Page 1 of Rejected Plus-Size Mate

Chapter 1 - Kyle

The morning after the big opening of Sam’s bar, I stagger into Gladys’s diner, holding my head. It’s very early, and there’s only a couple of people inside. I think both packs will be sleeping off the effects of the party for a few hours, at least.

Maybe even a few days, I think to myself as the room swims around me. I make it to the counter and grab hold of it like it’s the rail of a ship about to pitch me into the deep.

“Coffee, dear?” a kindly voice asks. I look up to see Gladys, the owner of the diner and Alpha Decker’s mate.

“Please,” I mutter, climbing onto the high stool with some difficulty. Gladys chuckles.

“I’ll make it black, at least for now. I don’t think your stomach could take cream at this point.”

My stomach heaves in my guts. “Dear God, no,” I answer. “Make it black for now, please.”

“I’m going to start frying up some bacon and egg sandwiches. I know you think you can’t eat much now, but once you smell them, you might want to try some. Big breakfast is the best thing for a hangover.”

“Okay, thanks,” I murmur, reaching for the tall cup of steaming black coffee. I don’t believe her about the food, but I’ll humor her, anyway.

I take a look around at the few people in the diner. A couple of them look like me, survivors from the party trying to regain their lucidity. One or two look like workers from town, up early to start their day.

I’m about to go back to staring dully into my coffee when I see Jack and Bailey heading towards the doors. The two of themlook far too bright and chipper for guys who partied well past three am.

They have such serious looks on their faces, I can’t help watching them as they cross the street to come into the diner. Bae’s eyes light up straight away.

“Kyle! There you are. We’ve got something to discuss with you.”

“Me?” I ask, incredulous.

“Yeah,” Jack says. “Sorry, I know it’s early. Are you up for it?”

“Sure,” I nod, wondering what could be so important. My hangover is definitely clearing, but this has sent my guts into an all-new spin.

“Head out the back, dears,” Gladys says, smiling. “Decker’s waiting for you.”

Now my curiosity sparks into anxiety. Both alphas and the beta want to see me—privately?

Maybe they found out!

Play it cool!

I’m sweating a little as I follow the others out the back. There’s only one thing I can think of that they want to talk to me about. I don’t think this is going to be pleasant.

Decker welcomes us with a smile and gestures for us to sit down. True to her word, Gladys has made bacon and egg sandwiches, and a whole plate of them is sitting in the middle of the table. My gut growls, and I take one immediately, surprised that it actually does settle my stomach. It also gives my mouth and hands something to do while I quietly stress out about the situation.

“Sorry to call you in like this, especially so early in the morning, but we made a decision last night,” Bailey says. He looks at the others, and Decker gives him a nod.

They know!

Calm down, maybe everything’s okay. Don’t fuck this up by saying anything.

I take another bite of my sandwich, waiting for Bae to go on.

“You know we had troubles with the Sawpit Pack, right?” Bae asks.

I nod, surprised at the direction this is going. “It was the main reason we sought an alliance with Decker,” I say. “But they haven’t made any noise for a while, so we weren’t worried.”

“Actually,” Decker says, “we are. Bae almost got torn to shreds by those guys. He killed the alpha, and they elected a new one—Bae’s spies, Kelta, Driss, and Nate, have been keeping an eye on it.”

“Oh,” I answer, finishing my food. It looks like this meeting has nothing to do with my little secret, but I still don’t want to give myself away if I don’t have to.

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