Rafe
As I sat there scowling, looking straight ahead to the wall in front of me I inwardly squirmed as I could smell my mate before she opened the door and sat down beside me. She still smelled as delicious as she had smelled last evening. I could not help but be drawn to her – the Moon Goddess would see to it that mates would have a difficult time rejecting their mates.
Which made it so shocking to my Uncle Boyd that I had refused an Alpha female. I had had no intention of telling him, but one of the guy’s was still going on about the look on her face when we crawled into the room early this morning. The other guys started laughing at the reaction and then passed out on the bed.
My uncle was already up of course. He was a bit of a strait-laced guy although he was only a few years older than me – he took his role seriously as my advisor. I was forced to explain everything that had happened the night before, including my brief indiscretion. That got him more riled up as he explained to me the impact that would have on a mate regardless if I had rejected them or not. He was so adamant that I recall whether Kate accepted my rejection. The fact was I had not stuck around long enough to hear whether she accepted it or not. The last thing I remember was the shocked look on her face as I turned to walk away.
Which brought me here to this place in this moment. Boyd was adamant that we needed to get answers immediately. He felt if she had not accepted the rejection, that I should take it back and accept her fully, begging forgiveness. I ranted at him that I could not do that – she was not what I wanted but he would not hear of it. He was so convinced I would ruin my future with a rejection, but I knew better. I know what I want in a mate and Kate will not be able to be that person.
After we entered Alpha Jackson’s office, I was shocked to learn she had not told her father about the rejection yet. I figured she would be so crushed she would run to her Daddy to try and get him to fix it all for her. Instead, I was stuck with my Uncle Boyd trying to fix it for me.
Boyd
As I turned to see the young woman who my nephew had so carelessly rejected, I could not believe what I saw. She was stunning. She stood tall and confident as she moved into the room. If you looked hard enough, you could see the slight red rimming around her eyes from tears shed the previous evening. But her demeanor would not give away the fact she had been rejected just 12 hours previously.
I briefly looked at my nephew who was still pouting and looking straight ahead. I had to give myself a mental shake and get a grip on myself. This was my nephew’s mate, and I could only hope he had not damaged the relationship to a point of no return.
I had spoken with my brother, Alpha of our pack, and he also wanted this situation corrected. He had been working on an alliance pact with Golden Moon Pack for the past 8 months and they had been close to finalizing the details. This had the potential to damage those efforts.
Rafe had not taken any interest in the Pack business and knew very little about what was really happening. He did not understand the need for alliances and certainly did not understand that there were always threats. He knew how to fight and had participated in fights that involved protecting the Pack but simply was not as engaged in the business aspect. I have criticized my brother repeatedly over the past couple years for coddling him. He knew he would take over as Alpha, but he did not realize, yet, just what that meant. I think this situation has shone a new light to the situation. My brother is quickly realizing that the gloves need to come off for Rafe to be ready to take over in the coming years when he is ready to step down.
Looking away from Kate I saw her father’s face light up as she came into the room. He was also looking for tell-tale signs of what she had endured but could come up with nothing. Or if he did, he certainly did not give anything away in looking at his daughter.
As she introduced herself, I was overcome when I touched her with how soft her skin was. She was more breath-taking up close. I do not know what was coming over me but clearly she was mesmerizing and yet this young fool had not seen it or ignored it. As we introduced one another, Kate did not spare me a second glance as she sat down and took a sip of her coffee waiting for someone to tell her why we were here. She knew why but she was not going to make things easy.
