Ellie

"Where the hell were you last night?!" I yell the question at the sleepy man beside me as I glower down at him. At first, when I had woken up to his scent and warmth, I had felt happy and content since he was here with me. But then irritation began to seep in at not knowing where he had been last night.

I had waited all night like some good wife for her husband, worrying where he was and berating myself for being the reason he left in the first place. And he could have been with...I don't know...Janet!?I didn't even realize when I had fallen asleep, and now I wake up to see him cuddling up to me like everything was alright. I still haven't forgotten how he blatantly rejected me yesterday, which was embarrassing, by the way.

"Ellie?" His voice sounds husky and sleepy as he slowly stands up, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes with his hands. His blond hair a tousled mess, and that only seems to make him sexier with his full chest on display as he has no shirt on.?Yummy.

I compose myself quickly so I won't begin to drool over him. I'm sitting with my arms crossed over my chest, my face pulled in a scowl, my eyes still blazing with anger.

Even though he looks cute in his vulnerable state, I still am not going easy on him. There are bags under his eyes with his face in a dull expression that lets me know he hasn't gotten much sleep. Meaning he was awake most of the night and probably only joined me a few hours ago. I wonder why? What had kept him up all night?

"What time is it?" He groans, running his hands through his hair.

"I don't know. Have you asked Janet?" Childish, I know. But I've been thinking about nothing but her all night. And how she's likely the reason why my mate rejected me last night.

Reagan halts then for a second before his eyes snap to mine as if he's just seeing me for the first time and noticing my change of mood.

He sighs, reaching for me, "Little wolf..." But I pull back out of his reach, eyeing him cautiously. He seems a bit hurt at my action but shakes his head.

"What's wrong?" He finally asks.

"What time did you get back?" I scrunch my eyebrows in question at him. He blinks, studying me in confusion.

He runs his hands down his face in exhaustion, "Around five, I think." He answers. No wonder he looks so tired.

I swallow past the lump in my throat as I get ready to ask the next question. "Were you with?her?"

He seems confused at my question, arching an eyebrow at me." With who?"

"You know who." I retort with my eyes narrowed at him. He blinks once more at me before realization dawns on me.

"No, Ellie. Never." He quickly answers with a shake of his head. I believe him, not because of the sincere look in his eyes, but because I would have felt it if he had been sexually close to her. But there's still a probability he was with her. Maybe he just didn't touch her.

"So, where were you?"

He sighs, exasperated, "I went for a run, okay?" He attempts to move closer to me and hold me, but I step back once more, getting off the bed to stand to my feet.

"Okay, I know you're still mad about last night, but you have to understand..."

"Understand what?" I cut him off with a sharp glare. "That my mate doesn't want me probably because he's interested in some other female."

"That's enough, Ellie!" He growls the warning in his eyes flashing. I whip my head away to look at the wall opposite me, ignoring his hard glare.

After a while, I hear him shift from the bed then, his light footfalls walking towards me. But I keep my eyes pinned away from him.

He's right behind me when he says, "I never said that I don't want you, nor did I say I want someone else. You know I'm crazy about you. Look at me, Ellie." His smooth voice behind me coaxes me to let down my walls. I know if I step into his arms, I might forget everything right away and just lean further into him. So that's why I kept my distance as I turned to look at him.

I feel slightly guilty as I notice the tired expression on his face. I'm the cause of his pain. I'm the one who made him storm out yesterday in anger and tire himself out till this morning. I'm the one still causing him distress with my sour mood.

His hand comes up to caress my cheeks, but this time, I don't move away. He smells and feels so good. I just want to forget everything while I'm with him.

"Baby..." He says as I begin to lean into his touch. But then, a sharp knock spoils the moment as we both halt at the sound. Reagan let's out a low cuss before he growls angrily at the intruder behind the door.

"What is it?!" He snaps.

"It's me. We need to hurry and leave." I know that irritating voice anywhere. "A small pack was ambushed last night, and we need to go check it out."

My eyebrows furrow in question at her words as I stare back at Reagan in shock. He mutters something along the lines, "I'll be down in a minute." before the sound of retreating footsteps is heard.

I tilt my head at Reagan, still trying to process the meaning behind Janet's words.

"I have to go right now, but..."

"She's joining you with the investigation?" I calmly voice out the question as I stare, stunned at him. Since Janet came, I've never seen her follow Reagan and Danny out. Mostly because she isn't working with them and also, Danny hates her. He's probably going to throw a fit if he finds out about this. But for now, I'll be the one throwing a fit.

