He hadn't understood it at all. He could understand if she were frightened, or if she didn't believe him, or if she laughed at the whole idea. But hurt and angry?
But then her parting words in the truck had made it all make sense.
This isn't the first time someone's used that line on me.
Some other man had told Alethia that she was his mate.
And since Alethia was Grey's mate, that man had been lying to her. Maybe he’d told her she was his mate to get her in bed. Or keep her with him when she really wanted to leave? All the possibilities were absolutely disgusting.
He didn't want to believe any shifter man would do that to a woman. Only a worthless excuse for a man would.
But he could hear it now. No, baby, don’t go. We’re destined to be together. You’re my one true love. My mate. So you can’t leave, see?
Grey snorted to himself. Yeah, some people would do that.
And one of them had done it to Alethia.
Grey started the truck with a sudden, violent twist of the key.
He couldn't stay here any longer, or he'd go knock on the door and demand that Alethia tell him who the guy was. Grey wanted to pound the hell out of him for doing that to his mate. His mate, not some lying asshole's.
He wondered how long ago it had been. Was the guy here in town somewhere? Or in Ryder's Lodge? Was it one of the logging crew?
He pulled away, cruising slowly down the street, away from Alethia, while his thoughts raced ahead of him.
He had to fix this. If he didn't do something, he could easily picture himself never seeing Alethia again. He rarely came into Prescott, and she had told him last night with all sincerity that she was sick of coming to Ryder's Lodge. After today, he couldn't see her wanting to go out to the bars there anytime soon. Plus, he'd always been planning to get the hell out of here the second he got another ranger job.
There wasn't any reason they would casually run into each other. There was nothing keeping them from never crossing paths again.
His jaw firmed. Not if he had to say anything about it.
The trick was how to find her and talk to her again. Even though he knew where she lived, Grey would never show up at a woman's home uninvited.
Turning another corner, he saw a sign for Mae's Diner. That looked like a better idea than cruising aimlessly around Prescott in his truck. He'd go in, get a cup of coffee, and think about his options.
And he wouldn't leave until he'd found one that would work.
***
Ali was mopping the kitchen floor, while Molly plated her snacks in perfect spirals, when she heard the doorbell. It was too early for book club.
She heard Paul as he came into the kitchen. "Hey, babe." His voice perked up. "Hey, food.”
"No," Molly snapped. "That's for the book club. Do not touch."
A second later, an outraged noise told Ali that Paul had snatched something from a plate anyway.
"It's good," he said with his mouth full. "The book club’s going to love it. One more!"
"Get away."
"Can't blame me when it tastes so good," he said in a muffled voice. Then there was a scuffle. "Ow! What's wrong with you?"
Ali kept her eyes on the floor. A second later Paul appeared. His boots left dirty footprints on the wet linoleum. "Hey, Ali, what's up?"
"Nothing." She kept mopping.
"Hey, you could look at me when I’m talking to you."