Page 32 of Alpha's Rejected Mate

For Mateo, that was the first thing he noticed that was different on the day of the full moon. Franny was already waiting outside the shop. Some places were already closed.

“Why do they close?” he asked.

“Some people like to enjoy the whole day preparing for tonight,” Harper said.

He didn’t know if she even realized it, but they were holding hands, and she had yet to shrug him off. They’d left her home, and as soon as they cleared the front yard, he’d grabbed her hand, pulling her close.

His wolf couldn’t stand any distance between them, and was constantly trying to get as close to Harper as possible. There was no way Mateo would let her go. Not after having a taste of her last night.

He’d enjoyed and hated taking Harper’s virginity. From this point on, there wasn’t going to be a moment when he wouldn’t attempt to make it up to her.

“I see you two finally worked out your differences,” Franny said. In her hand were three coffees, and he scented the cinnamon buns already. He’d come to realize cinnamon was Harper’s favorite sweet treat.

“The coffee shop is still open?”

“Yeah, only a couple of places close today,” Franny said.

Harper let them into the shop. While she wasn’t looking, Franny gave him a thumbs-up and a thumbs-down, looking at him in question, and all he could do was shrug. He had no idea if last night was the start of something great. For him, it was. He didn’t know how Harper felt.

Franny rolled her eyes, and then forced a smile to her lips as Harper turned toward them.

“I know what my job is,” Mateo said. “I’m checking the stock that came in last night, and you were a little pissed with how they dropped off the order. I’m already on it.” He took his coffee and package of cinnamon buns, and made his way into the stockroom.

This was where Harper always sent him, but he found ways of drawing her back to him. He did stop a few feet inside, and attempted to listen.

“You don’t look like you want to murder him, that’s got to be a good sign, right?”

Harper laughed. “Yeah, it is.”

“So, did you take my advice? You look like you took my advice.”

He smiled.

“Yeah, I took your advice.”

“And? Come on, Harper, was I a genius?”

He heard Harper sigh. “You’ll only know if you are a genius tonight.”

Franny groaned. “At least tell me if it was good? You need to give a girl a clue here.”

Harper chuckled. “Why should I? All I’m doing is exactly what you told me to do.”

“And did it feel good? Did you love it? Is it what you always hoped it would be?” Franny asked.

Harper sighed. “Yes and no, I guess. I don’t know.”

He frowned. He didn’t like how sad she finally sounded. What the fuck did he have to do to show her that things were going to be different?

“Look, take a sip of your coffee, and tell me,” Franny said.

There was silence for several seconds, and then Harper released another sigh, and he heard her move.

“I don’t know, I guess I’m scared.”

“What would you have to be scared of?”

“The rest of our lives, Franny. Don’t you see, yes, for now, he wants to stick around, and last night was one of the best nights of my life, but don’t forget why I did it.”

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