Rejection, Acception

Chapter 11 - Shocking News

KATIE'S POV

The rest of the day was pretty boring if you ask me. I called my dad and talked to him for a little bit and after that I tried to avoid Ashur as much as possible. Being in heat for the first time was exciting but scary at the same time. What I did to Ashur in bed...I couldn't control it, but I knew I wanted to do it. Then I saw him completely naked and when I looked down I couldn't help but chicken out. So for the rest of my pathetic day I locked myself up in Ashur's room, not even bothering to answer him when he asked me what I wanted for supper through the door. He repeated the question several times but I denied him an answer and I heard his loud sigh before he walked away.

This routine continued for the next five days. Ashur would join me in bed at night and I would turn my back to him and pretend he wasn't there, even after I was no longer in heat I continued to ignore him. I wasn't used to being so...intimate with a guy and I was utterly embarrassed.

On the sixth night I crawled under the covers and expected Ashur to come in with me, as compliant as usual, but when he strode in with a steely gaze I knew his resolve had broken.

I looked around, determined not to look anywhere but at him so I fixated my stare on his feet. He wasn't wearing any socks, I noted.

"Katie. We need to talk." he ground out.

Oh god. Not those dreadful words. While forcing my dad to watch endless chick flicks throughout my teenage life I got to learn that those words never meant anything good.

"Fine." I grumbled under my breath.

Whatever Ashur had to say to me I might as well get it over with. There was no sense in prolonging my agony. My mind automatically conjured up an endless list of possible things he was going to say to me. I knew at the top of that list he was going to confront me about ignoring him for almost a week after we'd nearly had sex.

He crossed the room in three confident strides and I sat up and leaned against the headboard so I could look at him as he sat down on the bed next to me.

"I know that this has been difficult for you lately. Shifting for the first time. Being rejected by your mate. And of course meeting me wasn't much help."

I opened my mouth to protest, to tell him how much help he's actually been, but he cut me off by pressing a finger to my lips.

"Let me speak before that big mouth of yours takes control." he sniped playfully. "As I was saying, I'm sure I haven't been making things much easier, but right now things are about to get much, much worse. I want you to know that it doesn't change anything between us. I'll never go back to her." he nearly growled out the last word.

Whoa. What in the hell was he talking about? Where did all this come from? What could he possibly be talking about that would change anything between us? Who the fuck was this her? Suddenly, my female possessive streak resurfaced like it had at the movie theatre with Greg and a low growl errupted from my chest.

Ashur smacked his palm againt his forehead and ran his hand down his jaw, tense.

"Maybe I'm not going about this in the right way..." he began.

"Ashur," I warned. "Spit it out."

He grunted and seemed to settle on the right words to say. I sat there, my muscles coiled, ready to take out anything that threatened my relationship with Ashur. Especially if it was another female.

"You know how I got rejected by my mate when I was eighteen?" he asked.

I nodded slowly, unsure of where he was going with this. He paused again and I ground my teeth together to stop myself from snapping at him to hurry up and tell me.