20. Remy

REMY

The sound from her lips cleaved me.

Because she was all I wanted.

And I wasn't enough.

We were not the same Hazel and Remy when her heat was over.

"I'm so fucking sorry, Hazel."

Her neck was covered in bruises from my failed attempts to bond her.

You were a fucking witless, rut-brained alpha.

"I asked you for one thing."

I was choking on my regret. "I know. I fucked up."

"No, I can't let you take all the blame," she sighed. "I know I was asking for it too. The heat and rut haze…it's pretty fucked up."

I felt disembodied, watching my own stunned self staring at her.

"But if your alpha thinks he has some sort of claim on my omega…" The bags under her eyes seemed to deepen. "This isn't going to work out for us."

The static-y buzzing sensation in my chest got worse. "You're right."

She was. Wasn't she?

It was fun to fuck and great to make money with each other.

I shouldn't have crossed the line by offering to be her heat partner.

Bonds weren't beautiful. They were a trap.

This had been a mistake.