I tasted blood as I ran my tongue across my fangs. The pain readied me for what was to come. Brother or no brother, I was going to do whatever it took to protect my fated mate. So what if he was a fucking Vanderton? We’d dealt with Jasper, we could deal with Bradford too.

Scotty’s body was pressed against mine. His scent was fueling my fierceness. He was my omega. I’d put my seed in him and he was going to have my baby. There was no more fucking around as single, carefree Terry. I had responsibilities now and I was going to mane the fuck up and meet them, no matter what.

“You remember what happened last time one of you Vanderton’s tried fucking with us?” I shouted. “Maybe you better remember that and turn the fuck around and get lost!”

I couldn’t believe it—I’d actually thought Brad was a good dude back down at the bar. But he was a Vanderton. If I’d known, I never would have gone with him and that meant I would have never met Scotty.

Shit! Scotty’s a Vanderton!

I wondered what that meant for our future, but it didn’t matter. Nothing would keep us apart.

“You’re not getting him, Brad,” I growled, feeling my bear rising within me, threatening to take over. We were equally matched in numbers, but with the way I was feeling, I’d be fighting with the strength of three men. Brad had no idea who he was fucking with.

“All right,” Brad laughed, shaking his head. He was about to shift. I readied myself. “Guess you guys really are that stupid.”

I flexed my muscles as I prepared to shift. My pack was at my side. My mate was behind me. I would fight with everything I had to make sure he stayed.

“Wait!” Scotty cried out behind me. I turned to him and saw a look on his face that broke my heart. He was eyeing me with something like…sadness. “I—I’m coming, Brad.”

His words were like a saw blade chattering across my heart. My legs shook and almost buckled from underneath me.

“What!?” I hissed, but it was too late—he was already walking away from me.

I was shocked, and reached out a hand to take his. Our fingers brushed against each other, but that was it. He walked away from me and time felt like it was moving ten times slower than it should.

What is happening!? I thought as he strode away from me. My eyes on his back, I prayed that he would turn around and look back at me. But he didn’t. He kept on walking, straight over to his smiling son of a bitch brother.

“Atta boy,” Brad praised him as time began to move normally again. I felt like a black hole had formed in my stomach and was threatening to swallow me up whole. I was teetering right on the edge as a wave of confusion and betrayal hit me in the face.

Not again…I thought as Brad wrapped an arm around Scotty then slowly maneuvered him into the truck. I could feel the eyes of my pack mates on me, watching my reaction as my fated mate walked left me.

Had I made a mistake?

Had I somehow been tricked?

What had happened? His scent was unmistakable and the love between us was real. I’d felt it.

But then why was he leaving me?

My anger and rage inside me shifted into an almost unbearable sorrow. The urge to shift left me and I felt my muscles relax. Brad shook his head and he and his alphas got back into the truck. I watched as they pulled away. There was nothing else I could do.

As the tires kicked up dust my entire world seemed to come crashing down on me. My legs finally gave out and I collapsed to my knees. I felt someone’s hand on my shoulder, but my eyes were glued to the truck as it pulled away, carrying my fated mate who had chosen to leave me.

Again…

“Terry…” It was Preston’s voice, filled with concern. “Are you—are you okay?”

“I should have known,” I replied, my voice barely a whisper. “I should have known.”

“Should have known what?”

“Not to open my heart again,” I told him.

Preston didn’t respond. I felt even more despair at the fact that he didn’t know what to say. A part of me had hoped he’d have something to say that would make me feel better, or tell me that this wasn’t really happening. But that was foolish. Scotty had turned his back on me and left me, and there was no way around that.

Slowly, I got to my feet and turned back inside. No one else spoke as I made my way back to my room. I closed the door behind me and looked at my bed, our bed as it was supposed to me, still messed up from last night. And what was worse, Scotty’s scent was everywhere.

“Aaaahhhh!” I screamed as I lost control. I sprang forward, tearing the sheets from the bed. His scent assaulted me, pouring into my nose and lungs. Tears streamed from my eyes as I raced from the room and rushed outside.

I dumped everything in the driveway, then ran back into the bedroom. But it still wasn’t enough. Even the mattress smelled like him.

Sobbing, I lifted it from the bedframe and carried it down the hall.

“Whoa, Terry! Calm down buddy,” Chuck said as I passed him. I didn’t even bother to reply. I took the mattress outside and threw it on the ground with the sheets. Preston had built a small shed around the back side of the house where we kept various things to work on the farm. I almost tore the door off its hinges getting into it.

There it is…

Grabbing the gas can, I strode quickly back to my sheets and mattress. I doused them with gas and raced back into the house. I barged passed Jamie who was staring at me like I’d lost my mind. But I didn’t care.

In the kitchen, there was a box of matches. I grabbed it and rushed back outside. I lit a match as I approached the pile, and without hesitation, threw it onto the sheets. They ignited instantly. Fueled by the gasoline, the flames spread quickly and within seconds, an enormous fire was raging in front of me.

How could I be so stupid? I thought as I stared into the blaze.

He’d left me—just like that. I’d made a fool out of myself, and what was worse, my entire pack had witnessed it. I’d broken my rule. I’d fallen in love like I said I never would again, and I’d paid the price.

“Never again,” I muttered as the flames burned. “Never again.”