“You two broke up after the ceremony?” He thought back to the past few months seeing her without Alex, he even thought about Ethan tiptoeing around her all the time, even James was too friendly to her. He felt the anger bubble up inside, “you’ve been broken up for months and you’re just now telling me?”
“I tried to tell you, but you didn’t want to hear it.”
“When? That’s not something I wouldn’t want to hear. If anything, that’s good news to me.” He ignored her taking offense to him. This was some bullshit for her to keep it a secret.
“The day after your ceremony. I went to tell you early, but you were adamant—”
“So, you let me cut you off for something like that?! Kai! You should have yelled at me! You have a damn voice and I know you know how to use it!” He shot up from the platform, clenching his fists. “How could you not tell me?!”
“I tried! You kept saying you were done and the night before you—”
“That’s because I wanted to give you freedom from me! Wanted you to be able to live your life with the guy who was obviously making you so damn happy!” He felt Tyr’s rage bubbling inside of him, “damn it, Kai! Argh! Tyr! Stop it!” He pulled at his hair, and took deep breaths, trying to keep his wolf inside of him. Tyr was on a rampage inside, clawing his way out. Cal had no idea what he would do if he got out.
Cal turned back to Kai, and watched her hold that same stoic face she wore for weeks after the rejection, “so, what then? Why did you guys break up? Or am I supposed to just know that too?”
She swallowed before looking up at him. “You know, it was a hard time for me, Callum. I had so much hope for us that night. Your coming of age. I was looking forward to that night for years. Did you know I counted down the days to it since I was fourteen?”
Cal frowned watching her get up and pace in front of him. Kai rarely ever let her feelings show and when she did, it was usually like him, explosive.
“I allowed myself to be vulnerable that night. When you watched me from up on that stage, and lied to the entire world, it hurt, Cal. I was so heartbroken that night. In the end, it turned out you knew already and knew what was going to happen.”
“You know why I did that, Kai.”
“I know. I don’t blame you for it anymore. I understand and am big enough to recognize why you did it. What pisses me off to no end is that we did this dance for years, Cal. I told myself that night, that even though I had my hopes up, I would still keep my feelings locked away until I knew for sure. I wouldn’t tell you how I’ve always felt until I knew for sure that we were going to be mates.”
“What do you mean?” He had a feeling he knew, but he needed the words. She needed to say it.
“We keep missing each other in everything. We push and pull at one another and we’re never on the same page! I broke up with Alex. Then we rejected one another. And it’s so frustrating that even without this bond anymore, I still feel exactly the same!..."