Reagan takes his time as if he already knows how I would react to his answer. "Yes, she is." He finally says but quickly adds, "Just like you, she wanted to be a part of it. And I hadn't seen any harm in it. She is good at quickly spotting the slightest detail with her sharp eyes. Her dad was once the head warrior and had trained her well. She can be of good help and..."

"So she'll be with you all day?" I interrupt him, hugging myself while digging my nails into my arms. I can already feel the jealousy slowly seeping into my bones.

He pauses to stare at me before answering, "Yes." I dig my nails deeper into my palms enough to draw blood. "But so will you." He quickly adds. "You did say you want to join me, right?"

"I'm not." I calmly state, even though I was boiling inside with fury. I won't be able to stand watching them being so close all day. My wolf would pounce on Janet the first few minutes, and I won't even do anything to stop her since I want her to.

I can't believe he thinks I'll be okay with Janet being with him all day. If it had been Brad and me, Reagan would have gone berserk at the thought. He can't even stand me saying his name, and here he is wanting me to watch him and his ex play detective all day. No f*****g way.

"But you said you wanted to join me." He walks close to me, but I move away once more, causing him to frown in disapproval.

"Yeah, but I also said I would be going back to my home for a few days..."

"This is your home!" He bellows then with fury. "I am your home." He snarls the statement with a dark look in his eyes. But I don't so much as cringe at his harsh tone. I only met his glare head-on with one of mine.

"Are you sure?" I ask, causing him to c**k an eyebrow at me in question. "'Cause you don't feel like it, not anymore." I know I'm only adding fuel to fire, but I'm stating what I feel right now. Everything between us is changing, and I can feel our new fragile bond slowly cracking. Doesn't he feel it too?

He steps back at my words, almost as if I had slapped him. He's staring at me with shock written all over his face before he shakes his head.

"You don't know what you're saying, little wolf. We belong to each other." He takes a step closer to me. "You want me just as much as I want you."

"Then mark me then." I close the space between us in one long stride. I had one of his long shirts on and started to unbutton it. "Take me however you want. Make me yours." Right now, I'm a desperate she-wolf who didn't want to experience the pain of being rejected once more. I may have been able to survive that of Brad's, but I doubt I'll make it through with Reagan. He's already part of my soul even though he hasn't marked me yet. I just can't lose him. And if begging him shamelessly will do the trick, then I'm ready to take it.

His eyes flash with something dark in them as he watches me unbutton his shirt. I'm halfway through when I lean upon my tippy-toes to place a hard sensuous kiss on his lips. I trail my fingers down his exposed chest and abs, aiming for below as I distract him with the kiss. But when my hands touch his pant, he lets out a growl before gripping both my wrists and move them away.

"No." He whispers between us, our breaths coming out in pants from our makeout session.

"Why?!" I almost yelled the question.

"Because you sound more desperate than willing." He leaves my wrist then to cup both my cheeks with his big hands. "Is there something you're not telling me?" I can see the concern in his soft eyes filled with so much love and care.

I remember Janet's poisonous words from yesterday, but I shake away the thought. This was between Reagan and me. I just don't get why my mate won't claim me. Is there something wrong with me that makes my mates not accept me?

Reagan keeps saying I'm not ready, and that's why he hasn't marked me yet. But how's that possible. How does he know when I'm ready or not? That just doesn't make any sense.

I move away from him, my fists clenched at my sides as I grit my teeth in anger. "Well, when you think I'm ready, I'm sure you know the way to my parents' home," I announce, hoping this was enough to change his mind. I'm sure he would do anything to keep me here...right?

His face turns crestfallen with his shoulders hunched in defeat. Running his fingers through his messy mop of hair in frustration, he begins to pace the room while grumbling incoherent words underneath his breath. I watch him contemplate for a while before he sighs, and without saying anything, walks into the closet.

He emerges later dressed in something more formal as he makes his way towards the bedroom door without sparing me a glance.

My heart shatters slowly as he blatantly ignores me and heads for the door. And out of one last desperate attempt, I yell after him.

"I'm leaving today."

He halts in his footsteps, not turning around with his eyes pinned in front of him. I wait with bated breath for his response, holding onto a tiny shred of hope that he'll listen.

"You'll be back, eventually." He only says before waltzing out of the room and closing the door shut behind him.

I stare at the door for a few seconds in shock, unable to comprehend what just happened.

He's letting me go, just like that?

My heart is breaking into tiny little pieces with no one to pick them up. It feels as if the breath has been knocked out of me, and I find it hard to breathe. My eyes turn blurry as the room around me spins.

Was he perhaps tired of me and my tantrums and happy to get rid of me? Have I lost my mate once more?