Page 57 of His Rejected Alpha Mate
“I’m so sorry, Dakota. Sending up prayers for you all. I’ll go give out hugs for you once I round up Avery and Alex.”
“I’m so grateful. Thank you, Shelby.”
“You’re welcome, boss.”
Call done, I texted Blake to let him know we had three more members of staff and to expect a visit. I’d divided up the office space into a bedroom of sorts and a workspace. My cluttered desk covered with papers dominated the space. There was some sort of organization system in place under all the mess.
Blake’s call took me by surprise and I worried that I’d overstepped. “Alpha, is everything okay?”
“What? Oh, no, that’s fine.” He sounded distracted. “I’m waiting for a driver to take me to the compound.”
Bolting from my chair, I left the room above the garage, rushing down the steps and outside towards the main house. “You can’t come here! What about Kade?”
“Dakota, chill. I’m meeting a delegation at the gates and I’ll escort them to your house.”
“Delegation?”
“Dakota, I’m sorry to put this on you. There’s no one else and you know how to handle people. Deke needs to stay with our mates. I need to be with Kade. Axel—“ his voice broke and I could hear him swallowing back tears. “Chase. I just want to see my brothers and then I’ll be gone. You’ll have to deal with the elves.”
“Elves?”
The small elven delegation arrived hours later. There were four in total. All tall and impossibly beautiful.
“I’m sorry,” Blake said as he dashed by me.The one with straight dark hair is Ívarr.
The one that I assumed was their leader, the one that Blake pointed out to me, Ívarr, was a cold-looking man with pale as milk skin, long black hair, silver eyes and the long pointed ears that marked him as an elf.
Go!I urged via the pack link.I’ve got this.
“I apologize for my alpha, Ívarr. He’s missed his brothers and wants to check on their well-being.”
“It’s quite alright,” Ívarr said, “We kept him at the gate for some time as we explained our presence. I’m remiss in my introductions.” There was a hint in there for me.
“Again, our apologies. I’m the alpha mate’s father by mating. I’m also the alpha’s assistant. Dakota Flemming.” I held my hand out to shake and Ívarr eyed it. His guard, or assistant, stepped forward to grasp my hand. He was slightly shorter, still well over six feet, and more muscular, with silvery blond hair to his waist. His eyes were a startling shade of turquoise. “Teárlach.” He introduced as he shook my hand.
“I’m sorry, Tear-lack? Is that right?”
He smiled a congenial smile that suggested this was common. “No, it’s an old Scottish name, so it’s teh-ar-la, and you have to roll the c and h, for that ch sound from words like choose. Teh-ar-lach. And Ívarr is eh-varr.”
“Ah, thank you. I don’t want to get it wrong.”
His lips lifted again, letting me know that I’d gained some respect for ensuring I didn’t butcher their names.
Ívarr gestured to the other companions, “this is Teagan.” The woman had long, bright auburn hair to her knees. She had braided it back from her face and around pointed ears adorned with many piercings of gold and silver. Her eyes were hazel and danced with mischief. Teagan gave me a small wave when Ívarr introduced her. “Lastly, this is Hakeem.”
The last man was imposing looking at first glance. Taller than even Ívarr, close to seven feet at a guess, and more muscular than Teárlach, his deep brown skin was littered with raised scars. He caught me looking, his dark eyes twinkling. “All my kills.”
Teárlach shoved Hakeem. “Don’t scare the bear. Shifter’s bite.” Teárlach winked, letting me know he was kidding, and Hakeem laughed, bent double until Ívarr cleared his throat, letting me know how the hierarchy went.
“We are here after our oracle had a vision.” Ívarr announced.
What?
It’s a long story. Best get comfortable and out of the heat.Blake’s wry mental voice returned. I felt his pain and sadness at the state of both his brothers through the pack link as he hurried to put on protective clothing. I shut down the link to focus on our visitors.
“Please, this sounds like a long story. Let’s go into the house and get some refreshments.” Ívarr nodded at my suggestion and the delegation of elves followed me into the house.
I made quick work of drinks and finger foods while our guests looked over the living room. “You have a lovely home,” Teagan said politely as she took a seat and picked up a cookie. “Hmm,” she said, taking a bite. “The humans make such wonderful snacks.” We shared a smile, and I was grateful for the icebreaker.
