Page 16 of Rejected By the Alpha

I cursed myself for ever allowing myself to get involved with women of such low caliber as those two. The truth was that I could hardly remember what—if anything—had transpired between us. I was sure that something had happened, but thanks to an unfortunate habit of losing myself in drink when I was at a low point, I couldn’t remember any specifics.

“Thank you, Andy,” I said.

Andy nodded, his duty done, and left to rejoin his friends.

For the rest of the night, Leah avoided me, choosing instead to speak with other pack members. I had promisedto stay by her side, so I made sure that I was always within sight of her. Needing space was understandable, considering the circumstances. But regardless of what had transpired, I still owed it to her to keep my word.

The party eventually tapered off, and I noticed Leah’s expression becoming more distant during her conversations.

“Are you ready to leave?” I asked her.

She nodded, and we bid goodbye to the packs as we left the clearing and got back into my car. The car ride home was silent as we both lost ourselves in our own thoughts about how the evening had gone. At first, the silence felt comfortable, but as time passed, the tension grew stronger and stronger. By the time we got home, I couldn’t handle it anymore.

“Leah, can we talk?” I asked as I shut the door behind us.

“About what?” she asked quietly.

“Anything,” I admitted. “I can tell you’ve been thinking about a lot, and I’d like to hear what’s going on inside your head.”

“Nothing,” she replied. “I’m fine.”

She started walking toward the bedroom, and I followed. I didn’t want to push her away, but her reaction to me in the woods had left me unsettled. She had been afraid of me. I needed to make things right.

“Leah,” I repeated once we had gotten into bed. She had barricaded herself behind her pillow fort, so I sat up on my side to see her over her defenses.

I heard her sigh deeply as she turned to face me.

“I know you’re not fine,” I said. “I’m worried about you. Please, tell me why you were so scared of me tonight.”

“Knowing won’t change anything,” she said.

“It will help me understand,” I pressed. “I insist you tell me.”

Chapter 8 - Leah

I couldn’t think of anything worse than having to relive my trauma after the night I just had.

“You insist I tell you?” I asked Killian, propping myself up on my elbow and turning to face him.

“Maybe insist wasn’t the right word,” Killian said, backtracking.

I raised an eyebrow at him, wondering why he cared so much about my reaction. It wasn’t like he held any affection for me anymore. Why should my feelings be any of his concern?

“Leah,” he said earnestly, “I can’t forget the way you looked at me tonight. You were terrified of me, and I have no clue why. I know I was upset, but you must know I wasn’t angry with you. Please, help me understand what you were thinking.”

My mate’s obvious worry couldn’t be explained, but it couldn’t be ignored, either.

“You really want to know?” I asked. My brain scrambled to find an explanation that didn’t force me to divulge the truth about my past. I had never said it out loud, although Sienna had guessed at what happened at home behind closed doors. There had never been anything that could be done about it, though, so I had never asked her for help. The closest I had come to telling her the truth was when we were on one of our long runs and she saw bruises on my ribs when I had taken off my shirt to cool down. In the end, I had lied, covering up my parents’ abuse and choosing to continue to suffer in silence.

“Please,” Killian practically begged.

I sighed, steeling myself to begin my explanation.

“When you were angry and sort of threw your hands up in the air, I thought you might hurt me,” I said tentatively.

He didn’t react right away, just took in what I said.

“And then you took a step toward me, and I just… froze,” I finished.

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