Page 96 of Rejected Mate's Baby for the Alpha King

Her voice broke again, like she wasn’t sure that it was going to be okay. A different feeling shivered through me. Had she just realized all the people I’d let down? That I was the fucking king of wolves, and I hadn’t even known my own sister was still alive?

“You should go for a run,” I said abruptly as I sat up. “My wolf is probably making you anxious.”

Her eyes widened just a little. “You could come with me, Rhyson.”

“No.” I exhaled. “I want to be here in case London has some news, plus I could use some alone time.”

Immediately, she withdrew from the bed and turned. “I understand. I’ll bunk with one of the others for the night.”

“Juniper. You’ll bunk with Juniper,” I growled. My wolves knew to keep their hands to themselves, but I wasn’t going to think straight if I knew she was sharing a room with another man.

She didn’t say anything else as she slipped out, and I closed my eyes and cursed myself. I hadn’t meant to push her away. I just didn’t want to see the pain in her eyes. I didn’t want to know if she was wondering whether or not I could protect her.

But once I was alone, my wolf howled inside of me, and I felt the darkness threatening to take over.

***

Emily and Gemma both agreed to see me. The message came the next morning, and I practically broke Juniper’s door down. Maya looked like she hadn’t slept all night. “Rhyson?”

“I’m going to see them in half an hour. I want you with me.”

“I…”

“You’re the mother of my child. You should be there.”

To my surprise, her eyes watered just a little, and she nodded. “I need a minute to get myself together. Why don’t I give you a little alone time with them? I’ll meet you in an hour.”

“Meet me?”

“Yes. Rhyson, they’re seeing you for the first time in years. They don’t need to see you with a stranger on your arm. They deserve a chance to see you alone first.”

She seemed resolute, and I nodded. I’d wanted her with me to soothe my wolf, but what she said made sense. There was much to talk about.

London met me at the door of his conference room. “Rhyson,” he said in a low voice. “Before you go in, you need to remember that they are bonded to me. They’ve been part of my pack for a long time, and I am their alpha. If anything happens in that room to upset them, or if they can’t handle this, then I am the authority that says the meeting is over.”

My wolf growled inside of me, but all I did was nod. They may not even remember me. How would it look if they thought I was going to take them away from the only home they’d ever known?

“Maya is joining me in half an hour.”

London’s eyes widened. “The mother of your child is going to meet Gemma? Now? Today?”

“Yes. Is that a problem?”

“After what Elonso said yesterday, I just thought you might want to give it some time.”

What the hell had Elonso said to make London think that? “What do you mean?”

London cleared his throat and shook his head. “What do I know? I’m going to be right here. I’ll let you know when Maya arrives.”

Nodding, I took a deep breath and opened the door. Two beautiful women stared nervously at me from the other side of the table. I let the door close behind me and locked eyes with the brunette on the left. Grief, pain, and gratitude hit me like a sledgehammer, and I nearly crumpled to my knees. “Em,” I whispered. “You look…you’re so beautiful.”

Her eyes filled with tears, and she launched herself over the table at me. I caught her in a giant hug and held her tight while she cried into my shoulder. When I glanced up at Gemma, I saw that she was crying as well, and I opened my other arm to her. She raced into it, and I held her tight, trying desperately not to cry while they sobbed.

Finally, they pulled away and wiped their faces. “Rhyson,” Emily gasped. “We never thought we were going to see you again. God, you look more and more like Dad every day.”

“And you look just like Mom. I’m so sorry, Em. I thought you were dead. I thought you’d been killed with them, and Gemma, I didn’t even know you were with her. I just thought you’d left me to join another pack. You must hate me.”

“No,” Emily said fiercely. “No, we absolutely do not hate you. We’re just so happy that you’re here. How are you here? We used to talk all the time about leaving the mountain, but we knew we’d never make it to the base alive.”

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