Chapter 253: 253-The Mate That Broke My Faith
Clementine:
All eyes were on me now, and I felt judged. It was wrong of Ian to tell them when it should have been me. I wished I had. I was respecting Ian’s decision not to tell, and this is how he repaid me.
"Is it true?" Troy asked from the side while I kept glaring at Ian.
Ian made a casual hand gesture, reminding me that my mate had asked a question and I should answer him.
"What do you mean by ’is it true’? Obviously, Ian is lying," Haiden growled, stepping up beside me and moving into my view.
As soon as he demanded eye contact, I looked down and clenched my fists.
"Why didn’t you tell us?" Yorick asked. I guessed he took my silence as an admission of guilt.
I took a deep breath and turned to face them all.
"Because it was Ian’s decision. When he didn’t tell any of you, I didn’t either. I’m not going to talk about my mate bond with him when it means nothing to either of us," I hissed, finally admitting it happened, but not because I was ashamed or being secretive.
"That’s not the only reason she didn’t tell you," Ian said, rubbing his palms together.
All eyes shifted to him again. I had no clue what was wrong with him. How far was he willing to go before I finally concluded he was a scumbag?
"What do you mean?" Yorick questioned him.
"You must think she accepted you and left me out," Ian said. "But that’s not the truth. She didn’t accept you until she was sure I was no longer an option."
He rubbed the blood from under his nose with his fingers, then shook his hand to the side, wiping his finger clean.
"Now you’re taking it too far," Troy hissed, stepping forward to attack again, but Ian grunted at him.
"And why don’t you ask her why she picked the same day to sleep with you all when she came to my pack and saw me with my ex?" Ian taunted.
My eyes shut. I knew the others were watching me now.
"Clementine, what is he talking about?" Troy asked gently, touching my elbow to turn me toward him. But I pulled my arm away, my fists clenching.
"But you said you never met him," Yorick reminded me.
I opened my eyes to see Haiden standing to the side, his back to Ian, his eyes fixed on me. He just stood there, silently watching.
"That’s because she was heartbroken," Ian continued. "She was never going to accept you. She slept with you out of anger. Otherwise, do you think she couldn’t control a little body heat?" he sneered.
He kept going. There was no stopping him. He didn’t understand he was making me uncomfortable. That after cheating on me, he had no right to punish me for sleeping with my mates. But the way he was exposing everything, it felt exactly like that.
"Clementine, is it true? Were you not accepting us because of him?" Haiden finally spoke.
My eyes shifted from Ian to Haiden. As much as I wanted to lie, I realized it had gone too far.
"Please, tell me," he pressed, his tone softening. "Was there a part of you holding back because of Ian?"
I felt strange, hurt and angry at myself, that I couldn’t even respond to my mates. But my silence gave it away, revealing the answer I dreaded to give them.
"Well, you shouldn’t have marked her by force," Yorick said, his voice heavy with emotion. It seemed like he had to convince himself to defend me after everything he’d just heard.
At that point, I didn’t want them to suffer because of me, so I took a deep breath and planned to walk away.
"You don’t need to stick up for me," I said softly, reminding my mates they had every reason to be upset with me.
"Reject him."
That’s when Troy demanded, and I turned to look at him.
"What?" Ian barked, his voice too loud.
"I said, reject him," Troy repeated. "So that he suffers the same way he made you suffer by marking you without your permission." He glared straight into Ian’s eyes.
Even Haiden turned around, his back now to me.
"He’s right. Reject him," Haiden ordered, and even Yorick stepped forward.
The three of them now stood in front of me, side by side, facing Ian.
Ian looked at them one by one before he started to shake his head and chuckle.
"And you think I’ll let that happen? She can reject me, but I’ll never reject her. And you know what will happen then?" He smirked. "She’s marked by me. I’ll go and tell the ringleaders what you’ve all been up to. I’ll tell them everything even about the mate bond and the mark I left on her neck. Everything."
Ian’s threat made everyone tense up. Even I knew what it meant. If I rejected him while he refused to accept it, nothing would change. The bond would still stand.
With that, Ian turned around and started to walk away.
Once he walked away, I straightened my back, took a few steps forward, and turned to face my mates.
"I’m sorry," I said.
"It’s of no use now. What’s done is done. It’s like we’re being punished for mistreating you in the past–in a way that makes us feel used," Yorick said, his voice shaky.
His tone revealed how much pain he was in, and I honestly hated it.
"I didn’t use you. I was in body heat, and I didn’t initiate anything out of anger," I said, trying to explain myself now that Ian was gone.
However, my silence had already given it away because it was also true. I hadn’t accepted any of them because I was waiting to talk to Ian. I didn’t even know what kind of talk, but I was waiting.
"And it’s not that I didn’t like you guys," I continued. "I was just waiting to talk about the mate bond with Ian. Because if I’m going to pick one, it’s only logical for all of them to have a discussion with me first."
I tried to explain, but I could tell they felt awkward, sad, and, like Haiden and Yorick said, used.
"It’s okay. We’ll find a way to free you from that mark," Haiden said, not even making eye contact with me.
"Let’s go back to the room. It’s getting cold. The storm will settle in a few minutes," Troy added, gesturing for me to walk ahead of them.
Everything had turned into a mess within a matter of hours. And I blamed Ian and partly myself for it.