Page 11 of Alpha's Rejected Mate

He looked at Harper. She wore another long skirt, this one had a slit up the side, exposing some of her thigh for him to see.

The urge to go to her was strong. His wolf wanted her so badly, to strip them both naked, and press his body against hers. He couldn’t do that. Harper wasn’t ready. She wasn’t ever going to be ready for that. And it upset him.

He fucked this up, and now, he had no choice but to fix it.

Chapter Three

Harper finished with the display and smiled. The shop window was already done, and she’d covered it so no one got any spoilers. All the new products had been put on shelves and were looking really pretty. She’d already had a sneaky try of one of the lipsticks, which was a nice pink color, and she loved it. Monday was going to be a success.

There was a knock on her shop door, and she walked toward it, only to stop when she saw Mateo on the other side. Franny had already left for the day. She wanted to surprise her friend as well with the display.

She was tempted to ignore him, but her parents had taught her not to be rude, and she refused to be in this moment. Taking a deep breath, she felt her wolf ready to growl, as she wasn’t happy with him being here.

Unlocking the door, she opened it and took a step back. Mateo walked into her shop and she put some distance between them. There was no denying he was a handsome man. She was pretty sure he could have his pick of any female from any of the packs. There were a lot of females who would love the attention of an alpha.

When she had discovered he was her mate, she hadn’t been thrilled because he’d been the alpha. No, she’d been joyous because she’d found her mate. Mates were hard to come by. She knew some couples just made do with someone they cared about, but it could bite them in the ass if they were not careful. There was no truer relationship than that of a mate.

She had no idea what to say to him, so she folded her arms across her chest and waited. She didn’t even want to look at him. Her wolf wasn’t impressed either.

“I want to take you home,” Mateo said.

This made her lift her head and look at him. “Are you serious?”

“Yes, I want to take you home and I want us to have a fresh start.”

Now, she couldn’t help but laugh. She lowered her hands, and even put them on her stomach to try and contain the laughter his words had evoked. He had to be going crazy or think she was, or something, because that was one of the funniest things she’d heard all day.

“Why are you laughing?” he asked.

“Sorry, I didn’t realize you were actually being serious about this.”

He took a step toward her, and she took several back, even putting a chair between them.

“I’m not going to hurt you.”

“I know,” Harper said. “I don’t want you to come near me.”

“You’re my mate.”

“And it’s funny that you’re only believing that now. If I recall, you couldn’t stand the fact I was your mate, so much that you had to banish me, and now you want to what? Be my friend? Think we’re best buds?” She took a deep breath as she looked at him.

“You’re hurt.”

“Damn right I’m hurt.” She gripped the back of the chair and averted her gaze. It was hard to tell him the truth while looking at him. The truth was, for many years she had been practicing what to say to him, the accusations to throw at him.

“And you have a right to be.”

“I’m not asking for your permission to be pissed at what you did!” She wanted to stamp her foot and growl at him. “Damn it, Mateo, why are you here?”

“You’re my mate.”

“Stop! Just stop saying that. It doesn’t matter if I am your mate or if I’m not your mate. You banished me.” She couldn’t help but feel a slice of pain rush through her body at the memory. “Do you have any idea what that is like? I was eighteen years old. I had just gone through my very first transition, and discovered I had a mate. Lo and behold, that mate of mine couldn’t stand me. I do believe we broke records on being the only couple not to mate and not to be joyous about the whole thing.” She pressed her lips together.

“I was doing the right thing.”

“Get out,” Harper said. “I mean it, get out. You banished me. You … hurt me. Do you think after seven years of that banishment, that distance, you’re going to come here and think all is forgiven?”

“You cannot deny we’re meant to be together.”

---