A/N: I know it's late, sorry.  It's not even a longer chapter, but for some reason, I struggled with it (I think I'm just enjoying writing in Vince's POV the more the story goes on, idk). But I'm looking forward to the next two. I'm not totally thrilled with how this came out, but please let me know what you think. Comments, votes, and follows are greatly appreciated. I love to hear your thoughts, theories, and overall hatred for my characters, haha :) Love you guys, and hope y'all have had a great Christmas, or holidays for those who don't celebrate Christmas <3

Chapter 54

Simon's POV

Walking out was easy, I was used to walking out on people. I had done it for years, even walking out on Aspen and Cedar at times. Even on Sam. Once you took those few steps, it was easy to continue walking. The hard part was not looking back. Especially when that person was your mate.

It hurt to shut those doors behind me but I had to. I needed to make things clear. I couldn't continue with this back and forth thing between us. It would tear us apart, tear me apart if this was just how we were going to go, this constant push and pull of the bond until we would erode and fall apart like a coastal cliff.

I had spent years, nearly two decades trying to tell myself that it would never work, and now that we were this close, then distant the next, it was worse than if I knew it wouldn't work in the end.

He needed to stop thinking and just feel. And I needed to do the opposite. I had been feeling so much that I needed to stop and wonder what was more important. Decide if what we were doing would actually benefit us, or just make things worse.

But I couldn't shake the feeling of hurt. I had been through a lot of pain and heartache before, but this was different. I knew he was trying. Goddess, I did. But I knew that he was holding back too. And I wasn't sure if it would ever get better. Would he ever fully let go?

Would he be happy like this? Were we pushing this too far, forcing something that would just make us less happy in the end?

He was pushing me away again, so I'd let him. If he really wanted this to work, he'd reach out to me. He would think about what I said and make up his mind. He was right, that I didn't need him. I really didn't, but in a way I did. I wanted to be content by his side. I didn't even care about the mark, about his title, or any of that. I'd be happy just to share the same space as him. But I wasn't sure if it was enough now.

You deserve better, he has said, and he was right. I needed more. Less of him doubting himself, and more of him focusing on us. Less on others, and more on us.

So I'd give him time, give him space. And until he figured it out, I'd wait. I'd wait another sixteen years if it took him that long to figure out what he wanted if I had to.

---

Something was off with Michael.

It had become quite normal for him to treat me to lunch, sometimes to a fancy restaurant, or even to a small mom and pop shop. But today was different. We had been on our way to Cindy's Diner, a place I preferred over any of those expensive places easily when he had received a call.

"Hm?" He gripped the steering wheel tighter as the other person on the line talked. "No, we agreed."

"No, leave him to me," he mumbled. "That was the deal."

A pause before Michael said harshly, "just do as I say. I call the shots, here."

I didn't bother to ask him about it, but he was acting more and more agitated even through our lunch. He had barely touched his food, angrily typing a response every two minutes on his phone. This had gone on the whole time, even after I had ordered some extra food for Vince. He had barely finished one of the three pancakes on his plate, his coffee still full as he sent his card to the waitress.

I had tried asking if he wanted to take the rest home but he remained on his phone the whole time, barely even sparing me a glance. Usually, we talked about anything and everything, but it was unusually quiet.

As I waited for Michael from the bathroom outside, my phone pinged. A text from Xavier.

Where are you?

Cindy's. What's wrong?

Rogue attack. My heart dropped as he continued to type. He stopped before typing again. Is Vince with you?

No, I responded, frowning down at my phone. Was Vince not at the pack? Where could he have gone? But if rogues were attacking, then shouldn't Michael-

"What's with that face?" He said snidely as he walked back from the bathroom, but there was something dangerous about the way he walked closer. Even my wolf was on edge. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

I tilted my head, before stuffing my phone back in my pocket. "Xavier said there was a rogue attack. Did you know? We should-"

"The betas can handle it, I'm sure."

"What are you-"

He placed a firm grip on my shoulder before saying nonchalantly, "let's stay here, enjoy some downtime, Simon. You deserve a break from all this."

"But the pack-" I tried to pry his hand away. "We need to go. Rogues are attacking-"

"Why? Let it all burn, I say. They don't deserve our sympathy." He smirked before placing his other hand around my torso, firmly on my lower back. "They never cared for us rogues anyways."

