Page 31 of Rejected Bullied Mate

Kit collapsed onto all fours, his body shaking like a branch in the wind, his breath coming in sharp, shallow pants. His bones had finally stopped shifting, his tiny form settling into something new.

My heart thundered in my chest as I stepped closer, lowering my head to get a better look. While he favored me in human form, I could clearly see his mother in his wolf form.

His fur was rich, chocolatey brown, darkening along his back and around his muzzle. But his eyes… his eyes. Silvery black, deep and endless, holding a quiet strength that took my breath away.

He looked just like her.

A wave of emotion hit me, so sudden and fierce that I had to dig my claws into the earth to keep myself steady. Kit—my son—stood before me on four legs for the first time. Small but strong. Shaken but whole.

He let out a surprised huff, lifting one paw off the ground and wobbling unsteadily. I chuffed in amusement, stepping forward so I could press my nose against his side, grounding him. Kit stilled, then hesitantly pushed his snout against mine, his instincts telling him just what to do.

Good boy,I thought, pride swelling in my chest.

I stepped back, allowing him to take me in fully. He blinked up at me, his silver-black eyes wide with awe. I knew what he saw. My wolf was impressive, the largest in the pack, and would scare the shit out of any other pup during their first shift. But not my son.

My pelt was a gray so pale it was almost white, and my eyes were even more intensely blue in wolf form. Kit’s wolf instincts immediately recognized me as his Alpha. But Kit, my son, fought through those instincts to cower and came forward to bump against me, yipping.

I let out a deep, approving huff.Welcome to the pack, son.

***

I took Kit on his first run through the forest, slow and easy. I made sure he was calm and focused, keeping him on task. I wasn't a mind reader, so I couldn't tell what he was thinking, but I did feel his excitement, and I reveled in it.

It was strange, feeling so connected to another wolf. But I'd always known it would be like this. Kit was my blood, after all.

Once we returned to the house, I should have made him shift back, but we both could sense that Kiera had returned home. I didn't need words to know that he was dying to show his mother his new form when he lay his head on his paws, whining and wagging his tail.

Kiera was going to lose it, and I knew I'd take the brunt of her anger, too, but what point was there in waiting? I huffed, shifting back and pulling on my discarded jeans before looking back down at my pup.

"Fine. But she's going to be shocked, kid. Don't take it personally if she isn't as excited as you want her to be."

He wagged his tail even harder, his eyes sparkling with excitement.

We walked around to the back porch, where I could see Kiera sitting with Nayeli and Gwen. I groaned internally—I hadn't expected an audience—but maybe the two more experienced she-wolves there would help temper Kiera's reaction.

The moment Kiera noticed me, she smiled in an easy greeting...until the pup walked out from behind my legs. Her entire body went stiff, the color draining from her face, and she blinked once. Twice. I watched her try to speak for nearly a solid minute before she finally managed words.

"Who...who is that, Samson?"

Nayeli and Gwen had already figured it out. My cousin squealed, covering her mouth with her hands, eyes shimmering with emotion. But both women gave Kiera space.

I let my hand drift down to ruffle Kit's fur, "Our son."

Kiera sounded like she was choking. I saw the war happen in real time—the unfiltered joy fighting tooth and nail with the fury rising behind her wide, silver-black eyes. I expected all of it, of course.

What I didn't expect was for her to rush forward, shoving me in the chest hard. "You—" her voice cracked, her eyes darting back to Kit. "You didn't even ask me? You couldn't have waited so I could be here for this?"

Tears were making her eyes glisten, bottomless pools of midnight, and damn, it actually hurt me. I was more fond of her than I wanted to admit, but I also wasn't going to back down from this. Helping Kit shift for the first time was owed to me. It was my right.

I set my jaw, holding my ground. “You were there for his first steps. His first words. His first everything. I wanted this.”

Kiera’s lips parted like she wanted to argue—but then her eyes flicked back to Kit, who was unsure about the argument, his tail between his legs. Like it always did when it came to Kit, all of the negativity Kiera was clinging to fell away when she saw how badly her son needed her.

She dropped to her knees, hands shaking as she reached for him. “Oh, baby,” she whispered, her voice thick with emotion. “Look at you.”

Kit pressed his little wolf body against her, tail wagging so fast it blurred. Kiera let out a watery laugh, running her hands through his fur, tracing over his face like she still couldn’t believe it.

And just like that, it was all okay. She didn’t care that I hadn’t asked. Didn’t care that she was furious with me. Right now, nothing mattered but Kit, and this incredible thing he had accomplished.

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