Page 9 of Rejected By the Alpha

Killian couldn’t seem to stay in one place the entire time we were at the community center. He was pulled back and forth, talking to everyone and looking perfectly at ease with his pack. The bond he shared with them was clearly strong.

But the longer I witnessed it, the more my heart ached with hurt and jealousy. It had been so easy for him to leave me so callously, and here he was, doing it again. He had abandoned me to a sea of strangers while he enjoyed the relationshipshe had built in my absence. Kind strangers, yes, but strangers nonetheless.

When I felt my smile faltering and exhaustion from the day beginning to set in, I made my way to where Killian sat talking with a group of wolves.

“Hey,” I began tentatively.

“Hi,” he said. “You doing OK?”

“Just getting a little tired,” I hinted.

“Killian, you should get her home so she can settle in,” Jasper said. “It’s been a long day for both of you.”

Killian bid his friends goodbye and showed me to the car before driving a short distance to a small house a few blocks away. He opened the door for me once again and walked me up the short pathway to the front door. The unlocked door swung open easily, and he flipped the light switch to give me a brief tour of my new home.

“Living room, kitchen, bathroom,” he said, pointing toward various doors in the hallway. “And the bedroom is down the hall. You can go check it out while I grab your stuff from the car.”

“Aren’t you worried I’m going to run away?” I asked.

Killian shrugged. “I’m not your jailer. I think you’re smart enough to know that your life will be harder if you leave than if you stay.”

My anger made me want to argue with him, but I was too tired right now. He left to grab my things from the car, and I walked down the hallway toward the bedroom. I turned on the light and saw a modest room with a queen bed, two nightstands, and a dresser. Moments later, Killian returned.

“Where’s your room?” I asked as he placed my suitcases on the floor near the dresser.

“You’re standing in it,” he answered.

My mouth dropped open as I realized what he was implying.

“No way,” I stated. “I will not be sharing a room with you, let alone a bed.”

“You don’t have much choice,” Killian said. “As you can see, there’s only one bed.”

“Then sleep on the couch.”

“I’m an alpha. I’m not sleeping on a couch.”

“You wantmeto sleep on the couch?” I asked, offended at the thought that my new mate—even one like Killian—would force his luna to sleep somewhere uncomfortable.

Killian seemed equally affronted by the suggestion. “Absolutely not,” he argued. “It’s a big bed. There’s plenty of room for the two of us.”

I looked at him suspiciously, wondering if he was counting on our close proximity to force me into marital relations. Killian seemed to guess at my train of thought, because he sighed deeply.

“I already told you, I won’t force anything from you,” he reminded me. “How about this? I’ll put pillows between us so there’s no chance of me touching you by accident. Will that be good enough for you?”

I eyed the bed again, realizing there wasn’t a better solution. “Fine,” I agreed. “But if you touch me, I’ll make you regret it.”

Killian gave me space to get ready for bed, only coming in once I had given him the green light. He shut the light off, and I felt the mattress shift as his weight pressed down on his side. The pillows between us made our own individual spaces much smaller, but luckily, I didn’t take up much room, anyway. I smirked, thinking of how much more uncomfortable he must be on his half of the bed.

In no time at all, I heard his breathing slow as he fell asleep. Despite my tiredness, sleep didn’t come as easily to me. The pillows dampened the feeling of closeness somewhat, but I was still heavily aware of Killian lying an arm’s reach away from me. His body heat filled the room, and in spite of my earlier protests, I felt myself wishing I could reach out and touch him. There was no way I could deny, even to myself, that I still felt physical attraction for the man I had once loved.

But love was something I could not allow myself to feel for him again. He had already broken my heart once; I didn’t think I could bear it a second time. I would need to guard my heart much more carefully now that we were mates. This marriage didn’t need to be anything other than a convenience for either one of us. We had already gotten what we wanted: a luna for him, and an escape from Sparkle Hollow for me.

As I thought of the freedom I could enjoy as luna of Killian’s pack, I smiled. I was going to make the rules for myself now. And my first rule was to never allow myself to get hurt again.

Chapter 5 - Killian

With my eyes still closed, I woke up to the smell of Leah’s scent enveloping me. My eyes fluttered open, and I saw her brown hair spill across the pillow that separated us. The sunlight was peeking through the curtains of my bedroom—our bedroom—making it easy to see her sleeping form lying just out of reach.

---