ISABEL

TWENTY SEVEN

Dylan paced the living room restlessly. He was anxiously awaiting Isabel's return. The heavy downpour wasn't helping the current situation as he was more worried about his mate's health. She had left the house angrily without her phone or car, so there was no way he could trace her whereabouts.

'This is all your fault' he told himself over and over again, facepalming his forehead.

Why did he let his jealousy get the best of him? He shouldn't have over reacted over such a trivial matter.

'You should've thought of it as trivial two hours ago' his wolf grumbled, still upset about being separated from its mate.

"I admit I was wrong. I'm sorry." Dylan apologized to his wolf, but it wasn't having any of that.

'Sorry isn't bringing her back'

His wolf was making him feel worse, and he hates to admit it but his wolf was right. His worries wouldn't bring her back, rather he was slowly losing his mind.

"This won't do." He threw the front door open, ready to search every nook and cranny of the Pride pack for his mate, but flinched when he saw a dark figure standing still in the rain.

Dylan steadied his racing heartbeat and looked closely at the figure. At the flash of lightening, he realized the silhouette belonged to his mate.

Isabel walked past him into the house like he wasn't there. She looked emotionless making Dylan worried. He followed her closely behind without a single word until they got to their bedroom where Isabel's figure disappeared into the bathroom.

This is so tormenting.

Just when they've tried to mend their differences and improve their relationship, they're back to square one, and it's all thanks to him.

Dylan stared at the clock countless times while nervously waiting for Isabel to come out of the bathroom.
When will their relationship get past this stage of disagreements and misunderstandings, because he was already fed up with everything that has been going on.

Forty-five minutes later, Isabel was out of the bathroom in just a bathrobe. Her slightly wet long black hair flowed down her lower back without a care. Without changing into her night wear or glancing his direction once, she walked towards the bedroom door and flung it open.

Leaning against the wall with her arms crossed over her chest, she said,

"You're free to leave... Go back to your pack" in a quiet, dead voice.

Isabel spent almost an hour in the shower thinking of ways to free herself and her mate from this failure called a relationship. She wasn't good enough for Dylan whom she felt was too good for her. She wasn't like every other weak, submissive and loving female werewolf. She was different. She was a bitter, burdened, fierce, boring and unlovable female werewolf.

At first, she thought having a mate was going to make her different or give her some inner peace, but she was wrong. Instead of making her mate feel safe and happy, she was hurting him by dragging him into her toxic life and she wasn't happy about that. She needs to end whatever they have irrespective of the mate bond before she ends up hurting her mate with her own hands.

Isabel's statement left Dylan flabbergasted. His mouth was agape as he stared at his mate in disbelief.

Did she just ask him to leave her for good?

This isn't right. This isn't how the conversation should go.

"What do you mean?" He quietly asked, easing himself forward. He was so scared of her reply, his heart was hammering.

"You understand perfectly well what I just said." Isabel paused for a second, to keep her whining wolf in check.

"Leave this pack and never show your face again."

"This is my pack now. This is my family!" Dylan raised his voice in protest.

"This is my pack!" She yelled back, glaring at her mate.

'Please, don't make this harder than it already is.' she mentally said, as she closed her eyes to regulate her breathing, preparing herself for her next course of action.

Rejecting one's own mate was a very serious issue for werewolves which comes with dire consequences, but she was ready to take the bold step. Dying within a year or two was unavoidable for someone like her who had a lot of enemies, so she'd rather die from heartbreak than die in the hands of one of her enemies. Given her mate's lovable nature, he wouldn't suffer the same fate as her. He would be able to make some other female werewolf his mate and forget about a grumpy werewolf like her within a year or two.

Isabel looked at Dylan, she wanted to end this as soon as possible, but the words stuck in her throat. Determined to go ahead with her decision, she cleared her throat.

"I reje-" Dylan slammed his lips on Isabel's soft, plump lips to shut her up. He could already tell where the conversation was heading, and he couldn't let her say those dreadful words because of a little misunderstanding.

The pain of rejection would be felt more by Isabel, since she was an alpha. Such a great figure shouldn't die, leaving her pack to a fate worse than death because of a selfish werewolf like him. He would rather die at her hands than away from her.

Dylan kissed Isabel passionately, angrily, hungrily, filling her with all of the emotions he was feeling. He didn't want to lose her, and he desperately wanted her to know that. He pressed her against the wall when she tried to push him away, deepening the kiss in the process.

Isabel, too tired of fighting her feelings, eventually gave in and kissed back with the same hunger. There was an ugly thought at the back of her mind that this moment wasn't going to last, but she quickly pushed it aside, savoring the kiss.

They ended the kiss after what felt like forever.

"I can't live without you." Dylan confessed, running his thumb across Isabel's cheeks.

"I've waited for you for so long, Isabel... I can't lose you because of a petty issue."

'If only it was petty,' Isabel thought to herself.

What would he think of her when he finds out she killed Carlos? Will he still want to be with her or will he reject her instead?

He has seen almost all of her, and what she is capable of doing, so telling him about Carlos' unfortunate fate isn't a big deal.

"I killed him." Her voice was flat and expressionless.

Isabel's words rang over a hundred times in Dylan's head.

Did she do it because of the disagreement they had? Was this how far she could go when in a bad mood? Will she blame this on her wolf or on that unfamiliar creature he witnessed?

From the little time he has spent in this pack, he could confidently say that Isabel isn't one to kill without a reason. Even when she lost herself to her beast, she didn't kill Carlos, so she must have her reasons for doing it now.

"No matter what you do, no matter the decisions you make, I'm gonna stand by you."

Dylan was exhausted from misunderstanding his mate. He was willing to stay by her side without a shadow of doubt. That is the only way they can move forward in their relationship.

Isabel on the other hand was taken aback by Dylan's reply. She didn't want to get her hopes up so she tested him.

"I hate empty promises."

"I'm not bluffing."

"What if I kill one of your own?"

To confirm her fears, Dylan tensed on hearing her question.

"I believe as an alpha you have your reasons for every action you take."

At Dylan's reply, Isabel grabbed him by the collar of his shirt for a heated kiss, forgetting her principles in an instant.