Page 15 of Rejecting his Mate

My aunt has been… weird lately. The closer we get to my first moon ceremony, the more on edge she is. I thought I was supposed to be the nervous one. It will be my bones breaking and reforming, my body that will change. The ceremony sounds terrifying, but knowing mywolf will be free is keeping me focused on everything but the pain it will bring.

Once I shift, I will be stronger. Dalton won’t be able to push me around as much, and I like the idea of taking back some agency.

“I should have done better. My brother would have wanted me to.” She blows out a breath, and I raise my brows. My father is not often the topic of conversation between us. Adeline never likes to talk about him, and I’ve never pushed because I can sense how much his death hurt her.

It doesn’t stop the questions from swirling in my mind about him.

Are my eyes green because of my dad?

Did he have red hair like me? Or do I get that from my mom?

Am I like him?

What traits do we share?

These are all things I will never know because my aunt won’t talk about him.

I once asked Adeline if she had any photographs of my father. She went quiet and said she lost them before changing the subject.

She does that a lot when she’s talking about my parents.

Usually, I would let a comment like the one she just made slide and move on to other things so I don’t reopen old wounds, but I’m tired of having to act as if they never existed.

“Tell me about him,” I say, unable to keep the plea out of my voice.

Adeline closes her eyes, and I see the pain ripple over her face. I feel awful for putting it there, but my curiosity gets the better of me. “I can’t,” she says, her voice as raw as it was the first time I asked that question. I was eight years old; I’d lost all memory of my past and who I was, and I was trying to discover my roots.

Adeline hadn’t answered it then, and she’s not going to answer it now. I can tell by the look on her face, but I want to know. It’s important I do.

I squeeze her hand, trying to offer as much comfort to her as I can. “I know it hurts to talk about him, but I want to know my parents. Adeline, please, you need to—”

I cut my words off as Kyle, the pack’s gamma wolf, jogs toward the house and where we’re sitting. As much as I want to press my aunt, this conversation is not one I want to have with others around. I grind my jaw tight, cursing Kyle’s timing.

He takes the steps in one leap, the wood decking rattling beneath his weight, and gives me a friendly smile.

“Hey, Adeline.” He turns to me. “Halle Bear. You don’t want to spar with the rest of us?”

Pushing my conversation with Adeline aside, I roll my eyes at Kyle. He’s twice the size of me, and even with my wolf strength, I’m no match for him—yet. But he makes this same invitation every damn time.

“You know I do.”

“Then come on. What’s the matter? You scared?”

I laugh. “Say that after I’ve had my first shift. My wolf will kick your ass.”

“You think so?” His brows arch in that cocky arrogant way of his that makes him so appealing to other females. Maybe I should have chosen Kyle.

“I know so,” I fire back with a smirk.

“Your girl thinks she can take down a gamma wolf,” Kyle says to Adeline. “She thinks she’s an alpha female already.”

Ass.

I shake my head even as a grin plays over my lips. “I’m going to rank higher than you one day,” I say, ignoring the fact I have to be with Dalton for that to happen. “How does it feel knowing you’re going to be my bitch?”

He throws his head back and laughs. “Who told you that’s what’s going to happen?”

It won’t, but I like to tease him. Dalton will never allow me the power a true alpha female should have. He sees me as a breeder who will have his pups, not a true partner.

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