Page 49 of Semi-Rejected Life

“Of course, Alpha,” she replied, her voice just as flat and lifeless as always.

When the doors opened again, we went our separate ways. My father kept close behind me though as I went to my room and began to gather up my things.

“I see you’re not much of a cleaner,” my father commented as I wandered around the room, gathering up my things that were strewn over every available surface. “No need to worry about that though. That’s what servants are for.”

I didn’t respond. Instead, I just did my best to stuff everything into my duffel bag. I wanted to get out of Shifter Grove as fast as possible. Each passing glance out the window at that small town made my heart ache even more. It felt as if someone were driving a stake into my chest, grinding it deeper and deeper to reassure me of the lifetime of pain and regret I was about to experience.

It felt like there was no way out.

But that’s when I heard a voice echo down the hall outside.

“River!”

It was getting closer.

“River?!”

A figure skidded to a halt in my doorway. It took a moment for my heart to believe my eyes. But I couldn’t deny that tousled brown hair, those deep green eyes, and that olive skin I loved so much.

“Vince…” I gasped.

“I thought we told you to fuck off?” my father cut in, stepping between us. “River is leaving with me and that’s final.”

“No he’s not,” Vince snarled, stepping up to him without fear. He looked at me over my father’s shoulder. “I got your letter. I’m sorry.”

Tears welled up in my eyes. “It’s okay… you d-didn’t know… I-I should have told you.”

“If you know what’s good for you,” my father growled, putting himself between us again. “You’ll go back to your hotel and stay away from my son. He knows what he has to do, what he was born to do. And that doesn’t include you.”

“I’m not scared of you,” Vince snarled back. “If you attack me, you’ll have an entire town of rogues on your doorstep. We may not be a pack, but we are family.”

My father huffed, knowing that Vince had called his bluff. “Fine.” Reaching inside his jacket, he produced his checkbook and his pen. “What will it take for you to go away? Permanently.”

“You can’t buy me.”

“Oh, I assure you I can.” He beckoned Vince forward. “What number am I putting down here? Name it.”

“Give River his inheritance and his freedom,” Vince replied coolly. “That’s my price.”

I felt my father bristle with annoyance. I could tell he wanted to rip Vince’s throat out. If we’d been anywhere else, especially on pack land, he might’ve done it. But out here in the middle of a city full of rogues, he didn’t dare.

“That’s not on the table.”

“Then I guess you can’t afford me.”

“I’m warning you, boy–”

“That’s enough,” I heard from the hall.

Sam stepped into the doorway, a baseball bat in one hand. He looked more menacing than I thought possible. What had once been the smiling, almost too cheery hotel owner was now a terrifying visage of wolf and man. For the first time I saw rage in his eyes. He might not have been an Alpha, but he was intimidating nonetheless.

“Are you okay, River?” he asked, looking past the other two.

I nodded. “I’m fine.”

“Do you want to stay here?”

I stood there for a long moment, looking between my father and Vince. What I wanted was clear. But finding the courage to say it felt impossible. However, as I locked my gaze on Vince’s beautiful green eyes, I felt my chest fill with heat. The wolf inside me swelled, the Alpha in my blood boiling to the surface. In an instant I felt my eyes shift and I let my wolf join my human side, the pair converging for the first time.

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