Take Me Once, I'll Bleed You Twice novel Chapter 22

“It’s not the same thing.”

“YES IT IS,” Beatrice yelled. Her hands clenched into fists as she fought to rein in her temper. “It’s only different because you want it to be different, otherwise how could you justify what you’re doing to me?”

“You-”

A loud knock at the door interrupted their argument, which was probably for the best. If they’d continued for a couple more rounds they might have come to blows. Beatrice would undoubtedly end up bruised and broken if it’d gotten that far. “What?” She demanded, glaring at the door. If it was Hendricks she was going to tear his head off, human strength be damned.

“It’s Beta Benedict. May I come in?”

“Oh goodie. Tweedledick is here.”

“Excuse me?” Alise snapped, taking a step closer only for the door to open as Beta Benedict let himself in instead of waiting for an invitation.

“Alise, why don’t you take a break,” he told the maid, his tone turning it from a suggestion into an order.

“As you wish, Beta Benedict,” she murmured, lowering her head and speed walking out of the room.

Alise cour

It was only once Alise had left the room, door closing in her wake, that the Beta let out a sigh. “You just can’t keep your damn mouth shut.”

“Oh go to hell,” Beatrice countered. Was it her best work? Not even close. But it’d irritated him, so it worked well enough. “What do you want?”

Tweedledick stared at her for a long moment, arms crossed over his broad chest. “I don’t want you here either but we do what’s best for the pack.”

Now that piqued her interest. Was there a subtle scent of mutiny in the air just now?

“Great. Just point me towards the exit and I’ll

here be for the

De on my way.”

A frown creased his brow. “Your being here is best for the pack, even if I personally don’t like you.”

“Your pack isn’t my business, dickhead. Remember? I’m human. I don’t howl at the moon and all that fun stuff.”

Getting under his skin.

was far too easy. The growl coming from him was deep and, if Beatrice was being honest, very intimidating, but her sense of self preservation was still waiting for everything to be over before kicking in.

“It is your business because Alpha Hendricks is your mate.”

“Wrong,” she corrected, holding up a finger. “Humans do not suffer from the mate bond. We do not feel it and, therefore, I have no mate. Which, in turn, means Hendricks cannot be my mate. I have no mate.” Beatrice wasn’t about to admit that, in the far corner of her mind, she was squeezing the living hell out of the bond she’d just sworn didn’t exist. Why complicate things with unimportant information like that?

“So take him as a mate anyway. The mate bond will guarantee he’ll treat you like a queen, even if you don’t feel it on your side. You’ll be surrounded by wolves who would gladly die for you, who would do anything to make you happy. Why can’t you just accept it?”

“Because that’s not what I want.” Her voice had risen again, and she forced herself to take a moment to breathe. “Why does everyone just expect me to take

3:19 pm

Chapter 22

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