She stilled. “Punish you?”
“Shutting me out was a good way to punish me—I’ll give you that. I’ve hated every second of it. But I can’t make up for what I did if you’re not going to let me near you.”
“I didn’t shut you out to punish you, Mateo. I did it because I wanted you out of my goddamn sight. Trust me when I say it would have been better for you if you’d stayed away.”
His shoulders drooped. “I know I hurt you. You can’t know how much it haunts me. I didn’t mean for it to happen, Bree. I don’t even know how things escalated the way they did. When you said you’d never under any circumstances take me as your mate … it was like someone took over; like I was in the backseat while they—” His eyes tortured, he shoved a hand through his hair. “You don’t need to hate me. I hate me enough for both of us. I’m not going to ask you to forgive me. I’d just ask that you give me a chance to make it up to you.”
“You think there’s any way to make it up to me?”
“I don’t know. I just want the chance to try.” He took a slow, careful step toward her. “You have to know I would never have acted that way if it hadn’t been for what you said.”
Her brows flew up, and her cat hissed. “So, it’s my fault?”
“No, no, that’s not what I meant. I didn’t expect you to push me away. I was hurt, shocked, and embarrassed. There were so many things I imagined we’d one day do together when we became a couple. Right then, all of that died. I could feel myself losing you, feel all those plans slipping away, feel my world spiraling out of control. And the next thing—”
Frustrated by his refusal to speak his crime aloud, she finished, “The next thing you tried to force a claiming mark on me.”
A deep, guttural, bone-chilling growl came from behind her. Bree let her eyes fall closed. It was a measure of how distracted she’d been that she hadn’t sensed Alex enter.
She turned, intending to tell him she could handle this just fine. With his neck corded, his muscles tense, and his nostrils flaring, he stood glaring at Mateo through cold, dead eyes that chilled her to the bone. And she decided that, nah, there was no rush to get his attention.
Alex flexed his fingers as molten anger poured through his veins like lava. That same volcanic heat roiled in his gut and pricked at his scalp. It took everything he had to maintain supremacy over his raging beast. The animal kept swiping out with his claws, wanting to slice and shred and mangle the male cat.
Every muscle in his body hot and tight, Alex slowly prowled toward the piece of shit. “You tried to bite her?” The words came out sharp. Clipped. Harsh. He was surprised he could speak at all when fury was choking him. “You tried to force a claiming mark on her?”
A claiming brand was a special thing. A symbol of the ultimate commitment. Not like a wedding ring—jewelry could be removed; marriages could be dissolved. Matings really were a case of “‘til death do us part,” since very few could survive the breaking of the mating bond; very few wanted to survive the death of their mate.
For a shifter to leave a claiming bite on someone’s skin, they were declaring that they would forever care for, respect, cherish, and protect that person; promising they would never leave, neglect, or betray them. It was a special and extraordinary moment for both parties. One they’d forever forget. One they’d likely replay in their mind time and time again.
Receiving a claiming bite was also a once-in-a-lifetime thing. But if Mateo had succeeded in branding her, he’d have robbed Bree of that. There would have been no taking it back, no erasing it, no fixing it. And when she did find a male she wanted to take as a mate, she’d have gone to him marked by another.
Pushing into Mateo’s personal space, Alex clenched his hand, itching to smash his fist into the guy’s throat and crush his windpipe. But then the prick wouldn’t be able to answer him. “I asked you a question. Did you try—”
“I didn’t mean to do it,” Mateo burst out, backing away.
Alex’s brows snapped together. “You didn’t mean to?”
“It just happened.”
Alex bared his teeth. “That kind of shit does not just happen.”
“I was hurt and angry and lashing out—”
“People get hurt and angry and lash out all the time. They don’t try to leave a permanent brand on someone’s flesh.”
Mateo lifted his shoulders to his ears, shrinking in on himself. “I wasn’t in control.”
Alex shoved into his personal space and whispered, “I don’t believe you.”
The cat stiffened. “What?”
“I think you wanted to punish her for rejecting you. I think you liked the idea of her having to look at your mark every day in the mirror. I think you thought it would be a damn good way to put off other males.” Mateo’s eyes flickered, and Alex knew he was right. “Motherfucker.”
“No, it wasn’t like that!”
“You’re lying, and you’re not even good at it.”
The cat’s claws sliced out. “Fuck you, Devereaux!”
Bree tensed when Mateo swiped out his arm, clawing at Alex. But he clawed at air, because the wolverine jerked back lightning-fast. And then he laid into Mateo like it was a holy mission. He plowed his fists into Mateo’s face, temple, head, throat, ribs—the raw power and speed behind those blows was blinding. Her cat hissed and spat, wanting in on the action; egging Alex on.
Skin split. Bones cracked. Blood scented the air. Mateo’s challenging snarls quickly turned into grunts of pain. He tried to retaliate, but Alex was too fast; too strong. The wolverine quite simply overpowered him.
Bree considered intervening, but that would be a huge mistake. No one got between two fighting shifters. Plus, well, she was feeling a little bloodthirsty. Because she’d seen the truth on Mateo’s face; this male who’d once been her friend had deliberately and vindictively tried to permanently brand her as a punishment.
When Mateo was so dazed his legs began to go from under him, Alex gripped him by the throat and tossed him at the wall like he was no more than a ragdoll. Mateo slid to the floor, bleeding and moaning.
Alex crouched in front of him. “Look at me and listen. Bree no longer exists for you. Understand? You don’t call or text her. You don’t approach her in the street. You don’t even so much as step foot on her driveway. You stay. The fuck. Away. You got that?”
Defiance briefly flared in Mateo’s fast-swelling eyes. God, he was so stupid.
“You think I won’t kill you?” Alex asked him. “You think your life means anything to me? I could slit your throat right now and never give it another thought. If that’s what it’ll take to be sure you stay away from my woman, it’s what I’ll do. Do I need to go that far?”
Mateo gave a minor shake of his head and then winced.
“You’ll keep your distance?”
“Yes,” grunted Mateo.
“Good.” Alex snapped out his fist and pounded it into Mateo’s jaw. That easily, the guy was out cold. His body tipped onto its side. And she realized Alex could have knocked him out instantly if he’d wanted to—he’d decided to give him a beating instead.