Page 1 of The Alpha's Forced Rejected Mate

Chapter 1 - Cliff

For the third minute in a row, I tiptoed into my niece’s nursery and peeked into her crib to check on her. No one could ever say I wasn’t serious about my responsibilities. My sister said she was collecting a new quilt from Daria for the baby Sierra, and that meant her valiant, handsome, and super-capable uncle would be on guard until her mother returned from such a perilous journey.

I rested my hands lightly on the edge of her crib, studying the steadiness of her breath. How can such tiny bodies need so much air all the time? As I reached in to check her forehead for her temperature, I pictured her as my own. Sierra was a cute name, but it wasn’t a strong name for a daughter.

No, if I had a daughter, she would be namedBridgetorAthena. Those were the names of Goddesses. Those were names worthy of bestowing upon a daughter like mine. My hand was big enough to encompass Sierra’s head. Warm skin met my palm. Not too hot. Not too cold.

“Just right,” I joked. “Though we can pretend the bears in that story aren’t breaking and entering on private property.”

A dramatic yawn came from behind me. “And we can pretend like you ever cared about obeying the law.”

“Hey, that was a different time. I’m good now.” I beamed at my sister, who was standing in the doorway. “I’m the number one uncle now, remember?”

“You’re the only uncle, Dufus.”

Sierra sniffled in her sleep. The sound grabbed my attention; the ever-attentive parent who lived inside me was hyperreactive to every one of my niece’s sneezes, coughs, andtoots. I couldn’t help paying so much attention to her. Being a potential hybrid child meant she needed a good circle of protection around her.

No niece of mine was going to get picked on for having special powers.

I waved my hand over Sierra. She was sleeping still, peacefully snoring in the way babies did that made them sound much tinier than they were. “Any sign of being awesome yet?”

“Give her time. She’ll come into her own.”

“Do you know if she’ll get powers like you?”

Faye shrugged and wandered up to the crib next to me. Her hair hung in wavy ringlets around her shoulders like golden rivers. She wore a maxi dress with flowers all over it and had a quilt tucked under her arm, the busy fabric of which blended right in with her dress.

My sister cast her daughter a merciful glance. “I’m hoping she’ll just be a shifter wolf like Hector.”

“But wouldn’t it be cool if she had powers?”

“It would be nice if I wasn’t alone.” Faye shrugged and then draped the quilt over the edge of the crib. “But then again, I don’t want her to suffer the same fate as me.”

I pulled my sister under my wing. Same as when we were kids. Same as always. “My good looks and hella good skills will keep all the haters away.”

She laughed. “Hopefully, she gets your sense of humor, too.”

“I mean it, Faye. I’ll always protect your daughter like she’s my own.”

“It’s not too late, you know.”

I focused on the posters near the nursery door—the frog diagram and the lily pond painting that I had picked up from the dime store on the way in from town. They were cute vintage pieces that I knew Faye would adore for the nursery, and I wanted Sierra to know that her famous uncle had a decent personality.

If I kept staring at those posters, I could pretend I was a good person who was good enough to find a mate and reproduce.

But I already messed that up one time. Why would it ever work again?

Faye touched my arm, bringing my attention to my shirt. “I’m still having that dream, you know.”

I shook her off. “You don’t know anything.”

“I’d know better if you told me more about her.”

“I already told you the important stuff, Faye. She’s in another pack. Her Alpha forbids us from dating. End of story.”

I threw my hands in the air like I had given up—because I was certain that was the best route. Right now, I had a good thing going. I got to spend time with my niece multiple times a week, helping my parents with community events. Every time we had a pack party, I hooked up with a hot chick and showed her off until she got tired of me two days later.

Wash, rinse, wash, rinse.

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