Nicole stood frozen solid. She couldn't believe what she'd just heard. She gripped the hem of her dress to remind herself that she wasn't dreaming.
Did this just happen?
Voices. Thousands of voices rang in her head and she felt as if she'd been thrown into a pot of hot oil. Nothing was a better description of how she felt. That man was supposed to be her mate. Her protector.
Her mouth was hanging slightly open. This hurt more than all the physical and mental trauma she'd been put through in Crimson. It was better that they hit and tortured her than what just happened. She stood shell-shocked, how could her mate abandon her like that?