Free A Mate's Submission: (Hot Paranormal Shifter Romance) (Ozark Mountain Shifters Book 4) by P. Jameson

her.
    “Didn’t feel like it.”
    There was a long silence before he spoke again.
    “I’m yours.” He sighed. “Whether you want me or not. I’ve pissed off Cael so bad, I don’t even know if he’ll let me back into Ravendale to get my stuff.”
    Oh, shit.
    “What did you tell him?”
    “The truth.”
    “Which is?”
    He shook his head, causing the cap to wobble. “You don’t want to hear it.”
    “Maybe I do.”
    Slowly, he sat up, removing the hat and drilling her with his eyes. “You don’t, but it doesn’t matter.” He stood, facing her. She could feel his frustration, thick and suffocating. “I told him we were meant to be together. I told him I needed to be wherever you are. I told him… I’d found the part of myself that was lost for a very long time.”
    Avan’s head shook but she felt disconnected from it. Her actions denied what he said, but her heart agreed with him. Her animal whimpered at his words.
    She stumbled over to the chair and practically fell into it. “But… that’s not true. We aren’t meant to be together. Do you forget who my intended is? That I have a mate? Me and Cael are meant to be together. Not us.”
    He placed his hands on either side of the chair, invading her personal space without a qualm. “I know exactly who your mate is,” he growled. “He’s my best fucking friend. And I just screwed up years worth of devotion because I can’t imagine ever leaving this place without you by my side.”
    “Lex—“
    He bent closer, dragging in a ragged breath. “I’ve thought of you every single fucking day since you walked into that bar and renounced your claim on him. You think this can’t work, that you know everything about me, but you’re dead wrong. I have a mate of my own. I know exactly what that means and I don’t give a damn. We are meant for each other.”
    Avan’s mouth went dry. Holy… shit. “You’re mated?”
    There was no mark. And he… he… fucked her. He shouldn’t be able to do that. Only to his intended. But then, it was possible for Cael. Maybe there was a way around that instinct.
    “No,” he said quietly, pushing off from the arms of the chair. “I’m not mated. I have a mate. As you well know, there’s a difference.”
    “Where is she? Why aren’t you with her?” Avan felt like her lungs had been scraped raw. She’d never once considered they could be in similar situations. It was so out of the ordinary, how could she have?
    Lexar stared at her, hands planted on his hips, before dropping his head to look at the floor. “She’s in Hawaii. She belongs to the Coppertone pack.” The next part was said with an undertone of trepidation. “I’m not with her because she didn’t want me.”
    Avan’s heart broke for him. That feeling of not being wanted. It was like someone shot a cannon ball straight through your chest leaving a gaping hole you had no choice but to live with. And the shame of it. Having to cover it up so people didn’t think less of you.
    She recalled the day Trager brought his mate to camp. The elders predicted she’d shun him. Avan had been a first class bitch to the lady, explaining the customs of their pack and why Trager no longer fit in. Families were to have cubs. If they could not, they were useless to the pack. Avan didn’t necessarily agree, but it was the way of the shifters. At the time, she’d been stupid enough to think she’d have young herself some day. Then she’d scented her mate, learned he was—at the time—the pack’s greatest enemy, and knew she’d never have a family of her own.
    Except she’d be damned if she let her pack see her as useless.
    That was the moment her priorities shifted from being an alpha female to becoming a female alpha. To this day only four people in the camp knew Cael was her intended mate. Mama, Seleka, Farrow, and Lexar. But the Elders would find out soon enough.
    “Did you love her?” She had to know. Was he heartbroken? Was his bond with her a rebound