Page 49 of His Rejected Alpha Mate
“Silly Papa! The baby is a boy!” She let out a little giggle and seemed brighter for it. Then she yawned. Dakota entered the room, gave her a kiss from me and rejoined me in the car, putting my things in the trunk and backseat.
He held me for a few minutes while I cried. “I don’t know how this is transmitted, so I sprayed an antibacterial spray over the bear and washed my hands and face. Put on a fresh shirt too. The bear’s too big for her bed, so it’s not like she sleeps with it all the time.” He drew my attention to the giant bear in the backseat.
I laughed. “It’s nearly life-sized!”
Kade was lying on the grass next to the truck when we pulled up. He looked asleep, not just soaking up the sun. I didn’t want to disturb him, but he heard our approach and sat up with some difficulty, his bump making things harder.
He and Blake gave me and Dakota some time alone before we had to leave. I wanted to stay in the circle of his arms forever. We traded kisses and words of love. “Look after yourselves and I’ll look after our girl, okay? Grow that baby big and strong.”
“Angel says that it’s a boy.”
“Is that right?” He looked pleased. “I don’t care, as long as you are both healthy.”
He left with a last kiss. I watched until he was out of sight.
“Come on, Papa. Let’s get out of this heat.”
I was feeling faint, likely down to the stress and heat. It itched in the back of my mind that it could be the sickness.Absurd,I told myself. Still, the thought ate at me. I needed to know if it was possible for me to know if the baby was affected.
I called James, Dakota’s Papa, for reassurance, and he set everything straight. He worried for Angel as much as I did and vowed to check on them in a few days. “Call me anytime that you need, okay? I’m so glad you bonded finally. Welcome to the family, officially.” His words had a few tears falling. Family. I had one again.
I hadn’t gotten to know Si’s family. We were too temporary for that, and I was supposed to be in hiding. Rincoln had challenged his father for the alpha position long before I came along, winning by killing the older man. His mother had left the pack in disgust after, so my children didn’t have any grandparents on that side. My own weren’t worthy of the title since they gave me away.
“We’ll get Deke at the gate. Tomorrow we can get things we might need in Northarbor. We won’t be visiting the compound unless absolutely necessary.” Blake said from the driver’s seat. His voice was firm, an undercurrent of stress in the pinch of his lips. With Blake in control of things, I felt a little less scared.
The house and neighborhood were quiet when we pulled up. We all stayed in the car, an air of reluctance to take that step. Leaving the car to enter the house meant that this was really happening.
Quickly the car heated, deciding for us. “Angel’s room has a trundle bed, so we can share, Deke.” I called to Deke as we walked up the short path.
“Tomorrow we’re taking a trip to see Poppy. We are going to want to silence some of these rooms. The walls are paper thin.” Kade announced as we entered the house. “It’s weird being back here.” His words echoed my thoughts.
The mood turned melancholy as we tried to get the house ready to live in. I’d left a lot of things behind because Dakota had decorated Angelica’s room so perfectly. I’d swapped out the double bed for a single with a trundle bed and that occupied what had been Kade’s spare room. The bigger bed had disturbed her sleep, though she still occasionally had nightmares in the single, hence the extra bed.
Deke looked at the setup thoughtfully. “I can sleep on the couch if you’d rather have the privacy.”
The couch, while comfortable, wouldn’t let him get near as much rest as the bed. “No, I’m happy to share with you.”
“Won’t Dakota mind?”
I laughed his concern off. “First, he’s not that kind of alpha. Second, we’re bonded now, so I dunno.” I paused to find the words. “It’s like I can’t see anyone but him like that.”
For some reason, Deke’s face fell, and I wondered if I hurt his feelings. He scanned my face and laughed, but it was weak. “I’m not into you, Jasper. You’re hot but so very taken. I guess I’m jealous of people around me finding their fated mates.” He looked at the bedroom door and lowered his voice. “I’m so happy for Blake. What he and Kade have is so perfect. I can’t help but want that for myself. Did you know I was about to be mated once?”
“No. When?” I could hear the shock in my voice.
“It was just when I turned twenty-one, literally just the legal age. My father wanted a closer tie to the Sweetwater pack than his sister mated to the alpha. My uncle picked an omega for me. Days before we bonded, she met her fated mate. My uncle wanted her to ignore the call, as her mate was a lion shifter. He liked to keep like with like. She refused, and he forced her entire family out.
My gasp was loud in the silence that followed his words. “No! You can’t ignore bonds like that.”
“You did.” He pointed out, not unkindly.Ouch.
“Thanks for that reminder.” I gave a self-deprecating chuckle. “I was being an idiot and hurting us both. It wasn’t like Silas was there for me to bond with either, so I was only resisting from one side, if that makes sense? It didn’t trap me between feelings for Silas and Dakota. Part of the reason Si and I fell apart was because the bond had Dakota in my head all the time. I wasn’t giving Si a reason to take a risk on us.”
I could see it clearly now. From the minute I’d met Dakota, I’d pulled back from Silas further. I had always held him at a distance. My past ensured a natural distrust of alphas, but meeting Dakota and getting to know him through Kade had sealed the end of my relationship with Silas.
“This is true. All he would have had to do is see you two in a room together and he would have sensed the bond. Moon help me, the way you both watched each other! The two of you hooking up helped, but I’m glad you completed the bond. It’s good for the pack.”
“The Luna has a plan for the Sweetwater pack. I truly believe that.” A vision teased around the periphery of my sight. “It’s just a feeling that I have. Who knows, your mate could be around the next corner.”
