Page 11 of Rejected Plus-Size Mate

"So…" I cleared my throat. "Where are we going again?"

"The mall in the town over. They are having a bunch of sales with the holiday coming up." Cayden said, looking up at the mirror, his eyes snapping to me for a moment. I blushed and looked at April sitting in the front seat.

The car ride started with a fight over who was going to drive, which Cayden won. He stated that it was his car and that he didn't just let anyone drive.

"They have a food court, right?" April asked, her eyes glued to her phone.

"It's a mall. Of course, it has a food court."

"Our mall at home doesn't have a food court."

Cayden snorted. "That wasn't a mall."

I took a deep breath, pulled my gaze out the window, and took in the view as Cayden pulled into the town.

West Creek. Before we left, Cayden gave us the lowdown about the town. It was a popular town of over fifty thousand people. Many packs traveled there for shopping, which meant they might run into people Cayden knew, so he apologized in advance.

"And by the way, we don't need a chauffeur," April quickly added as he stopped at a red light.

Cayden looked at his sister, giving her the same look he had earlier when she said those exact words. "And I told you that you don't get a choice."

Cayden had also explained that there was a bit of a rift with another pack and that he was keeping a close eye on them. If anything seemed off, they were leaving.

"You know we took this vacation to get away from pack bullshit," April snapped, more irritated than she was yesterday. I was hoping it was because of the fact that she was leaving later today to deal with her husband.

"You should know you can't get away from it. Every pack has its own problems, April."

"And what are your pack's problems?"

The car fell silent, and I swallowed. The tension between them was still there. A part of me was hoping they would just start getting along. I hated being between them.

We turned down a road, and my eyes widened as I saw a huge mall. The parking lot was filled with cars, and people were walking together, heading inside.

I smiled. "Wow, this is a huge mall."

"I told you," Cayden said with a hint of a smirk as he headed down the parking lot looking for a parking spot. It took him a few moments before he finally found one, pulling in.

April jumped out of the car first, and Cayden sighed. He rubbed at his forehead, and for a moment, he reminded me of when he was younger. It was the same way he used to rub his head when April did something that irritated him.

"I'm sorry about us fighting," he said, looking back at me.

"Give her time," I said simply. As much as April was hurting and angry at her brother, I knew she had picked to come here for a reason. She just needed to work through her emotions first.

He gave me a gentle smile before he pulled himself out of the car. I followed him, pulling my purse tightly around myself.

We all headed inside, and I grew giddy because this mall looked like it had a lot to offer. Our mall in town was great and had plenty of shops, but this mall was four times as large.

As we headed inside, my phone started to buzz, and I scowled. I glanced at Cayden and April, who were deciding which direction to go, so I took a moment to pull my phone free.

I scowled, taking in three new messages from Brad.

April, please just call me. Let's talk about this.

April, we have an entire life here. Do you really want to throw all that away?

April, think about this. I understand that maybe things are a little hard, but that's part of life. You can't just run away when things get tough.

It seemed he had moved past his anger and was moving on to begging. I knew it wouldn't last. He would be sending threats soon, and before that, I would probably cave. But I was there. I was here, and he couldn’t touch me.

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