Lycan's Prey by Jessica Hall

Chapter 6

My eyes dart between him and Bianca, my cheeks flushing with embarrassment. It feels like they’re all in on some sick joke, and I’m the butt of it. “You sent me a message asking me to meet you here for lunch,” I say, my voice cracking.

Rhett’s gaze narrows, and his face hardens. “I didn’t send your any messages,” he states flatly; Rhett’s denial hits me like a punch to the gut, and I feel my world spiraling even further out of control. I turn to Bianca, searching for any kind of confirmation or explanation. But she just shrugs, a smug smile on her face, and I know she is behind it.

Tears well up in my eyes as I fumble to retrieve my phone, showing him the message. “But… I received this from your number,” I stammer.

Rhett takes a step closer, snatching my phone and smashing it on the floor, his voice dripping with condescension. “Aubrey, you’re so desperate to see me that you’d make up lies just to come to my office?” he mocks, his words laced with his effort to humiliate me.

Anger surges within me as I struggle to hold back tears. “I thought… You wanted to talk; maybe you wanted to make things right after last night,” I managed to say, my voice. quivering with hurt.

Rhett’s eyes remain cold and unyielding. “I told you after the incident last week that you’re not allowed at my office,” he says, his tone cutting.

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Chapter 6

“Please, Rhett,” I choke out, trying to steady my voice, “tell me this is just some sick joke.”

“Joke?” His laughter cuts through me like a knife, sharp and chilling. “You really are pathetic, Aubrey.”

My chest constricts with the pain of his words, but I can’t help but cling to the last shred of hope that he might still care. “But… we’re meant to be together,” I whisper, my voice barely audible amidst the crumbling world around me. “We’re mates.”

“Is that what you think?” he sneers, his cold eyes boring into mine. “Did you believe our bond guarantees your happiness? You’ve always been so naive.”

His words are a punch to the gut, and I feel the last shreds of hope slipping away, replaced by a cold, numbing emptiness. The mate bond that once connected us begins to fray, unraveling with each cruel word he utters.

and Bianca were correct,” I retort, my voice firm despite my trembling emotions. Rhett does up his pants, and my eyes move to Bianca to see the smug look on her face when Rhett speaks again while my stomach twists with the urge to

have not to crumble beneath the weight of his disdain. “You were always a hopeless

off,” he states flatly,

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Chapter 6

to the heart.

17.Voucher

state, finally able to reflect some anger in

tone.

want to be one of those who

simple, not when mate bonds come into

down my face. I know I shouldn’t ask, but I

did you expect, Aubrey? You’re a prude. Did you think I‘ d remain faithful until our wedding day when you

for him? He is my mate; I had guarded it for him, stayed pure so that the first touches of pleasure that I got from anyone would come from my

act so shocked, Aubrey… it’s your fault,” he tells me. “Do you understand anything about how the world works?”

fault. I shoved him, he

laughs and shakes his head, buttoning his shirt, while Bianca doesn’t even bother to cover her state of undress, instead flaunting it proudly. Rhett turns toward his desk. He grabs a piece of paper and holds it in the air. “It now makes sense why you wanted me to

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glad you came; it saves me having

at him,