Betrayed by My Pack – Wolfless Hybrids Escape
Chapter 128 –

Robert's POV

I thought she would listen to me. She added me back to the palm reader on our house, so I thought she had already forgiven me. Why did she leave like that? My heart already hurt from her leaving me. She was upset, but I wanted to talk it out. I heard voices downstairs and ran down the stairs quickly to speak with Cara. I needed help getting my mate back.

"Cara, do you know where the village your mother lived previously is located?" I asked. I didn't have time for small talk.

"No, she was going to take me there this morning, but Jaxon needed her help dealing with Adra. She will take me there soon, so I will know then, but I have no idea where it is today. Why? Did you hurt her again?" Cara asked me.

"We were talking about everything that happened. She suddenly told me that she was done talking. She even implied that I wasn't ready to admit my fault. Adra tricked me. I thought that she was an innocent person who needed help. It was my job to deliver her supplies for the week. Now Saoirse is thinking that I have done something inappropriate with Adra. I never touched her. I didn't want her, I only want Saoirse," I growled out in frustration running my hands through my hair.

I wanted to punch something but knew it would only make things worse. Alexei had already pulled Cara behind him and was looking at me in a way I had never seen before. I knew he would say something, but I didn't want him to do it in front of Cara. It could end up going right back to her mother. I had already asked Cara for help. She reminded me she had helped me before by encouraging her mother to give me a chance. I can tell she feels guilty about doing that for me now.

"I love her, Cara. I love her more than anything else in my life. But she is acting like I cheated on her. I never did. I never wanted Adra like that, no matter how often she suggested it. I only want Saoirse," I grumbled.

"Robert, I know you are new to being in a relationship. I am new to it as well. But I can tell you that there are several ways to cheat, not just physically. What you did was emotionally cheat on my Mom. You just mentioned that you have known that Adra has had feelings for you for a long time. That also tells me that you never stopped her from hoping you would one day change your mind. I know you probably told her many times that you wanted your mate. But if you were too gentle with it, she probably thought she had a chance to change your mind about it," Cara told me.

My heart rate increased as she was correct in her guess at what happened. I was hoping that since I hadn't done anything on my end to cheat, it would have absolved me from having done anything wrong. I know from how disappointed Anton and my mother were in me that I was incorrect. I was frustrated and wanted to work my anger out to get past this. I thought keeping a hold of Saoirse would have kept her from leaving like she did. I was wrong.

I just wanted her to stay here with me and talk this through. I wanted everything to go back to normal between us again. I have missed her so much. I needed to hold her in my arms again because I wanted the love that had shown in her eyes to come back. I just didn't know what she wanted me to say to her.

'Oh, you don't know what to say?' Echo's voice was loud and clear in my head.

'I don't know what she wanted me to say to her. I love her, and I want her. Isn't that enough?' I linked back.

'You knew she had trust issues, yet you still allowed Adra to flirt with you. You allowed her to touch you in front of our mate. Everything we went over to "fix" for her was something she had been doing for herself for years. You cannot be this obtuse. You suspected what she was doing and didn't care to correct her. You wanted to have your cake and eat it, too. Well, Adra is dead now, and our mate is gone. I didn't like or trust Adra. I only want our mate. You are going to be really sorry if you don't get our mate back, Echo told me.

'I am trying Echo. She is angry and won't listen to me,' I linked back.

'Mate doesn't want to hear lies. We both know that you are lying to her. You forget, I know you. I know your feelings. Even the ones you don't want to admit to anyone. We are one, so don't try to lie to me. It will not work, Robert, Echo told me. Before I could reply, Alexei started to speak.

"Robert, I know you didn't want to upset Saoirse even more than you already have. You have to tell her the truth. You need to admit that you liked the boost you got from Adra telling you how great you are. We all like to be complimented. What you can't do is keep digging this hole even bigger than it already is. You have two choices here. You have to admit everything, fall on the sword. You have to prove to her that you only love her. The only way to get her back is to clear the air and tell the truth. She spent a lot of time with Anton today. Plus, after that show of power on the training field. Do you think she isn't fully aware of what you have done?" Alexei admonished.

