Chapter 166
Kimberly’s Pov
+25 Points
The cheers were deafening, but they sounded far away, like noise heard underwater. Faith had just announced herself as the new Alpha of the Crescent Pack. My whole body was shaking, but not from excitement. I gripped the arm of the chair until my knuckles turned white.
Because I saw him.
Chase.
He stood near the edge of the crowd, looking exactly the same, maybe even handsomer, which
was totally unfair. Six years. Six long years since he was banished from the Eternal Pack, and six
years since I had even heard his voice.
The shock hit me like a physical blow. My wolf, who had been completely silent, numb and
sleeping inside my head for all that time, suddenly roared. It was a high, desperate sound, full of
pain and immediate joy, and it made my entire nervous system go haywire. Mate. Mate. He’s here.
I couldn’t stay. I didn’t want him to see me fall apart.
I didn’t say anything to anyone. I pushed through the packed hall, moving fast, my feet carrying me
blindly. I ran until I found a hallway I didn’t recognize in the depths of the large Pack House. I found
a small, dusty bathroom at the end of it.
I slammed the latch home, a small, weak click of false security. I slid down onto the cold tile floor,
pulling my knees up to my chest. I buried my face in my arms, trying desperately to slow my breathing. It felt like my chest was too tight, too small, to hold all the sudden pain and anger that rushed through me.
I was here, sitting on a dirty floor, trying to stop crying over a man who didn’t care enough to send a single note for five years.
There was a heavy thud, followed by a loud, splintering crash.
I shot my head up just as the bathroom door exploded inward. The cheap wood frame shattered, and pieces flew across the room. Standing in the broken doorway, framed by dust, was Chase.
He looked exactly like my memories, strong, determined, and terrifyingly handsome. His eyes found mine instantly, and the look he gave me was the same one he always had, possessive, loving, and completely devoted. It ripped my heart out.
He crossed the distance in two giant strides. I didn’t even have time to stand up before he pulled
me off the floor. His arms wrapped around me, crushing me against his familiar chest.
< Chapter 166
+25 Points
This was the moment I had replayed maybe a thousand times in the past six years. I always thought I would slap him, yell at him, or maybe just walk away with pride. But right now, held against the only man who ever felt like home, smelling the scent that I loved more than anything, I was just overwhelmed. I felt numb and totally confused.
A choked sob escaped me, and then the tears came, hot and messy. I cried because he was real. I cried because he was here. And I cried because everything he represented was a lie.
“Let go,” I whispered, my voice thick with tears.
His arms only tightened. “No. I just found you, Kimberly. I am never letting you go again. I missed you so much.”
I shoved him with all my strength. He stepped back, surprised.
“Stay away from me!” I yelled, the sound echoing in the tiny room. “Just like you did for the last six
years!”
“Kim, please. Let me explain everything,” he begged, reaching out for me again.
I stepped back, shaking my head violently. “There is nothing to explain! You chose. You sacrificed
everything–us, our future, our relationship–just to protect Alice. What could you possibly say that will fix that? There’s nothing!” My voice cracked. “If I had known you were here, I swear, I would
never have come with Faith.”
He pulled me into another hug before I could stop him, holding me so tight I couldn’t move.
“I can explain. I have changed,” he muttered into my hair.
“I don’t want to hear it!” I screamed, struggling against his solid body. “I have been through hell, Chase. Because of you! I don’t want your words”
But every time he touched me, every time his skin brushed mine, my wolf went absolutely crazy. She was howling with joy and relief, making me feel alive for the first time in years. It was a cruel feeling, a sharp, terrible reminder of everything he had sabotaged.
I pushed away with one final burst of anger, wiping my cheek with the back of my hand.
I laughed then, a sharp, ugly sound that didn’t sound like me. “You know what makes all of this even worse? You didn’t even care! You didn’t care about me, about your family, about how much your banishment destroyed all of us!”
I stared him down. “You kept quiet. Six years. Not a card, not a letter, not a single message. If you wanted to explain, you should have explained then. You just kept silent, and you left me alone to deal with the wreckage.”
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< Chapter 166
+25 Points
My eyes narrowed into a fierce glare. The tears were gone, replaced by pure, cold resolve. This was the chance to show him the woman six years of hell had created.
“Listen to me now, Chase,” I said, my voice low and dangerous. “I came here with Faith. I am loyal to her. If anything, and I mean anything, happens to her here, I will kill you myself. I will protect her
with everything I have. And I don’t care what happens to you.”
He just looked at me, his face full of disbelief and sorrow. “You’ve changed,” he said softly.
“Yes. I have changed,” I confirmed, standing taller than I felt. “And you know why? Because my
mate was satisfied to be banished for some other woman instead of staying with me. There was
no one there to protect me.”
“I had to fend for myself through everything. The cruel questions people threw at me, the taunts
about being the mate of a banished traitor, the pity in my family’s eyes. I survived all of that
because I had to. I did it alone.”
I took a final step back, putting distance between us. “But I did survive. And the only person who
has truly stood by me through all that garbage is Faith. I will not let anything or anyone do anything
to her. And that includes you.”
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