Page 9 of His Rejected Alpha Mate
“We’d like you to finish out the week to get your replacement up to speed.” The name of the man that spoke eluded me.
Next to me, I felt Isaac flinch, and I rolled my eyes. Great, so it was him I’d be training up. I knew I should reassure him there were no hard feelings, but there were. He was Kade’s friend, except he’d been nowhere to be seen while Kade was suffering. He hadn’t left work to find him. Probably why he was getting my job. I was pretty sure that he’d made complaints about me to the higher ups too. About how I was with Kade and my general attitude.
After the last few weeks, I didn’t have it in me to care.
“If Isaac is ready before the end of the week, then I’ll finish up early. You can take it from days owed and the overtime I did when we had a lot out.”
They conferred before the man spoke again. “That’s acceptable. Thank you, Mr. Flemming, for making this process painless. It’s unfortunate that we have to let you go. You’ve been an exemplary employee until recently. Do you care to give an explanation? We can note this on your file for future employers.”
Not reallywasn’t the right answer. “I’ve had a change in personal circumstances and am prioritizing my personal relationships over work at the moment as I help my best friend,” there was a dig at Isaac in there, “through a difficult illness. I made the company aware of some things, but Mr. Turner is important to me.”
“Yes, Mr. Turner’s job is safe as we have related his absence to his designation and it’s safer for all for him to be on leave.” This guy didn’t like omegas. I couldn’t quite get a hold of what he was. His ears were hidden and his scent locked down. Elf or fae, he was one of the elder races and they looked down on shifters.
“If that’s all,” I said, standing.
“It is, thank you, Mr. Flemming.”
Isaac followed me to my office, soon to be his office. I stopped at the door and removed the nameplate. “Ask Shelby to order one for you.” I said quietly, trying not to attract the attention of the whole warehouse floor. The ogres were watching me and I saw the instant that they figured out what had happened. Their shoulders slumped, and they began to talk among themselves.
I took my usual seat and gestured for Isaac to pull up a chair next to me. He was unusually quiet and sort of folded in on himself.
“I’m sorry, Dakota,” he finally said.
“I’m not. I did what I had to do and am taking the consequences. If it had just been the absences, then maybe I’d have gotten a warning, but there were the complaints too. I’ve crossed the line with my temper too many times.”
“I didn’t realize Kade was so sick. You know he never said anything bad about you, right?” Hadn’t stopped Isaac reporting every terse conversation over the last couple of years, often without context.
“Doesn’t matter. It’s done. Let’s just go over this so I can get out of here.”
I spent the rest of the day with Isaac as my shadow as I took him through all the paperwork and procedures I’d set up to have the place running as functionally as it did. All the while, my phone buzzed in my pocket. Messages from Kade saying he was safe and well. Just recovering from his heat and excited to see his papa. Questions from my own papa about Jasper that I knew better than to ignore. I told him I’d call him after work and left it at that. He finally took the hint.
It was painful for me to get a voicemail from Kade saying that his visit with his papa hadn’t gone well. Seemed we were both having issues with the prickly omega.
First Meetings
Jasper
Thephonecallcamelate morning, that Kade could have visitors, and they invited us to the compound for lunch with him and his mate. I’d been unable to sleep for long and found myself roaming around my son’s house, soaking in all the little touches that made up the man that he had become. Every little detail gave me the clue that Kade wasn’t all that different from who Ryder had been. Lonely even when surrounded by friends. An old soul in a young body. It made me proud of the person he had become, despite the influence of either of his parents.
I was certainly not without sin. Leaving Rincoln and reporting him to the council should have happened years before they had taken the decision out of my hands. Ryder could have grown up without all of this hanging over him.
My mind was split between my worry about the coming visit and anxiety over my decision over my mate. Inside, my fox was huffing with me, completely unwilling, or maybe unable, to understand my reasoning.
Early morning while I did research on the Sweetwater pack, the council contacted me with a report of the events that had led to my former mate’s death, and had ensured me I was now free to live my life as I chose as Councilman Ford had said. My guards, Grady and Trey, were being reassigned, but they promised to visit once I settled on what I wanted to do. I’d heard nothing from Silas despite several messages and a call to him, and I wondered what this meant for us.
My phone rang, and I lept for it.
Work.
“Hello?” My tone was wary.
“Mr. Brown, it’s Principal Cortez. I’ve just had a call from the council to explain your new status and lack of guard.” This wasn’t good. The council had fought hard for a guard to stay on school grounds while I worked, and Cortez had never been a fan of mine. The fae didn’t like shifters as a rule. They had used us as pets or cheap labor in their homeland. “I’ll cut to the chase, Mr. Brown. The school board has agreed that it is time to terminate your contract with us. As you are on leave, someone will pack up your belongings and we will keep them in storage for you.”
“But —“
“That’s all, Mr. Brown. Have a good day.” Then he hung up.
One less reason to leave Sweetwater, my brain helpfully supplied. Son, and mate here. No job there. What about Silas?What about him, indeed?My internal voice was snide, and even my fox gave a sniff at the mention of my lover. I hated being at war with myself, but was convinced that dealing with mate drama was not what I needed at this point in my life.
