Page 21 of Rejected Sold Mate
I wasn’t following. “What?”
Rhie gestured to me as a whole, “You. Being Nice. I mean…who has ever heard of an Alpha saying they were sorry? How can I pick a fight with you when you’re being so…so…. accommodating? It’s very stressful.”
The corner of my mouth pulled up, “Stressful, huh?”
“Yes!” Rhie threw her hands in the air, but there was a hint of a grin on her face, too. “I was mentally prepared for asshole Alpha Jayce, and now I don’t know how to handle this version of you.”
A laugh burst out of me before I could control it, “So let me get this straight, you’re mad at me, but this time it’s because I’m not enough of an asshole?”
“Exactly,” Rhie nodded, “You’re ruining my whole strategy.”
I shook my head, fully grinning now. I could read her body language well enough and feel the ghosts of her emotions through the bond to the point I knew she was still stressed, but she was trying to make the best of it. Her sarcasm was an olive branch. “Ah, Rhie. How about a truce, then? No arguing, no cheap shots, we just live together like we have been. Mutual respect. You don’t have to like me, but I would still like to live in harmony with you, if you’re willing.”
Rhie was stunned at first, but she quickly controlled her expression and narrowed her eyes. “What’s the catch?”
“No catch,” I held up my hands in mock surrender. “I swear.”
For a beat, her face smoothed, and something soft flickered in her eyes. Rhie sighed, sounding less defeated and more relieved. “Fine. Truce. But if you try to blindside me like you did earlier again, all bets are off.”
“Agreed,” I took the hand she offered me, meaning to shake it, but I couldn’t help raising it instead and brushing my lips over her knuckles. She didn’t pull away, which was a good sign, but the briefest taste of her skin was hell on my self-control.
Still, I wouldn’t have become an Alpha if something as small as a kiss on the hand of a woman could undo me. I’d just been unprepared for how different things would be when that woman was my mate.
Rhie flushed, her cheeks red, but she cooly pulled her hand away and busied herself making something to eat in the kitchen. I, on the other hand, was swamped with thoughts of our bond. I hadn’t meant to kiss her hand, but it was like second nature. The close proximity to her made it difficult to think, and made me act before I considered what I was doing. Whenshe brushed by me, her scent hit me like a ton of bricks, and a sobering thought caught up to me.
If she had me this tangled up in knots already, what would happen during her next heat cycle?
Our bond made me acutely aware of her and everything she did. Her moods, when she was hungry, when she slept, all of it. I’d been able to keep a grip on it, because I’d had no more intention of taking a mate than she had, but it was wearing me down slowly like water over stone.
I had to keep a tight grip on myself and push the idea of her next heat from my mind. Thinking about it too much would drive me insane.
I was vaguely aware that she was talking to me as she cooked, and I was answering simply, but my head was somewhere else. She’d accepted my idea of a truce, but if she knew all the images in my mind, how often I thought about that single night we’d spent together, she’d probably have tried to slap me instead of shaking my hand.
When she placed a plate with a ham sandwich and a handful of potato chips in front of me, I took it for what it was—her offer of a truce in return. So I shared a meal with her and pretended like I wasn’t drowning in how badly I wanted to touch her.
I just needed to adjust. I’d have to get over it eventually…right?
***
Two nights later, Rhie sought me out in my garage, where I had just finished changing the brakes on my 4-Runner. I heard and sensed her approaching, and slid out from under thevehicle, standing to grab a clean towel for my hands off the work bench.
It wasn’t that I didn’t want to see her, but I’d been using the time alone to parse through everything that had changed since I made the mate announcement. It had gone over smoothly in the moment, mostly because everyone was in shock, but the following day, when I sat down with the leaders within the pack, the tempers had flared.
Most of my wolves would never question me outright, but I knew that simply bringing a new wolf into the fold without talking to anyone else would have been complicated, let alone taking a mate. Because of the upheaval that had plagued the Blacktide pack, it had become expected that I would consult with my Beta and other higher-ranking wolves before we took on new members. It was a rare occurrence anyway, but I’d ignored that precedent when I welcomed Rhie in.
No one was happy, but they managed to keep their complaints under control, at least for the moment. My Beta accepted the change easily enough, and those below him had to follow suit unless they wanted to issue a formal challenge against either of us.
It was my fault; I should have moved more slowly, but at the time, I hadn’t known what else to do to keep Rhie safe. There were selfish reasons, too, but I wasn’t about to admit them in front of my men. All I knew was that Rhie wasn’t going to be treated like an outcast, and if anyone had an issue with that, it was between me and them. She was to have nothing to do with it.
When Rhie opened the door, she smiled almost shyly and waited for me to wave her forward.
“What did you need?”
Her smile faltered, and she examined her fingernails. “I, ah…I’ve had something on my mind that I just can’t shake. I want to ask you a question, but you have to promise not to get mad.”
My curiosity spiked. “Go ahead.”
“What did you promise them?” The words tumbled out of her mouth like she had been fighting to hold them back.
