Grace’s POV.
From the very moment I set foot in this pack, I knew I was
trapped. The air around me shifted, and it was like the world
had closed in, forcing me into a direction I didn’t choose.
Everything felt wrong, as if I didn’t belong here.
I’ve always been someone who knew exactly what I wanted in
life, someone who chased after my desires without hesitation.
But this time, life had handed me a bad deal, and now, I had no
idea how I was supposed to handle it.
The hardest part was the lack of control. I never liked not being
in charge of my own life, and right now, it felt like I was just
being tossed around by circumstances, and I hated it.
There was a time when I thought I’d find a mate, and I honestly
believed with all of me that Asher was meant for me. But then
came Kylie. He got mated to her, and it shattered my hope.
Everyone who knew Asher knew that Kylie wasn’t the one for him, not truly. They were awkward around each other, not the way mates should be, but I still had hope. Hope that one day
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their bond would break, and maybe, just maybe, he’d find me.
But he didn’t. He found his true mate.
“You’ve been running away from me,” he said.
The words hit me harder than I expected. The bond I thought I
could escape kept dragging me back. The truth is, it follows me
wherever I go, and no matter how far I run, there’s no escaping
- it.
“I need some time to process all of this,” I said, facing him.
He was undeniably one of the most handsome men I had ever
seen. I couldn’t quite decide if he was more attractive than
Asher, but there was something undeniably magnetic about
him.
“It’s been hours, and you still refuse to look at me or even meet
my gaze,” he said, his voice tinged with frustration. The
distance between us was thick with tension, and I couldn’t bring myself to meet his eyes. I felt like the control I had over my emotions was slipping away.
“This is too much for one day,” I muttered, looking down at the ground.
The garden around us was one of the most beautiful I had ever
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seen–lush, vibrant, and peaceful, a complete contrast to what I
was feeling inside.
“And you think it’s not hard for me too?” he said, sitting next to
me on the bench. I instinctively moved a little further away,
needing some space to think..
“Is there something about me that you absolutely hate? You can
just tell me, and I’ll never bother you again. I won’t beg anyone
to love me,” he added, turning to walk away.
His words cut deep. I knew people saw me as cold, detached, a
spoiled person who had it all. But the truth was, I’d been
through hell to get here, and I refused to let something I
couldn’t control steer my life.
“Wait!” I called out, my voice a little shakier than I intended. He
stopped but didn’t turn around.
I wasn’t sure if it was regret or hope that made me stop him, but I couldn’t let him walk away like this.
“Are you going to reject me?” he asked darkly.
“I’m in love with somebody else,” I blurted out, not sure if it was the truth, but the words spilled out anyway. His pain was clear in his eyes, and it struck me harder than I expected.
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“Are you in love with him, or do you just want to be?” His voice
was low and tense, the pain visible in his gaze.
“I don’t know,” I whispered, avoiding his stare. “I don’t even like
the way you look at me. It feels like you can see right through
me.”
He sighed deeply, his body stiffening. “Don’t pretend to know
- me. You didn’t even want to meet my cousin back then when
you were still close, and I never got to know why we just met
like this.” He sounded almost bitter, as if the distance between
us was his own frustration boiling over.
“Everybody always talked about how much you were in love
with my cousin, and now you’re not the only mate in love,” he
said, bitterness in his words.
“You have another mate.” The jealousy that surged through me
made me want to do something, but I clenched my fists, trying
to hold it in.
“No, but she died because of the love she had for someone who
would never be hers. Someone will never love you no matter
what you do because he’s already in love with his mate.”
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