and had brought in the younger wolves to play, as well. There were at least four games going on at once, including soccer, football, and Rugby, but Leah’s attention was on the Brentwood versus Jamenson game that included a few friends, as well.
Ryder rolled to his feet and shook the snow from his hair. Leah held back a groan as his fingers danced over his abs to wipe away the dirt and moisture.
“Um…Leah?” Brie’s voice sounded like it was holding back laughter, and Leah turned toward her new friend.
“What is it?” And why weren’t the other woman watching their men?
“Look at your hands, honey,” Brie said softly, this time ending on a laugh.
Brynn snorted, then threw her head back in a laugh, too. “Are the men making you…hot?”
Leah frowned and looked down at her hands. She let out a curse and her cheeks heated. She quickly pulled her hands away from the puddles of water on either side of her and shook them off.
“Oops.” She tried to keep back a smile but couldn’t help but laugh along with the other women.
“I’d ask if you were enjoying the show but…” Brie trailed off and wiggled her eyebrows.