Page 12 of His Bullied Fated Mate

I drove around for a couple of hours. It was dark by the time I got back, and the house was quiet. I could see a light was on upstairs, and I could hear her on the phone.

“Yes, once I know more, I’ll give you an update, Scott. I really am sorry about the sudden leave.” She’d said he was her boss, but I didn’t know if that was true. Was she dating him? Was she dating anyone?

I went up the stairs and stopped at the bedroom door. She was sitting in the chair in front of the window. She nodded her head as she held the phone up to her ear. She looked frazzled as she listened.

Her eyes snapped to me as soon as she saw me. I could see irritation fill her face instantly. She got up and walked towards me. She grabbed the door and shut it.

Well, at least she wasn’t yelling at me.

I ate and went to bed. I tossed and turned, unable to get any good sleep. My mind was everywhere. I kept replaying the day over and over in my head. I was starting to question if I'd made a bigger mess than what I had.

The next couple of days were difficult. Janella avoided me, and I wasn’t sure what to do with myself. I hadn’t shared space with another person. Even when I dated, I liked to make it clear that it was my house.

I went for a run every morning. I took my normal route, which was a couple of miles. I always came home, showered, then headed out for the day. I wasn’t sure what Janella did. Ifigured after a few days, maybe things would calm between us, but they hadn’t.

I arrived back home and found her standing in the kitchen. She was sipping on a cup of coffee while typing on a laptop computer. Her eyes were focused, and I wasn’t sure she even knew I was back.

I entered the kitchen, and her eyes looked up at me. But they went back to her screen just as quickly.

“Morning.”

Her fingers continued to type. She took a sip of her coffee, never seeming to pause.

“What are you working on?”

Her fingers stopped, and her eyes narrowed. “Is there something you need, Riley?”

“I’m just trying to talk to you.”

“And I don’t want to talk to you,” she snapped, her hands landing flat on the counter. “You have fucked my life up enough, and I'm trying to keep it from being worse.”

I ground my teeth together. Seriously, though, where did this viper girl come from? Because I’ve never seen her like this. Not even once.

“I’m just trying to be nice.”

“You’re not a nice person, so you can drop the act. Stop asking how I am. Stop trying to weasel your way into my life. I’ve built something great for myself, and you are not going to screw it all up for me.”

Her words grated against me, and I knew she had every right to be mad. But another part of me hated it. So, I pushed back. “You haven’t told Scott that you’ve moved in with me?Might be a little difficult to work like this. Could end up losing your job and have no reason to go back to that life you created.”

She snapped her computer shut and got up. “I’ll be just fine. Because like I’ve said before, when this is all done. I have a life to go back to. So, figure out what you need to do for the pack, so I can leave.”

“Still clinging onto the hope it’s going to be that easy?”

“It will be,” she snarled.

I hate the way my stomach clenched at the idea. I hated everything about this. “And what if I said I wouldn’t allow that? Hmm? I told you that you're bonded to me. I don’t like the idea of my mate leaving.”

“And I don’t like the idea of being a prisoner, yet here we are, Riley. You are once again coming into my life and screwing it all up.” She grabbed her laptop, holding it to her chest. “And to think your Alpha. I fear for this pack because you haven’t changed at all.”

Anger hit me like a whip as she turned, starting up the stairs. I felt my grip on my anger loosen, and my mouth moved before I could think..”You’re never leaving, Janella. You should accept that. You're stuck here. No way out.”

She paused. Her head turned to me, and I could see fear form in her face. I felt my stomach dip at this. She looked exactly like the girl she used to be, and I knew just how badly I was fucking this up.

She didn’t say anything as she ran upstairs. I heard her bedroom door slam, and I sighed. “Fuck!” I knew I was going about this all wrong. I wasn’t the same guy I was before, but apparently, when it came to her, I couldn’t help but be.

I felt my phone vibrate, and I pulled it out. I frowned when I noticed it was Troy calling. I’d been dreading this call. I knew once word got around, he was going to be livid.

I answered it. “Hey.”