Weres

59. Concede

Eden bolted out of his house and ran into the woods with an inhuman speed. He needed to get away from all the prying eyes and find some solitude. As soon as the werewolf reached the lake, his fingers dug into hair and his knees fell to the ground.

"Fuck!" A tear dropped on the mud. "Fuck!" Another rolled down his cheeks. It didn't take long before more drops gushed out of his eyes. Marley's dejected face kept coming before him when he had spewed those degrading words at her. 

"I'm sorry." Eden said to no one. Her pleadings to stop them echoed around him. "I'm so sorry, baby." Hatred wasn't strong enough word for what he felt at himself.

But he needed to do it.

Marley had already decided to put herself on the cross for his pack. And Eden couldn't let that happen. She was supposed to lead a happy and fulfilling life, with or without him. Not fighting lycans or deadly vampires. 

And it was all because of him! 

That wasn't fair to her. When he saw the firm resolution in her voice as she challenged him about his inability to see the plan through her eyes, he knew a simple persuasion wasn't going to dissuade her. He had to break her. So he did.

Every vile word that came out of his mouth had hurt him back. Her horrified face was like a stab to his gut. Her petrified response when he manhandled her made him feel disgusted at himself. 

Eden didn't expect his mate to forgive him when he couldn't forgive himself. The only thing he wished was that it worked and stopped Marley from pursuing her deadly mission.

Once this turmoil had passed, he'd spend fucking eternity making up to her. But until then he'd rather have her hate and fear him than dead. The Alpha tried to justify it to himself, but that didn't make him feel any less shitty. So he let it out and cried, like his mate back in his room.

******

Marley closed the running tap water and looked up to find her swollen, wet face staring back at her. She could make out voices of Eden's parents downstairs. She didn't know how long they'd been back home, but was grateful that they didn't come upstairs and let her have her time. 

Perhaps, Ethan had told them everything and they were angry at her too. Maybe, by now the whole pack hated her, like him.

She walked out of room and went down the stairs. When she reached the living room, she found Catherine and Nicholas sitting on couch. Their eyes were already fixed on her, looking at her with pity.

Catherine stood up and in an instant was by her side. "Honey, if you want to share anything, we're here." She placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

Her maternal tone tugged Marley's insides, threatening another round of sobs to come out. "I know," the teen girl replied, mustering up a nonchalant look. "I'm tired, I think I'm going to head to bed now."

"You didn't have dinner. Why don't you stay a little longer and eat something?"

The appetite for anything was long gone. "I'm not really hungry. I just want to rest."

"But—"

"Cat, don't force her," Nicholas interrupted. "She looks tired, let her go." He watched his son's mate giving him a thankful look before she rushed out of the main door.

"Was Eden too harsh on her?" Catherine muttered.

"I think so," Nicholas said.

From others they had come to know about the conversation that passed among Eden, Jared and Thea. When they came home, a scared Ethan narrated the incident of his brother yelling at Marley. Ethan didn't have the courage to eavesdrop on them when his brother sounded so mad and his loud voice was reverberating throughout the house.