I Can't Be The Alpha's Mate

Chapter 17- Do you...

Nolan hadn't left our conversation from the other day alone. He had spent the two days since then using every chance we had alone to probe me further. He wanted to know everything. And as much as I wasn't sure if I should tell him about it, it still felt nice to talk to someone.

"Why do you think he cheated?" Nolan randomly asked me as we were fetching water for the camp.

I nearly dropped the bucket in my hands.

"What?"

"Why do you think your mate cheated? If he had just found you, he knew who you were and he had plans for the two of you, then why do you think he cheated on you?"

It was the same question that had plagued my mind since I had found out. Why would he do something like that, and with the person he had. He had shared his bed with another who he claimed had meant nothing.

"I don't know," I whispered as I filled the second bucket with water, standing to head back. "I'm not sure why he did."

"Do you think he regretted the decision?"

Had Rafe regretted sleeping with Aphrodite? He claimed he had, I had seen the pain on his face. But was that in the face of being caught, or had he actually regretted the act itself?

"I beleive so, but I'm not sure."

We walked in silence a bit. I was lost to my thoughts, barely even remembering that Nolan was walking beside me.

"Do you love him?" Nolan asked finally.

My head snapped to look at him. Well that was a tough question. When I was around him my mind was so foggy I wasn't sure what I felt for him. I knew I had an attraction to him, it was the same pull all mates had, but was it really love?

What was love? It wasn't something that you could really describe, it wasn't tangible, it wasn't something you could grab. It wasn't definite. It was something that had to be built. Love was something big made from lots of little things.

Did I love Rafe? I didn't think we had reached that point yet. I had that physical pull to him, I wanted to get to know him, or I at least had wanted to get to know him. I had wanted to be there for him, to help him, to be with him. The potential for greatness between us had been there before I left, before he had betrayed me.

"I don't know if I do, but I think I could."

Nolan just nodded walking silently a little further until speaking up once more. "You should go back to him."

"What?"

"You should go back to him. Tell him everything you've told me. You said you left so you could figure things out, to see if there was room for an 'us'. And I think you know that answer now, I think you know what room you have."

He was right, I had looked our situation over from every angle. Nolan had made me see and ask myself things that I never would have on my own. He had shed light onto Rafe and myself and I did think there was room for an us. There was potential for him and me.

"Why are you doing this?" It had seemed odd ever since I had brought the topic up. Nolan had made it clear about his feelings for me, and yet he still tried to help me find my way back to Rafe.

"Because you deserve happiness no matter who it's with. You can't form a relationship with someone else when part of you belongs to another. Even if I can't be with you, I want to see you happy. If that means that going back to your mate, then I want to help you do that. Everyone deserve happiness.

"If going back to him would make you miserable, then I would say to hell with him. Stay with us or find a new pack. But you can't walk away from something just because you're scared. You deserve to be angry for what he did, but you can't let one mistake rule your entire relationship and life."