Page 30 of Rejected Wolf's Secret Baby (Rejected Moons 4)

“Do you want me to stay here?”

“No, go help Kayla,” I say. “Is that okay with you?”

“Yeah, that’s fine,” Dad says. “You’re sure you’re all right?”

“I’m fine.”

He nods and leaves the room. It feels good to have him wanting to protect me after all these years, especially since he never did it when Deidre was around. When it came to me, he never argued with her. He was our alpha, and he could have put her in her place, but he always seemed to agree with the things she was saying.

And he let her choose my mate. I can’t forget that. It was a job that should have been his—something he should have been honored to do—and he just sat back and let her do it. That’s ehy I had to reject Brandon.

Brandon hasn’t knocked again, so that tells me he can definitely hear our voices. I wonder if he’s still out there. Maybe I’m in luck and he decided to go home when I didn't answer the door right away.

I take a deep breath and pull it open.

He’s standing there with a disturbed expression on his face, and I can’t help feeling irritated by that. I guess hedidhear us. I should probably be embarrassed, but I’m just annoyed.

“What?” I ask him.

He raises his eyebrows. “Excuse me?”

“You don’t need to look at me like that. If you hang around outside people’s doors, you run the risk of hearing things you don’t like.”

“What are you talking about?” Brandon asks. “I didn’t hear anything.”

I could swallow my tongue. Fucking hell. Now I’ve gone and made things worse.

“What was it I didn’t hear?” he asks. “What wouldn’t I like?”

“Don’t worry about it.” I know there’s very little chance of that. What would I do in his shoes, after all? I definitelywouldworry about what someone had been saying that they thought would upset me.

But, incredibly, Brandon just shrugs. “Okay,” he says. “Whatever, Alicia.”

“What are you doing here?”

“You’re in a mood.”

“I’m in my own home. It’s none of your business what mood I’m in. Why did you come over?”

“I wanted to talk to you about something,” he says. “Can I?”

“You don’t need my permission. Talk.” I know I’m being rude, but I can’t seem to knock it off. I just want him to go away so that I can deal with my feelings about my father’s abdication and how I’m going to protect Emmy.

“I don’t think this is a conversation we should have here,” Brandon says. “Do you think we could take a walk? Just a short one.”

I sigh. I don’t want to leave the house with him right now, but if he doesn’t think we shouldn’t talk here—meaning, where my family might hear us—I guess I’d better go with him.

18

BRANDON

Iwasgenuinelyconcernedthat Alicia wasn’t going to want to walk with me, but she leaves the house so quickly that it surprises me. I guess she’s just that eager to be rid of me.

“Did I do something to you?” I ask. I’m worried she’s regretting the last time we had sex. I really hope it isn’t that, because I want us to do it again, not to mention that I’m enjoying the fact that we’ve been starting to bond, and I don’t want to let that go either. And I don’t see how that’s going to be possible if my presence is upsetting her this much.

“No,” she says. “You didn’t do anything. It’s not about you.”

I don’t know if I can believe that. It sure seems like it’s about me.

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