Chapter 25 - Pain
1006 Words
Jasmine POV
The night passed in a haze of dreams and painful heat. I was only vaguely aware of my surroundings, my mind caught in a whirlwind of sensations. The room felt strange and unfamiliar, and the pain seemed to get more intense. I had no idea how much time had passed, but when I finally opened my eyes, the soft light filtering through the curtains told me it was morning.
I lay there for a moment to try to gather my thoughts, but my body ached, and my head felt heavy. I forced myself to sit up, the covers sliding off my overheated skin. The room was like a luxurious suite. However, I could not appreciate the surroundings, except for the lingering scent that sent a shiver down my spine. My heart pounded in my chest as memories from the past came flooding back. However, at the same time, my mind wanted to flee. How could I if I was in so much pain?
The door then opened, and there he was.
Reagan.
“Mate! Mate! Mate!” Bridget quietly screamed in my head.
My heart nearly stopped at the sight of him, the man I had left behind nearly ten years ago. He looked a bit older but still gorgeous. His facial expression was no longer the same as when he would usually see me. I cringed at the thought. Did I expect him to welcome me with a big smile and open arms? No! Reagan’s presence filled the room as he locked his eyes onto mine with fury and something else that I couldn’t quite identify.
“Reagan,” I whispered with a trembling voice. I wanted to crawl up to him, hold him in my arms, and bury my face in his neck to savor his scent. However, I was not in the position to do what I wanted. I just got engaged. I would just have to do what was needed to do.
He didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he walked towards me with a slow, deliberate pace. His eyes never left mine. There was an intensity in his gaze that made my heart race and my skin prickle. I tried to speak again, but the words caught in my throat.
How did he find me? What should I do then?
“You have some nerve, Jasmine,” he finally said in a low and menacing voice. “Leaving the pack, leaving me, and then hiding for all these years. Do you have any idea what you’ve done?”
“I had no choice,” I replied in a barely audible voice. “If I stayed, I would not have been where I am. I needed to find myself, to figure out who I was.”
“So, did that happen? Did you find yourself? Are you now complete?” His eyes flashed in anger, and before I could react, he was in front of me. “You only thought of yourself. You didn’t care about the pack, about me. You abandoned us.”
Tears welled up in my eyes. At the back of my mind, I knew this confrontation would happen one day in case they found me. “I’m sorry, Reagan. I didn’t know what else to do. I just knew I needed to go away.”
“Scared? You left me, Jasmine. Do you know what that did to me? To us?” He knew we were mates and had the right to be mad at me. His wolf was probably in agony for all the years we weren’t together.
For a moment, Reagan’s eyes softened. However, the anger quickly returned. “You’re in heat,” he said, stating the fact like he had just realized it.
I could only nod as I was unable to speak. The pain and longing in my body were almost unbearable. I needed him, but it was complicated. I was already engaged to Sean.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” he demanded. “Why didn’t you come back?”
“I couldn’t,” I cried. “I was too ashamed. I didn’t know how to face you, how to face everyone.”
He just stood before me, holding back whatever he felt. His fists were clenched, his veins in his arms showing his restraint. He then stepped back as if he couldn’t bear to be near me. “You left us to suffer, Jasmine. You left me to suffer. Do you know how long I’ve been searching for you? Do you know where I have been searching for you?”
“I’m sorry,” I repeated. “I’m so sorry, Reagan.”
It was so much to take-the physical pain, and then the emotional pain.
He turned away from me, running a hand through his hair. “Sorry isn’t enough, Jasmine. You’ve caused so much pain, so much heartache. Do you expect everything to be okay after you apologize?”
“I don’t expect anything,” I said as I tried to keep my voice steady.
He whirled around with his eyes blazing. “You’re such a coward, Jas. Too much of a coward to face your problems. You abandoned your mate and your pack because you were scared.”
I flinched at his words as the truth of his words cut deep. “Yes,” I admitted. “Yes, I was a coward. I didn’t know how to handle it.”
Reagan’s face twisted with pain and anger. “You don’t get to do that, Jasmine. You don’t get to run away and expect forgiveness.”
He left the room abruptly, and I collapsed back onto the bed, my body shaking as I cried. The pain of my heat was nothing compared to the pain of seeing Reagan again, of facing the anger and hurt in his eyes. I had known it would be difficult to go back to my past, but nothing could have prepared me for that situation.
As the exhaustion finally overtook me, I drifted off to sleep.
- Writer
