And cried.
sixteen
MADISON
I fucking hated crying.
Something about itwaskind of healing, though. After I got through the initial snot and misery.
I stood there in the shower for ages, acknowledging my emotions with my tears, and slowly wrapped my head around the reality of my situation.
I wasn’t going to have to mate with the alpha.
I wasn’t going to spend my life popping babies out for that bastard.
Though I hadn’t planned on mating with Bo, itdidwork out in my favor. Because he wasn’t interested in me, I would have a much better life with him than I could’ve had with my ex-fiancé.
The most Bo wanted to do with me was raise our kid together if there was a baby. He wasn’t expecting love. Or even sex.
We could figure out what mating meant for us, independent of anything or anyone else. He wouldn’t try to force me into anything I didn’t want or wasn’t comfortable with.
Mating with Bo to keep myself out of an unwanted bond wasn’t much different than mating with some other random guy for the same reason. If anything, it was better, because I knew who Bo was and how he would treat me. We weren’t friends, necessarily, but we’d figured most of our shit out while we were snowed in together. That was going to work in my favor.
I hoped.
Eventually, I got out of the shower and dried off. My hair dripped over my shoulders and down my arms as I stepped out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around me.
I found Bo in the kitchen, scrubbing my countertops with tight shoulders. He didn’t turn around when I stepped out. He probably didn’t know what to say.
Honestly, I didn’t either.
I was the one who lost my shit, so I was going to have to be the one to figure it out.
I grabbed a pair of clean clothes from my closet and pulled the sweatpants and t-shirt on quietly, not bothering with a bra. After I tried to wring some of the water out of my hair, I tied it up in a messy bun, dried the back of my neck, and padded into the kitchen.
Bo was scrubbing the sink, now. The metal was old and discolored by who-knew-what.
I eased myself up onto the countertop beside the basin. “The stains in that thing aren’t coming out.”
He grunted.
I bit my lip.
A moment of tense, awkward silence passed.
Finally, I cleared my throat. “I shouldn’t have freaked out earlier.”
He stopped scrubbing abruptly.
“I was overwhelmed, but I shouldn’t have been a jerk about it,” I added. “You caught me off guard with the mating thing, but you saved my life when you got me out of that ceremony. I should’ve heard you out without panicking, and I’m sorry I didn’t. I know you didn’t plan on biting me, and I don’t think all of the blame is on your shoulders.”
Bo let out a harsh breath. “Of course it is. I’m the one who lost control. I’m the one who fucked up.”
“You had been nipping me there for days, Ambrose, and you told me from the beginning that you wanted to bite me. I knew we were taking a risk. I knew we were getting closer to that ledge. I chose not to bring it up or stop you. Youarethe one who lost control, but ultimately, I knew I was pushing you toward that. And I deserve at least a little responsibility for it.”
Bo shook his head roughly. “No, you don’t.”
“Yeah, I do. And honestly, that’s beside the point. Because right now, we need to figure out where we go from here.”
