There’s a loud bang on the other end of the line like maybe he hit something. I hear a growl rumble deep in his chest and invisible hackles rise on my back. Ollie always did have a temper. “Look, I’m not proud of this, okay. And I didn’t know your mom had died when I sent it. Selena told me you found out about us. That you were going to break things off. I just”—he sighs—“I was stupid and I wanted to end it first before you turned around and dumped me instead.”
Wow. Just wow.
What an asshole. What did I ever see in him?
He’s quiet for a beat and I take another drink from my cup. The alcohol burns and I relish the pain. My throat tightens so I take another drink, eager to chase away the ache forming in my chest because it still hurts—and I hate that. I hate that he still has any sort of hold over me. I wasted three years on Oliver. He was my first everything. What he did was wrong.
“I loved you,” I tell him, my voice emotionless and flat. I’m proud of myself for that.
“Baby, I love you, too. So fucking much.”
I shake my head even though he can’t see the movement. “No, Ollie. Loved. I loved you. I don’t anymore. Not after what you did.”
“Isa, baby. Please. Don’t be like this. We can fix this. I know we can. You and me, we’re good together.”
“Nope.” The ‘p’ makes a popping sound to emphasize my decision. Another drink and my cup is empty. I set it aside and lean back, relishing the slight spinning my head is doing right now. I may as well enjoy it for the whole five minutes it’ll last. “I might have been able to get past the cheating if you’d been honest with me. I was that invested.” He’d been my first kiss. My first love. The guy I lost my virginity to. I honestly thought he’d be my mate. Maybe that was why I’d put up with so much for so long. I was so naive. I thought when we got older, our animals would choose each other. That we’d be together forever.
I deserve better. I know that now.
“But Ollie, you dropped me when I needed you the most. There’s no coming back from that. Stop texting me. Stop calling. I’m not going to forgive you. Not for that.” Rafe’s words from earlier this week echo in the back of my mind. Loyalty. I should have known long before now that Ollie didn’t have any.
A movement to my left draws my attention and I spot none other than Hellbound High’s wolf prince. Rafael leans against a tree downwind from me. I wonder how long he’s been there? His face is blank, but he’s removed his aviators, giving me a glimpse of his dark brown eyes. A sheen of silver rolls over his gaze, and I shiver. When he sees I’ve spotted him he stalks forward and claims the seat beside me. An earthy smell assails my senses. A mix of sun, coriander, and musk that is uniquely Rafael. It calls to my wolf.
He puts a hand out, silently asking for my phone. I frown, but what the heck? I hand it to him.
He lifts the phone to his ear and says in a gravelly voice, “Listen to her. Don’t call. Don’t text. You two are done. Got it?”
“Who the fuck are you?” I hear Oliver bite out.
“Your replacement,” Rafael deadpans. He hands me back my phone after he ends the call. It starts ringing almost immediately but I silence it and shove it in my back pocket.
Seeing my cup is empty, he offers me his beer. Accepting it, I tilt the bottle back to my lips, letting the cool liquid slide down my suddenly parched throat.
My vision blurs for a second but I blink fast to clear it and hand the beer back to him. Heat rushes up my neck and I can feel the effects of the alcohol kicking in more now. Good.
I don’t want to be sober. Not tonight. But there isn’t enough alcohol in this cabin to keep my buzz going for long.
Neither of us says anything after that. Both content to gaze up at the sky and soak in the sounds of the forest around us. Rafael takes a pull from his beer bottle and I watch as his Adam’s apple bobs with each swallow.
When the seconds turn to minutes, I feel my cheeks go numb and my head begins to swim but as quickly as the sensations hit, they start to fade.
Rafael nudges me with his shoulder and I meet his gaze. The mask is still in place. His expression unreadable. A tendril of dark brown hair has fallen forward, and I reach out, brushing it back.
His hand shoots up to grab my wrist with lightning quick reflexes and I gasp, but rather than tightening his hold on me, his thumb rubs small circles along my pulse as he lowers my hand between us. He doesn’t release me. He continues to rub lazy circles across my skin and goosebumps break out on my arms.
His eyes meet mine again and this time, I see him. I see the want and the need there. The desire. I hold his stare longer than I should, knowing he’ll see it as a challenge but unable to help myself. I need him to know I’m not submissive. If that’s what he’s looking for, he won’t find it with me.
I swallow hard and my stomach tightens before I finally force my gaze away.
“That the ex?” he asks. His voice is smooth and he’s still rubbing those damn circles along my skin. I can’t think with him touching me. My