Kate POV My father started to explain to me why he decided it was important to have Rafe and Boyd join our early morning meeting. He felt it was something too important not to address together. As we sat there and surprising everyone in the room, I agreed with my father advising him it was my intention to discuss this situation with him, so this was acceptable to me. I decided to start as I hated the silence and the feeling of pity coming from the gentleman with Rafe. My father knew better than to pity me – he still saw a strong young woman when he looked at me and he knew I had never liked to be pitied or coddled growing up. I was raised to be a strong Alpha and a strong warrior. “
Kate POV Rolling over in bed I look at the ceiling. It was already two weeks that I had spent in my room ignoring the outside world. My mom, my dad and Lily had been trying daily to visit me. Aside from accepting limited amounts of food, I just could not stomach conversation. That day two weeks ago I had visited my father in the afternoon as we had agreed. He and my mom had both been there. They both hugged me tightly whispering words of comfort as I had felt those tears coming back. Wiping them away I quickly moved from them not wanting to shatter any more in front of them or anyone for that matter. My mom took my hand as we moved to sit in the two chairs Rafe and I had
Kate Training had become my main focus for the month after my two-week sabbatical from life. I trained in the morning one on one with Reid, my Beta and John Langille, our head warrior, and head trainer. Both of them ensuring I was in peak fighting condition. I loved training with them – they never held back. They weren’t afraid I would break and understood the only way I could protect myself was by fighting me with everything they had. The balance in power and ability was tight. Some fights I won, some I lost. When I lost, we went over the same scenarios until I got them down and won. Losing was not acceptable to me. I needed to be the strongest warrior so I could protect everyone within my pack. I also had to know I could rely on my top people
Kate POV “Katie let’s do an adult girls’ night,” Lily says. Pausing to wonder what exactly that means Lily continues, “You know – adult refreshments at an adult party location? Maybe in town at the Club?”. The “Club” is a hot spot for a lot of locals as well as people from neighboring towns. Mostly people in their 20’s and 30’s frequent the club, but it’s been known to attract a diverse group of people. They have great music, great dance floor, and cater their selection of alcohol to werewolves as well as to humans. The humans do not know that we exist, but the Club is owned and operated by werewolves. We can scent our own kind in any environment and it is no
Katy’s POV As werewolves, we were also recognized at the door as VIP’s when we went to the Club. Which was awesome as there was always a line up waiting to get in. Listening to the groans as we went around the line, we smiled to the Bouncer, who we had knew from our Pack, and walked on in. The place was crowded tonight. There were a lot of people on the dance floor. The music was thumping, perfect for dancing and the bar had a slight line up. Looking at the crowd dancing, and the bar, we all agreed to head up to the bar first. As we got there, it turned out not to be as crowded as we had thought and were able to get our drinks right away. Looking around we found a table toward the back, where we could see everything but also catch up or head to the dance fl
Drake’s POV After wrapping up my late meeting with Kate’s father, I happened to see Kate and her friends climbing into a car and heading into town. I admit she intrigued me when I had bumped into her earlier coming out of her father’s office. Her eyes were captivating, and she was downright beautiful. I had heard she had been rejected by her mate, but I was impressed with how well she was handling things. And, like many, shocked she had been rejected. She came across as a confident young woman. I had heard of Kate at various tables and had met her father a few months back at another joint meeting. Being an Alpha was a privilege but being an Alpha without a Pack to lead, was challenging and often frustrating. I had joined the Blue Moon Pack as a child
Kate POV Getting in pretty late last night, I can’t help my curiosity surrounding the man named Drake. He was good looking, confident and there were some questions around what his dealings were with my father. I enjoyed a couple dreams about the mystery man, his hands on my body and us swaying to the music. However, Saturday morning came to quickly. Dragging my butt when I did finally crawl out of bed, I make my training session for 9 am. I always spar and train with my Beta, Reid, and the Head Warrior / Head Trainer John. However, with John on vacation it would just be Reid and myself this morning. Although I had been out late the night before, it did not take long to get into the swing of fighting
Drake’s POV I had made my way home on my motorbike and arrived home shortly after three in the morning. Blue Moon Pack was roughly an hour or so from Golden Moon Pack. Not too far but far enough to warrant doing business with them. I lived in the Pack house along with a lot of the single, unmated members. My room was on the third floor – as an Alpha I had a higher standing in the Pack; however, would never be assuming the role of the Alpha for the Blue Moon Pack. My room was spacious, with its own bathroom, sitting area, workspace, and separate bedroom. Grabbing a quick shower, my thoughts lingered on my meetings today and the end of my evening. Drying off, I walk naked to my bed, turning off the light as I go.I was exhausted yet meeting Kate had piqued my curiosity.&n