Page 51 of Rejected By The Alpha Heir

Before I can think about that further, I hear footsteps.

“Ms. Croft, we need you to run to the lab, please.” I look up and nod as Dr. Taylor hands me a small specimen bag.

“Yes, sir,” I answer automatically.

I take the specimen bag and hurry down the hallway toward the lab. My mind drifts as I walk, thoughts of Austin and the pack swirling through my head.

What if I had said yes? Would we be mated already, planning a bonding ceremony? Would the pack have accepted me after I left them all those years ago?A nervous knot forms in my stomach at the thought.Could Austin really make me happy after all these years? We are Fated, but is he really a changed man? Would this time really be different?

I don’t have the answers to the questions that burn my soul.

I reach the lab and hand the sample to the technician. As I turn to leave, my gaze falls on a flyer tacked to the bulletin board. “Full Moon Hike” it reads in bold letters, advertising a group hike during the next full moon.

My wolf stirs in my chest. Since our visit to our packlands, she’s been more active. We both ache for the freedom of running under the moonlight and feeling the earth under our feet.Like we could at home.

I’m so distracted by my thoughts that I’m not paying attention to where I’m going. I bump into another person on my way to the elevator and stumble forward. Strong arms grab me, saving me from falling on the floor.

I feel a familiar zing of awareness flow through me, and I breathe in deep. I’d know that scent anywhere but here? It’s unexpected…and unwelcome.

“Yelena?” Austin asks, looking down at me with worry in his silvery eyes.

I shrug off his hands and straighten my scrubs before I take a wide step away from him.

“What are you doing here, Austin?” I hiss, my eyes darting around to see if anyone has noticed us. Austin is not the kind of man that goes unnoticed for very long. He draws attention, especially among humans. Everything about him, from his muscular frame, silvery eyes, and thick, dark hair seems specifically designed by the Moon Goddess to draw in the female gaze.

And I am not immune. Austin takes my breath away every time I see him. He’s the only man who makes my body instantly respond just by being close to me.

“Your father gave me the address of the clinic. So this is where you’ve been working?” he says, moving aside for another nurse who gives us a curious look.

My father gave him the address of the clinic?I’m shocked.

“Yes, I’m at work, and you aren’t a patient here. You need to go,” I tell him sternly.

His face falls, and for a second, I want to reconsider and tell him to stay. My wolf longs for me to tell him to stay.

But I can’t risk this job. It’s how I support Cleo. I’ve worked hard for this.

“Yelena, can’t we talk? Please? There’s so much more that we need to say. ThatIneed to say,” he says, pleadingly.

I shake my head, even though my heart screams at me to hear him out.

“I’m at work, Austin. Please respect that,” I tell him quietly.

He holds up his hands in a placating gesture and then nods. “After work, then? Can I meet you somewhere? I just want to talk. Please, Yelena. Talk to me?”

I sigh and look down at the floor.

“There’s nothing left to talk about, Austin. I’m sure you have a million things to do back home. Maybe you should go there and do them.”

I don’t give him another chance to speak, instead I hurry over to the elevator and jam the button.

“You had faith in me when I didn’t deserve it,” he calls out after me. “You believed in us then. I believe in us now. I’ll show you, Yelena. I’m a better man.”

The elevator doors close, leaving me in blissful silence and solitude for a moment.

I push the stop button, halting the elevator’s progress, and sink to the floor, resting my head in my hands.

He came to find me.

---