Page 23 of Rejected Sold Mate
“Yeah,” I nodded, trying to ignore the excited noises they were making, as if what I was telling them was the most interesting thing they’d ever heard. “Then things sort of got complicated when he figured out who I was, and we were supposed to just go our separate ways, but…well, you all know better than anyone. We both felt the mate bond, and I had no idea what it was, but Jayce did.”
Gwen had her hands clasped in front of her chest, beaming. “And he just went to Scott and claimed you, just like that? That’s actually really romantic.”
I cringed. I couldn’t tell them about the rogues, especially since Jayce had intentionally kept that little tidbit of information away from Scott, but I couldn’t lie about the state of our relationship, either. “Not really. It was more of a convenience thing, I guess. It was too hard to be apart from each other, but we aren’t really together. More like…friends.”
Nayeli laughed loudly, “You and Jayce,friends?He’s the broodiest Alpha out of the bunch. I didn’t think he could actually have friends.”
“He’s not that bad once you get to know him…” I knew it sounded lame, but it was the truth. “Jayce is still intense, but we’re learning to be around each other.”
Gwen’s expression was kind when she laid a hand on my shoulder, smiling, “It’s good that you aren’t rushing things. You don’t have to figure it all out at once, you know.”
Impulsively, I hugged her, and she hugged me back tightly. Gwen was the most recent of the three to take a mate, so while Kiera and Nayeli had settled in with their Alphas, Gwen and Joe were still learning to live together. I felt a new sort of kinship with her, and was comforted knowing I wasn’t alone in fumbling to become an Alpha’s mate out of nowhere.
After they asked a million questions, and I answered all of them, outside of the ones about our first hookup, the three Lunas seemed content. The conversation shifted away from Jayce and onto Alphas as a whole, and the women gave me all the advice they considered important, from their egos to tips and tricks for getting around their most dominant tendencies. I was surprised to find that I found the conversation fun, and I felt a lot less lonely knowing I wasn’t the only one living with an overbearing mate.
Once we had laughed ourselves silly, Kiera waved her hands to bring us all back to order. “Okay, okay, enough about our mates. I wanted to show you guys something I’ve been working on.”
We gathered into a loose circle, making sure Nayeli didn’t have to move too much, while Kiera went to get a ceramic bowl. She set it in the center of the circle and sprinkled a few herbsinside, “I think with some more practice, I can do this without the bowl, but I need a little boost at the moment.”
After filling the bowl with water, she added a few drops of a fragrant oil and spread her hands over it, murmuring under her breath. The energy in the roomchanged,becoming charged with her power, and I shivered as it ran through me. The other two women, both witches who had claimed their power fully, exhaled as it passed over them, but they weren’t nearly as affected as I was.
A little part of me started to panic, remembering the horrible feeling of a much darker sort of power, before I got myself under control. It was Kiera’s magic, light and beautiful, nothing harmful or scary. Once the fear was gone, it was replaced by an answering pull from deep within me, and I longed to answer the call…But I didn’t dare. Not with the history my bloodline had. As much as I ached for that hidden part of me, I could never acknowledge it.
It could have just been my imagination, anyway. There was no way to know for sure.
As Kiera’s voice reached a crescendo, her hands began to glow with a butter-yellow light, and a warmth spread through the air. It was more like sunshine than a warming fire, heating all of me all at once, but gently.
“Whoa,” Nayeli breathed, sitting up. “That’s new.”
Kiera was grinning, “It’s a heat spell I’ve been working on since it’s starting to get cold out. It’s still a little shaky, but once I get it locked down, I think we’ll be able to cast it and keep ourselves warm outside whenever we want.”
She gestured for Gwen to come over, who attempted it next, and after a few tries, she had it. Nayeli waved her turn off, claiming that her pregnancy had made her magic a little moreunpredictable than normal, but she paid close attention, and I had no doubt that she’d be able to cast it easily if she really wanted to.
I watched along with them, but never made a move forward. It was fascinating, and a little sad, to watch. Sad, because it was just another reminder that I was different, separate from them, even if I had an Alpha mate. But fascinating because they made it look so effortless. There was nothing dark or worrisome about their power at all. It was bright, beautiful, and simply a part of them. It looked as natural as breathing.
There was no real reason to think I could be like them, but still somethingcalledinside of me to try. It would be so easy to just lift my hands and tug at the string of curiosity, just to see if something unraveled. I’d never expected to mate with someone like Jayce, so maybe there were more surprising parts of myself, if only I were brave enough to look….
But no. When I considered it, the memory of my father’s face resurfaced, the sickening, drowning sensation that I’d experienced the very last time I’d seen him, and any curiosity or desire to join the witches fled. It made my stomach roll and my mouth go dry. For me, magic was a curse. I was lucky that it had never manifested.
Or at least that was what I kept telling myself.
So, I sat quietly, smiling when it was appropriate, and laughing along with everyone else when a spell misfired. I forced myself to be numb to the thought of sharing such a power. My life had changed enough already; I didn’t need anything else.
Even if I had magic,I told myself firmly, keeping a smile plastered on,it wouldn’t be like there's. It would be wrong. Twisted.
It was a mantra I had to keep repeating, and if I was lucky, one day, I might believe it.
***
I got back later than I intended, and when I unlocked the front door, the house was quiet. Jayce must have been gone, handling some pack business or working on a vehicle for someone. I’d noticed how hands-on he was with his pack, and when I brought it up, he explained that it helped keep everyone calm to have the Alpha around and visible after such a big territory move. It was another point in his favor, as far as I was concerned. When his pack had joined the alliance, there had been so many rumors about the strange Blacktide pack and their mysterious Alpha. As it turned out, Jayce was a good Alpha, mysterious or not.
It had been a long, emotional, if still enjoyable day, and I wanted to relax. One of the things I missed the most about my old place was the slightly cramped bathtub that I’d relax in with a glass of wine when the days got too stressful. As nice as Jayce’s house was, the guest bathroom had a shower stall and nothing more. It was a nice shower, of course, but no shower could ever live up to a long soak in the tub.
That morning, I passed by Jayce’s room and happened to look into his en-suite bathroom. There, right in my line of sight, was a large jacuzzi tub, and I’d been hit with a wave of jealousy. Which was silly, in hindsight. It was his house, after all, and I was sure if I asked, he’d have let me use it. But we both tended to avoid any conversations that could somehow lead back to the night we’d hooked up, and me being naked in his bathroom was definitely territory I wanted to avoid.
But if Jayce wasn’t home…and he tended to get back from pack meetings pretty late…Maybe I could enjoy the tub without him ever knowing I was in his space.
I’ll be quick,I told myself, feeling almost as giddy about the secret plan as I was about the bath itself.He’ll never know.
