ELINOR POV:
My words were like ice water poured over his burning rage. For a second, Braxton just stared, stunned.
He unconsciously loosened his grip. A clear red circle was already forming on my skin.
From the doorway, Bree saw her chance to perform. She rushed in, grabbing Braxton's arm. "Braxton, don't be angry. It's all my fault, I shouldn't be here..."
As she spoke, she shot a triumphant, sidelong glance at me, as if to say, See? He still cares about me first.
Braxton took the lifeline she offered, taking a deep breath to rein in his anger. But his eyes didn't go to Bree. They were locked on me, filled with a confused, probing intensity.
"Elinor, what do you want?" he asked, his voice hoarse. "You were never like this before."
I smoothed the wrinkled sleeve of my shirt. "What was I like before? Like a fool, watching my 'mate' fool around with another woman and then cleaning up the mess of your 'pure friendship'?"
I deliberately used the word "mate." In the werewolf world, it carried immense weight. Coming from my lips now, it was pure sarcasm.
The word "mate" is sacred. It's a bond blessed by the Moon Goddess, a promise of a shared soul. He had tarnished it.
Braxton's face turned ugly. "Bree and I are innocent! I just treat her like a sister!"
"A sister?" I let out a short, humorless laugh. "What kind of brother abandons his own home at night to take care of a grown, healthy 'sister'? What kind of brother points a finger at his own mate and demands an apology because his 'sister' got a little scratch?"
Every word was a knife, aimed precisely at his flimsy excuses.
Bree's face paled. She hadn't expected me to lay everything out so bluntly.
Braxton was speechless. His lips moved, but the only defense he could muster was, "Bree is all alone with her daughter, Cassie. It's not easy for her..."
The same old excuse. I'd heard it a thousand times in my past life.
"So her hardship has to be paid for with my pain?" I took a step forward, forcing him to meet my gaze. "Braxton Porter, you are my fated mate, witnessed by the Moon Goddess. But have you ever, for a single day, fulfilled your duty as a mate?"
My intensity made him take half a step back. The retreat wounded his pride, and he lashed out in anger. "How have I not fulfilled my duty? I let you live here, I give you food and clothes. What more do you want?"
"What more do I want?" I looked at him and felt a profound sadness, not for myself, but for him.
He truly didn't understand. He thought a mate bond was about providing shelter and food, like keeping a pet.
I shook my head, losing the will to even argue with him. I turned away and went back to packing my things.
My silence, my refusal to engage, made him more uneasy than my anger ever had.
He watched me pack, and a sudden, dawning comprehension spread across his face.
"I get it," he said suddenly.
I paused, raising an eyebrow. I was morbidly curious to hear what his pathetic brain thought it "got."
A self-satisfied smirk twisted his lips. "You've been causing all this trouble, hitting people, starting fights... you're just trying to get my attention, aren't you?"
I just stared at him, saying nothing.
He took my silence as confirmation. "What? You saw me being cold to you, so you decided to play hard to get? You think these little games will make me look at you again?"
Bree, hearing this, visibly relaxed. "That's right, Elinor. We all know you love Braxton, but this is not the way to do it..."
I looked at these two self-absorbed, delusional people and felt that every word I spoke to them was a waste of my precious, new life.
Braxton, believing he had regained control, stepped toward me. He looked down at me, his tone dripping with condescending arrogance. "Alright, stop it. As long as you behave from now on and stop causing trouble for Bree, I can consider... treating you like I used to."
As he spoke, he reached out his hand, intending to touch my face in a gesture of pacification, a reward.
I watched that hand approach, and my gaze turned to ice.
