“Oh, so you were hoping I wouldn’t find out?” Jacob’s normal warm brown eyes were black.
“No, that’s not what I meant.” Sometimes, I ran my mouth before thinking things through.
“Then what the fuck did you mean?” His words were cruel. He’d never talked to me like that before.
“You better watch how you speak to her,” Aidan said with a trace of a growl.
“Don’t tell me what to do,” Jacob said and walked into Aidan’s personal space.
Great, we were having another pissing contest. If I got peed on, I would never leave campus again.
“It’s not cool how you’re doing my man.” Scott shook his head in disappointment. “You kick him to the curb, and a few hours later, you’re on a date?”
Of course, his buddies would gang up on me. Their camaraderie used to impress me, but not so much now. “He knew we were having problems. Don’t paint him as the victim.”
“We’ve always had our problems, but we’ve worked through them,” Jacob begged. The hurt on his face was heartbreaking.
“It’s been the same problem the entire time.” How could we have worked through a problem if the problem never changed? “We were both ignoring the signs, but you’re right. I should’ve been more honest.”
A few of the other tables now stared at us.
I touched Aidan’s arm. “Look, we’re making a scene.”
“Do not touch him in front of me,” Jacob’s deep and raspy voice sounded crazed, and his eyes glowed.
“She can do whatever she wants to me.” Aidan straightened his shoulders, and the two idiots were almost chest to chest.
“Stop it.” We had to take this outside before we got kicked out.
Jacob glared at me. “You don’t get to tell me what to do anymore.”
Hell, when had I ever told him what to do? I’d always tried to please him. Two waiters headed our way, and I could tell by their uncomfortable gait that they were coming to intervene.
They didn’t have to. I’d take care of it myself.
I turned and headed straight to the front door.
“Emma, I’m not done talking to you,” Jacob shouted. The tables that weren’t close to us paused and turned in his direction.
It was hard to comprehend, but he really expected me to go back to him. He thought I was that trained. What was wrong with me? And it embarrassed me to realize how long it took to see how unhappy I’d been.
Their footsteps pounded behind me. I’d hoped that Jacob would stay put so Aidan and I could leave, but that wasn’t happening.
I walked out the door and toward Aidan’s car. I stopped and faced them. Aidan came over to stand next to me, and Jacob stood right in front of me.
Jacob’s eyes were locked on mine. “Look, you’re obviously going through something, and we can get through this. You don’t need to get him,” he said as he pointed at Aidan, “involved.”
“She isn’t yours.” Aidan scowled at him. “She never was.”
“Like hell she wasn’t,” Jacob snarled. “She was mine for over two years. Our bond is stronger than whatever demented thing you two have going on.”
“I’ve already told you once; she was mine first.” Aidan reached for my hand and paused as if he thought I might not accept it.
There was no way I could deny him. Maybe he’d had a harder time seeing Jacob and me together than I’d realized. I intertwined our fingers, and his hand squeezed mine lovingly.
“How could that even be possible?” Jacob focused on the way my hand was joined with Aidan’s. “You bumped into each other once when you were young.”
“That’s not true.” It was time I told him everything. He wouldn’t give up otherwise.
Jacob paused and winced. “What do you mean?”
“Do you remember that night you found me on the border?” It was one of the most memorable nights of my life.
“The night of your fourteenth birthday party?” His brows furrowed, and he blinked a couple of times.
“Yeah, that’s the night.” I did hate hurting him, but there was no going back. The secret I shared with Aidan was coming out, at least on my side. “I’d been waiting for him.” I glanced at Aidan.
“Wait …” Jacob stared at the ground and tapped his foot. “You look just like the alpha of the Murphy pack. Are you his son?”
Aidan stiffened. “Yeah.”
“So not only did he leave you alone on the border the night of your birthday, but he’s the fucking son of the Murphy alpha.” He lifted his hands toward me. “You can’t be serious?”
That was news to me. Obviously, I knew which pack he was from, but I had no clue that he was their future leader. It finally explained why his parents would make him choose between his family and me. But right now, that didn’t matter. Only two words could help Jacob come to some kind of understanding. “He’s my fated mate.”
If I'd thought he’d looked hurt before, I’d been wrong.
Jacob’s body sagged. “How is that even possible?”
“We met each other when I was twelve.” It was crazy to think how much time we’d wasted. “We’ve always felt a connection. It took him showing up here to make me understand why I’ve never gotten over him.”
“So the whole time you were with me, you were pining for him.” He slumped like the weight of the world crushed him. “We were good together.”
“Because I went along with whatever you wanted.” I had to make him see it had never been a truly healthy relationship. “But I was never happy.”
“I treated you well.” He pointed at Aidan. “A hell of a lot better than he has.”
“That’s going to change.” Aidan looked at me, a sad smile on his face. “I have many things to make up for, and I’ll make up for them every damn day.”
“You’re both going to turn your backs on your packs?” Jacob lifted his chin. “Because they won’t accept her, and I won’t accept you.”
“Are you being serious?” He was putting his foot down and acting like an alpha now? Of course, he would do it to hurt me.
“Yes, I am.” His face hardened, and he glared at me. “If you stay with him, you won’t be accepted by either pack.”
“You’re a fucking asshole.” Aidan shook his head and clenched his fists. “You’re trying to keep us apart.”
“Call it what you want, but that’s the final decision.” Jacob shrugged, and a cruel smirk filled his face.
“Well, you’re not the alpha yet.” My wolf nudged forward. It’d been a while since I’d let her loose, and she wanted out real bad.
“Maybe not, but I’m stronger than you.” Jacob’s wolf surged, challenging me.
Scott stepped outside. “Dude, is everything all right out here?”
“Yeah, it’s fine.” Jacob’s gaze stayed on me.
“I’ll come out here with him,” Prescott said and approached us. He wore a blue button-down shirt tucked into khaki pants. His light brown hair was short, and he arched an eyebrow, which brought out his light brown eyes. He stood next to Jacob, making it obvious they were the same height.