The Rejected True Heiress (Liora and Callum) novel Chapter 235

Liora’s POV

The kiss was slow and tender and full of words I had never dared think of before, but it was also electric, like a jolt of static energy washing over me. Callum’s lips were soft. Softer than I thought they would be.

This was wrong. I knew it was. But in that moment, I couldn’t force myself to pull away. Not when he tasted like this. Not when I could still hear my wolf howling, her presence growing stronger by the moment.

What if this was truly the only way to bring my wolf back? What if reconnecting with my mate was the one thing that would make me whole again?

I hated that the thought made me smile against his mouth.

But it didn’t matter, anyway. Because Callum shoved me, hard, and the moment our lips pulled apart with a wet smack, my wolf’s presence faded.

He shot to his feet.

“That was a mistake,” he said. “I’m engaged.” His voice was low and full of an emotion that I couldn’t quite read. Not quite anger, but something else. Something that hurt even more.

I stood, suddenly realizing what I had done. The moon was hidden once more, and my clarity had returned. I was a fool. Neither of us wanted this. Neither of us wanted… each other.

It was exactly like he said.

A mistake.

“I’m sorry,” I muttered. My face was burning hot. I needed to get away—I couldn’t bear to look at him any longer. He was staring at me like I had poisoned him with my lips, and it hurt too much.

Without another word, I turned and fled.

…

Callum’s POV

I stared after Liora, my heart pounding. My wolf was going wild, raging against the inside of my chest like a cage built from flesh and bone. He wanted me to go after her, to continue what we started, but I dug my heels into the dirt.

No. That kiss… It was a mistake. Whether she had meant to do it or had just been driven by the strange pull we’d just felt, it didn’t matter. It never should have happened.

So why did I feel so happy that it had?

I ran my tongue across my lower lip, tasting her. Not sweet, but savory, tinged with the lingering saltiness of dinner and something more. Kissing Liora had been… incredible. Unlike anything I had ever experienced with anyone. Especially not with Bianca.

For a moment, as our lips met, I swore I could feel her wolf surge toward mine. As if our mate bond was still there, not completely broken like we once thought. And in that moment, I’d never felt so whole.

But that was impossible. Liora didn’t have a wolf. That strange Alpha scent, that sensation; it had to be something else. Not her. Never her.

And yet…

I shook my head as if that would somehow dispel the swirling thoughts, not that it helped any. None of it made any fucking sense. The only thing I knew for certain was that that could never happen again.

Despite how I felt about Bianca, I had betrayed the sanctity of the marriage that had been set in stone for me since I was a child. Kissing Liora, regardless of whether we truly meant to or if it was just a lingering vestige of a mate bond that hadn’t been properly severed, was wrong. It went against everything I had been taught, every value I had.

I needed to distance myself again. That was it—I’d gotten too close, too comfortable in her presence. She had reeled me in with her laughter and her eyes and the intrigue that seemed to follow her everywhere, and I had been a fool.

Liora stood slowly, still staring at me. Bianca, having overheard, jogged over and gasped. “My necklace!” she exclaimed. “I was just looking for that!”

I didn’t look at her. Just Liora. “Explain yourself,” I hissed. “I’m tired of wondering. I want answers. About all of it.”

Liora opened her mouth and shut it a couple of times. Suddenly, Marcus appeared, stepping between us.

“I see you found the princess’s heirloom,” he said coolly, holding out his palm. “I’ll admit it; I stole it last night.”

Bianca’s hand fluttered to the bare spot on her neck. “You stole it?” she asked.

He nodded. “I know you lost it at one point, so I decided to take it for safekeeping,” he said. “I was worried you might lose it in the forest. But I suppose I was the one who dropped it in the end, wasn’t I?”

Bullshit. I narrowed my eyes at him. I didn’t believe him one bit. Not even for a second.

Something was going on here. Liora and Marcus… Something wasn’t right. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but I could tell that they weren’t being entirely honest about everything. From the moment I found them in that utility closet together yesterday morning, I had a feeling that they already knew each other.

But how?

“Well, maybe, if you dropped it, you never should have taken it to begin with.” I was speaking to Marcus, but I was still looking at Liora. Her face was pale, eyes wide. She had her lips pressed together into a thin line.

Without tearing my gaze away, I held the brooch out to Bianca. Not Marcus, not Liora, but Bianca. She took it and clasped it back around her neck.

I glared at Liora for a moment longer before I shouldered my pack and joined the others.