Page 11 of His Rejected Alpha Mate
“The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.”
He withdrew his hand sharply, as if I’d hurt him. “So, what does that mean about me?”
My mouth dropped, and I stammered out an answer. “Well, obviously, you take after me more.”
“And what if Blake takes after his mother? She was apparently very kind, and everyone loved her. The entire pack grieved for her loss. You just need to give him a chance, Papa.” His voice was a plea I couldn’t ignore. “I almost didn’t, and I would have missed out on the best thing to happen to me.” I could see that he was getting worked up. The bond must have alerted his mate, because Blake left Angelica to go to his side.
“Are you okay?” He pulled Kade into his arms and directed his words at me. “Look, I respect you want to protect Kade and you’ve missed him, but he’s just come out of a long heat and only just recovered from being unwell. I think that maybe we should have a break and then sit down for lunch. Everyone feels better once they’ve eaten, don’t they?”
He shared a look with Kade that was so full of love and tenderness that I felt myself soften, but the mention of this illness had attracted my attention.
“That’s another thing. I keep hearing you’ve been unwell and your heat was long. What’s going on, Kade?”
“Sir, please.” Blake entreated me.
“I want to speak to my son! Not some overgrown man-child playing at being an alpha!” I knew letting my temper get the best of me was a mistake. I couldn’t help it. The words came flying out. My tongue operating without permission from my brain. “Alphas only want us for one thing, Ryder, and that’s to make more alphas. If you can’t do that, then you aren’t any use to him at all. Where does that leave you, then?”
My son looked at me like I’d slapped him and I felt my heart pinch.Fuck.I never wanted him to look at me like that.
“Kade is my fated mate. There will be no one else for me. He was my first and will be my last.” Blake’s eyes flashed with fury and in that moment, I truly feared what my son-in-law would do to me. I knew I deserved whatever it was by the look on Kade’s face.
“Blake was committed to me even when I told him I couldn’t have kids.” Kade said quietly.
“Of course I was. You’re my mate. My everything.” Kade went back into his mate’s arms and soaked up the comfort he gave.
“You can’t have children?” My heart wanted to break for my son and all his future plans. He’d always wanted children, and I knew that this must have caused him a lot of pain. I felt awful for unknowingly bringing up something that could hurt him.
He shook his head even as he stayed in the circle of Blake’s arms. Blake answered. “It’s a possibility that Kade has reversed the damage. Our doctor believes that we will get pregnant at some point. As with everything, we can’t be a hundred percent sure.”
“Ryder — Kade, I’m sorry. I think I made some assumptions based on my own experience.” I tried to convey how sorry I was. Everything was going wrong. None of this was working out how I’d hoped for. Had dreamed about over the last five years.
Eventually, he looked at me with sorrow and forgiveness in his expression. He was always much more generous than I could ever be. “Let’s just start again, shall we? Let’s go eat.”
We tried to have a pleasant lunch, but the damage had been done. I saw his relief at the end of lunch when an enforcer came into the room. “Alpha, Alpha Mate, Dalton sent me to fetch you both. There’s a call from the council for you. They are going to call back in fifteen minutes.” She turned to me to apologize. “I’m sorry to break up your lunch.”
“It’s okay. I really should be going, anyway. I need to look at apartments and jobs here.” There was no way I was leaving Sweetwater. I had so much damage to undo. Relationships to start over. I just hoped that Silas would be up for a long distance relationship until we could sort a plan, or he could relocate. I wasn’t ready to give up on him. He represented safety, and he was so kind to me. Kade would like him if they both decided not to give up on me.
“Papa, you can just stay in my house. I’m going to stay here.” There he was again, that giving soul. He was too good to have come from me and Rincoln.
“You are?” Blake and I said together.
Kade turned to Blake and said, “I thought that’s what you wanted? I don’t think I can live in that house now.”
“I do want that. I just wanted you to be sure. Thank you, my mate. Chase can help you pack up some things and we can sort the rest later if you like? Once we see what the council wants, of course.”
Kade hugged his mate and turned to me. “The house is yours if you want it. There’s plenty of room here, but if you’d rather have your space, it seems a waste not to use my house.”
This was more than ideal. There was little to do in the house. A smaller bed in the guest room and more child friendly furniture, but it was workable. “If you’re sure. I can pick up some furniture for it and make the place ours.” The idea of staying in a small house was appealing to me. It was close enough to both Sweetwater and the city of Northarbor to make commuting for work easy.
“There’s also teaching jobs here in the compound. There’s a school for the pups. A lot of the omegas don’t want to send their kids outside to school.” Blake offered.
What? A school? I couldn’t believe after our rough start that Blake was offering me a job. Perhaps fate had matched well with Kade and my new son-in-law. A job was just so kind of offer to make. The Luna was watching over me for sure. “Wow! That’s a lot. Um, can I think about it and get back to you? I’ve kept my qualifications current, but it’s a lot to take on.” I hoped he could see that I was seriously considering the idea.
“Of course.”
We took our leave quickly so that Kade could take his call and I left the compound, more hopeful than I’d felt in so long.
Quitting Time
