Lily
“What happened to her?” I blurt out as Wesley parks the car in the courtyard. It’s dark outside, and the only reason it’s not pitch-black in the car is due to the light in the garden.
“What happened to who?”
My heart pounds as I see his scowl across the middle console. I have no business asking him about Mirelle, his ex-mate, but my curiosity is working against me. I want to know more about the man called Wesley Brooks. Learn what makes him smile and what makes him cry. Is that so wrong?
“Mirelle,” I say. “What happened to her?”
The second I say her name, I see pain flash across Wesley’s face, but there is also anger. “What makes you think that you and I are close enough for you to ask me personal questions about my ex-wife? You might live with me and carry my child, Lily, but Mirelle is a subject I won’t be discussing with you.”
The words tumble out of my lips. “I already know her cause of death has something to do with rogues.”
Oh my god.
Did I really just admit to having eavesdropped?
Electricity crackles in Wesley’s gaze, sending a chill down his spine. “You weren’t supposed to find out,” he grits through clenched teeth.
“But I did, okay? I was eavesdropping when you were talking with the other werewolf, and I’m not an idiot—I connected the dots. Mirelle didn’t die of natural causes, did she?”
He refuses to answer the question, his voice low and menacing. “This is out of line.”
Even though I know I’m going too far, I can’t stop myself from speaking. “I wonder if that’s the reason you’re so cold and distant.”
“Excuse me? Cold?”
“Yes, cold and bitter.”
“I helped your sorry ass on multiple occasions today!” he growls.
“Do you hate me because I’m a rogue? That actually makes sense since it was a bunch of rogues that killed Mirelle.”
“You’re crossing a very dangerous line, Lily…”
Despite the warning in his tone, I somehow get the idea that he might open up a little if I share something personal. I know that he is angry, but I so desperately want to get to know him that I push logic aside and place my hand on his thigh.
“Look, I don’t know what happened with you and Mirelle, but I know what it’s like to lose someone you care about. And maybe you feel better if you talk about it—”
“With you?” he interrupts and snorts before removing my hand from his thigh. “Don’t make me laugh. Talking with you wouldn’t be therapeutic. You have no respect for a person’s privacy, and my pain isn’t the same as yours.”
I blink. “W-what do you mean?”
“You said you know what it’s like to lose someone you care about, but our pain isn’t the same. Mirelle died, but your pack left you—they CHOSE to kick you out. That was on you, Lily. But Mirelle? She didn’t choose to die.”
His voice echoes in the car, and I barely dare to breathe. My heart is hurting, but Wesley isn’t done yet.
“And you want to know how Mirelle died? Fine, I will tell you how she died! She was going to let all the rogues in New Jin City join the Luan Pack. She was convinced everyone deserves a second chance. She was a good person that saw the light in everyone she met, and how did those rogues repay her? They ripped her open and let her bleed on the street outside the soup kitchen, but they didn’t kill her. No, they called my drug addict of a mom and told her where to find Mirelle’s injured body, but my mom was too far gone to call for an ambulance or call me. And they knew that. The rogues knew my mom wouldn’t be able to save her!”
I stare at Wesley, and he growls. “There, now you have my story. Are you happy now?”
“I... I’m so sorry, Wesley. I didn’t know—”
“The worst part is that I would have told you about Mirelle if you just had been patient, Lily. But instead of being patient, you jump straight into things. You always do that! You put butterfly stickers everywhere and spread your inner glitter like a fucking disease. You don’t respect anyone’s boundaries, and you’ve been nothing but trouble from the day I met you!”
Wesley is heaving, but the moment he realizes what he just spewed out, he shuts his eyes as if regretting it. But it’s too late for takebacks. The damage is done. I know what he thinks of me now, and even though I’m ashamed for putting him on the spot, I won’t sit idle and let him bring up my flaws as if I’m the only one who isn’t perfect. Lord knows he isn’t either.
“You’re right,” I mumble, my voice shaking. “I should have been more patient. I’m sorry.”
Wesley remains silent, and I turn around to face him with a smile a lot more confident than I feel on the inside.
“And you’re right; my pack chose to leave me, but that doesn’t make the pain any easier. And you’re wrong, you know. I wasn’t shunned from my old pack simply because I’m lazy. It’s part of it, but the real reason is that I was depressed, and my parents thought I was only pretending to get their attention. They thought I was cutting my wrists to make them look at me, and then when I started to have my panic attacks, they thought I was faking those too. They thought I was an actor and left me when the thing I needed the most was professional help. But don’t worry, I’m fine now...well, as fine as you can be when you’re pregnant, and the dad is so darn jaded he seems tired of his own company.”
Wesley still doesn’t reply, and the silence between us is deafening. But before I leave him alone, I open my folder and take out a butterfly sticker. It’s glittering in the palm of my hand. Without a word, I grab Wesley’s hand and place it in his palm while glaring into his eyes.
“I won’t change who I am, Wesley. Not for you, not for anyone,” I say and give him a sad smile before letting myself out of the car.
Wesley doesn’t follow me, and I can hear my own heart beating as I walk up to the door of the mansion. Tears are streaming down my face, but I fight them off because falling in love with Wesley is a waste of my time. It just sucks that even though I’m angry at him for calling me a disease, my heart still beats for him. I don’t understand why, especially since Wesley seems to hate me more than anything.