Page 43 of Crimson Heart

“What for?”

“To get back at me. To get even after what he considers an insult to him—that I didn’t choose Eve as my mate.”

“That’s ludicrous. How would he even have known who I was and where to find me? You and Austin didn’t even know where I was. Or that I was coming to visit.”

She felt something akin to triumph, knowing there was no answer to support Jude’s wild guess. Jude looked annoyed because she’d been able to rebuke his accusation.

“So, as you can see, making Byron out to look like the bad guy isn’t gonna work,” she added. “And he loves me.”

“Come on,” Jude now said, his voice calmer as if he’d decided to use his older brother charm on her. “How would he know after only two days?”

She decided not to answer the question, but instead to come back with a question of her own.

“How did you know that Danielle loved you after only two days?”

Jude made an impatient movement with his hand. “Just answer the fucking question.”

She sighed. “Because he told me, and I can feel it.” She pressed her hand to her heart. “In here.”

“He’s lying to you.”

“You have no proof of that.”

“I’ll find proof. Because there’s no way that he loves you.”

She scoffed. “Are you saying that I don’t deserve a man’s love? That I can’t possibly make a handsome man fall in love with me? Thanks a lot for your confidence in me!”

She turned on her heel and walked toward the door.

“This isn’t over, Charlotte,” Jude warned.

She didn’t stop or turn her head. When Austin didn’t step away from the door, she glared at him.

“Let her go,” Jude said. “She’ll calm down in time and realize that Byron isn’t good for her.”

“Don’t count on it. You can’t stop fate,” Charlotte said in a quiet but firm tone.

She opened the door and left the master suite with her head high and her heart bruised. She’d expected more compassion from her brothers. If her brothers couldn’t support her in this, then how would she fight against her parents and the Werewolf Alliance’s demand that she mate with Steve Leon? She could only hope that Byron’s contact was able to find dirt on the Leon pack so they wouldn’t force her to mate with a man she was disgusted by. And if nothing could sway them, she had one other option.