"But you-" He sent a serious glare that made me freeze in place. What was he thinking? He's the alpha. Why didn't he care about the rogue attack?

He flashed a toothy grin that made my stomach flip, my wolf growling lowly at the impish and sinister vibe he was giving off. He leaned forward, his breath down my neck sending goosebumps as he whispered, tracing the hand on my back lower, and more firmly. "Besides, you should be used to this, right?"

My wolf snarled as I leaned as I pushed myself away and slapped him on his face. "You-"

"Oh," he hummed, before looking down at me harshly, a dangerous glint in his eye, not even fazed by the slap. He gripped my wrist in his hand tightly. "You shouldn't have done that, dear."

A shiver went down my spine as I tried not to let out a strained cry. An unsettling, perturbed thought rang through my head.

He was right. Vince had been right about him.

It made me wonder how stupid I could've possibly been. How had I not seen past it, I had dealt with men like this before. But what made it worse was that all the signs had been there before. The lying, telling me those things about his brother, the phone calls Vince mentioned, even that empty threat of killing me. What else did Michael have up his sleeve after all?

Vince had tried to tell me, and I went and ignored him. I hadn't believed him and goddess, what had I done? I had pushed him away, walked away from him, and all for what? For Michael to corner me into believing him over my own mate?

"Let go," I snarled, but it quickly turned into a whimper as he shoved me backward into the siding of the building.

"Oh, come on, It's not like Vince would give you this," he purred, his expression darkened as he smirked mischievously. His hand reached forward, his thumb just grazing the crook in my neck where mates mark each other. "Think about it, what has he ever done for you?"

"Let go," I said firmly, trying to yank my wrist out of his grasp. "You know nothing about what he'd do."

"You naive fool. You think he cares about you?" He spat, his jaw ticked. "He only cares about saving his ass. The only reason he'd ever mark you is for that stupid role. "

"He wouldn't do that." I jerked my hand out of his grasp, but the menacing glow of his wolf's golden eyes froze me to my spot. My hand instinctively reached up to my neck. "He wouldn't-"

He rolled his eyes before tilting his head slightly. "Sure, he wouldn't want to mark you, but think about it. He marks you, gains his alpha role only for you to be tossed aside. He doesn't need you beyond that. What makes you think he actually cares?"

"He does care," I punched at his arm. "He's changed."

Michael sneered down at me. "If he did, he'd be here with you. He'd be by your side instead of cowering in fear like the pathetic alpha he wants to be. He'd be here protecting you. But he's a fool who doesn't get it. Forget him, I could give you everything you ever wanted, Simon."

"I thought you were trying to help him. To help us." I shook my head. "I thought you wanted us to work."

"Sure, I did," he sneered sarcastically. "Let my baby brother get everything we never got. Let him get a second chance on something he ruined over some bullshit excuse. Cause that's totally what I wanted. Let the pack just forget about all the misdeeds they've done for people like us and the rogues they've harmed."

He snarled next to my ear before saying softly. "I could end it here, once and for all, you know. Kill you right here, and he wouldn't even know where to look. I could kill you the same way he left David, even worse. Let him suffer the pain of a broken bond."

I shoved at his chest, to which he responded with a sinister smirk before raising a closed fist.

"That's quite enough," a firm voice said behind Michael, the person's hand wrapped around Michael's wrist before it could be swung at me. "Is there a problem here?"

The sound of the voice sounded familiar but it wasn't until I could get a good look at the person's face that it dawned on me.

Sam.

There was a fierceness in his face that I hadn't seen before, as he stared Michael down. His hand still wrapped tightly around Michael's wrist.

Michael scowled before responding, "no, there isn't," as he walked past me, heading to his car. I released a breath I hadn't realized I was holding as Sam's face softened.

"You alright?"

"I-" I pursed my lips before sighing. "I will be."

Sam seemed hesitant but he reached out a hand, hovering beside my arm as if silently asking if it was alright. I blinked away the extra water in my eyes before leaning into him, hoping he wouldn't say anything. I wasn't sure if I'd be able to keep it together to explain. He loosely wrapped his arm around my shoulders, grounding me.

I had walked out on Vince, but I couldn't help but wonder if things had been different, would Vince have been here instead? If we hadn't pushed each other away, I probably wouldn't have even been in this predicament in the first place.

"Come on," Sam murmured into my hair as I tried to calm the pounding of my heart by listening to his heartbeat. "I'll take you home."