Chapter 8

Asher’s POV

Pain.

That was all I could feel in this moment sharp and searing, like a thousand needles piercing my skin all at once.

I jerked back, my breath coming in sharp gasps as the burning sensation spread through my chest, my wolf whining in my head,confused and restless.  I didn't understand what was happening and by the shocked look on Arielle's face she didn't know what it was either. The moment our lips had touched it had shattered something inside me.

It wasn’t just the kiss—not just the way her body fit against mine, the way her fingers curled into my shirt as if holding on for dear life.

It was the way my heart pounded, how every nerve in my body screamed that this was right, that she was mine but that sting that had come almost immediately after claimed otherwise.

This wasn’t supposed to happen.

Not with her.

Not when Damian had rejected her.

Arielle stumbled away from me, clutching her chest, her face twisted in shock and something that echoed closer to panic. Her wide, terrified eyes met mine, and for a second, neither of us spoke.

I wanted to ask her if she was okay, if she felt what I did, but she was already retreating, her breath coming in uneven gasps.

“Arielle—” My voice was rough, but I reached for her anyway, needing to know she was okay.

She flinched.

Flinched away from me so fast that it was hard not to wince.

The moment felt like a physical blow, to my gut  the silence falling between us felt heavy, maybe it was because it was filled with the weight of something neither of us could explain.

“I—I don’t understand,” she whispered, shaking her head. I didn't either.

The mate bond should have been gone, Damian had rejected her,very publicly in fact.

That should have broken the sacred connection between them. And yet, that pain, the shock, had been real—too real for me to mistake it for anything other than what it was —when we kissed.

Then why did it feel like fire was burning through me at the touch of her lips?

Why did my wolf howl inside me, both in pain and fury?

What the hell had my brother done?  I reached for her without thinking, but the moment my fingers brushed against her arm, she flinched away.

“No,” Arielle gasped, her voice tight.

“Don’t—”  I dropped my hand, forcing myself to step back, to give her space. She was panicking I could tell that from a mile away —her chest kept rising and falling in rapid, shallow breaths, her fingers gripping the edge of the doorframe as if she needed it to stay upright.

“Arielle,” I said, keeping my voice low, calm, even as my own thoughts raced wildly because if I was panicking as well it would do her no good at all.

“It’s okay. Breathe.”  I muttered walking towards her  reaching for her shoulders. I forced it back, focusing on her.

“Arielle, just let me—”

“No.”

“Asher, please,” she whispered, her voice barely holding together.

“Just—just go.”  I frowned slightly looking up at her.

“Arielle, let’s talk about this.”

“No,” she shook her head, hugging herself.

“I need to think. I need—” She swallowed hard.

“Please. Just go.” The plea in her voice made my chest ache. I wanted to argue with her, to push her for answers,  but the fear in her eyes stopped me cold.

She was panicking and completely overwhelmed by whatever the hell was happening here right now and I knew that if I forced this conversation, I’d only drive her further away.

And I couldn’t do that.

Not to her and not after all she had been through.

Exhaling slowly, I took a step back, giving her space.

“Alright,” I said carefully. “I’ll go.”

Relief flickered across her face, but it did nothing to ease the tightness in my chest.  I hesitated one last time, my wolf urging me to stay, to protect her, but I forced myself to turn away squeezing my fingers into a tight fist to keep myself from rushing to her.

Leaving her standing there, confused and afraid, was the hardest damn thing I had ever done but I made myself do it anyway, if I couldn't find the answers with her then I would find them elsewhere.

By the time I made it back to my house, my head was a mess of tangled thoughts.  I stormed into the kitchen, gripping the counter as I tried to piece together what had just happened.

That pain—it  felt like a bond reaction and I was almost a hundred percent sure that it was one.

The question was how?

Damian had rejected Arielle.

Everyone had seen it, had heard him say the words.

Once a rejection was spoken and accepted, the mate bond shouldn’t exist anymore. There would be no connection between Arielle and me, no reason for us to react to each other that way.

Unless…

A sick feeling coiled in my gut.

Unless my brother had done something.

I slammed my fist against the counter, cursing under my breath.

Damian never wanted her. He made that clear. But if he hadn't broken the bond properly, by accident which I knew was not possible because, Damian never made mistake but then that would mean that he had let her keep the bond on purpose but why.

Why would Damian risk tying himself to her in anyway but most of all didnt he know  that she was still suffering because of him.

I gritted my teeth, anger curling in my chest, it was just like Damian to make people uncomfortable, and hurt but he had already taken enough from her.

I wouldn’t let him take anything more.

Even if it meant going against my own brother.