I stopped breathing momentarily as I had never even considered the option that she might already know everything. Goddess, I have really fucked everything up. I didn't want her to be hurt by my admission to her. I didn;t want her to think bad of me. I wanted her to love and be proud of me despite my flaws. I know this was the only way to go, but I still asked, "What is the second option?"

"You get rejected, and you lose your mate forever. If you give her too much time away from you, the bond will fade. It will be easier for her to decide to give you up," Cara told me.

"No! I can't lose her. She is the only woman I love. I want her to be by my side forever. I didn't want to hurt her any more than I had already. I refuse to accept her rejection. What do I need to do to fix this?" I begged.

The harsh reality is that I would do anything to keep Saoirse in my life. I wanted her and my pup with everything I had in me. I am overwhelmed with frustration at how this whole situation has played out. I thought she was getting past it by allowing me to return to our home. She wanted me to come clean, and instead, I evaded and lied.

I didn't have the heart to admit to Saoirse that I enjoyed Adra's attention. I thought it was harmless. I was ignored growing up. My oldest brother, Forest, was the one Dad loved the most. He ignored Kevin and me, as Forest was to take over as the next Alpha. It didn't matter how well we did with sparring or our duties. Dad always doted on Forest, even when he shouldn't have. I shouldn't have felt that way, but it was hard not to as the third son-the one so easily ignored.

I was trying to keep from hurting Saoirse even more than I already had with my lies and lack of action when it came to Adra. I had been walking a fine line between trying to protect my mate from Adra as well as being Adra's only friend. I was being ripped apart as I tried to care for each of them. I foolishly believed Adra when she said that she was happy for me having found my mate.

I never suspected Adra was lying to me to keep me from realizing what she was about to do. I was honestly shocked after she gave me the tea. I felt weak, not strong enough to fight back, and then started touching me. I never would have expected anything like that from her. I didn't like what she was doing to me. Even though she tried to convince me she was Saoirse, my heart knew she wasn't. That was why I kept trying to call out for my mate.

"Robert, I am telling you that you don't have much time. Saoirse left, and the only way to get to her is if Cara is willing to bring you there with her. How can we trust you to do the right thing? You were a willing participant in what happened with Adra. Anton told me everything. I thought that he and Cheryl were being too hard on you and I defended you to them. I couldn't believe what I heard, you let Adra act intimately towards you, in front of your mate. You need to grow up, Robert. You are about to become a father. Don't waste this opportunity. We will help you this time, but this is it. If you don't take this seriously and do what you need to do, go ahead and accept her rejection. Saoirse loves you, Robert, but even love has its boundaries," Alexei told me.

"I will do anything to get her back, I swear it. I will tell her what happened. I will tell her the whole story if I need to. I want her to come back to me. I promise you I will never lie to or mislead Saoirse again. I swear to the Goddess, I won't take her for granted again," I told them. I spoke with conviction as I meant every word I said. I cannot imagine my life without her. I needed her so much. Everything about her is perfection. I am completely drawn to her, like a moth to a flame. I am an idiot for not coming clean that first day. She gave me a chance, and I blew it. I can only pray that she has enough love for me in her heart to forgive me one more time. I swear I will never make the same mistake again if she will forgive me this time.

"I really hope so, Robert, because I am sticking my neck out to help you. I don't want my mother to get angry at me for interfering. I don't want her to disappear from my life. I just got her back. I don't want to lose her or my half-sibling. Boy or girl, I can't wait to meet them. So please, don't muck this up, OK?" Cara told me.

"I will do everything possible to fix this, Cara. I already knew where I needed to go first. Anton will know how badly I have messed up with Saoirse. He will have felt it while they were together today. I also need for him to point out exactly where I messed up. I know most of it, but I don't want to miss anything. It could be the difference between getting my mate back and losing her forever. I just can't take that chance. I will do anything to get my mate back.