Page 21 of Rejected Mate

"Why would you say that?" She frowned at me. "These men are merely a distraction. They can’t possibly be your mates. Your father loves you. He only wants you to be happy and safe."

"Safe?" I laughed, and it had a hysterical edge to it. "Bullshit!"

Not once in my life had I spoken to her in this manner. It was as if I’d finally found courage to speak my mind. Something I’d never possessed in the past. I could tell it surprised her too.

"He has to do what's best for our pack." Her lips thinned and she glared at me. "Foryou."

I shook my head, refusing to let her words sway me. "You can try talking to him, but I'm not going back."

I gripped the edge of the table and pushed to my feet. "I have my mates and I won’t take anyone else, no matter what Dad does. And if he hurts them, I will retaliate." I would do whatever it took to keep my men safe.

The waitress watched us with wide eyes, hovering near the cashier. I waved to her for the receipt and dug out cash from my wallet, leaving several bills on the table.

"Fagua," my mom said, grabbing my arm. "This isn't over. He won't stop until he has sealed an alliance with a neighboring pack with your bonding to one of them."

The weight of her words hit me, but instead of letting it defeat me, I was emboldened by my mother's admission.

"He had someone killed, Mom. I saw their body in the trunk."

"Everything he's done has been to protect you—to protect our pack."

"No." I shook my head, tossing out enough bills to pay for our drinks and a hefty tip. "He doesn't care about me or you or any of the wolves. He's doing this only for himself."

Before she could guilt me into staying or promising something I couldn't do, I gave her a nod. "Goodbye, Mom. Really wish you weren't so tangled up in all of this."

"You need to come home, Fagua," she said in a low whisper.

"I am already home." I left the diner with tears stinging my eyes and stepped out onto the sidewalk. So much for my mom helping us. My shoulders sagged as I walked.

My thoughts drifted to my entire life before I met Winter, Sky, and Husk. How I thought my parents could do no wrong.

I wrapped my arms around myself and trudged down the sidewalk. The fact my mom chose my dad shouldn't surprise me but it did. I thought when she helped me escape, she had learned the truth about him. Now I didn't have an alternative… I had to join Winter and Sky in bringing my father down. Which also meant bonding with Husk. The wolf who seemed not to like me from the first day I spent with them.

My cell rang and I dug it out of my back pocket, totally thinking to ignore the call, but it was Rebecca.

"Hey, what's up?" I asked.

"Oh, nothing. Just checking on you. We're coming back to Vegas tomorrow and wondered if you'd be up for lunch."

"Of course." I smiled. I hadn't seen Rebecca since she and her husband had helped me get away from SmallHeath that night when I found out my father was a killer.

"Great." Her voice perked up even more. "We'll meet at your place around eleven. I need a bit of luck and want to play the slots."

I hiccupped, holding back a sob. I missed her. Missed the time when life was so simple. When I was naive. I had no idea how to tell her I was going to the group who wanted to bring down our alpha.

"Fagua, are you okay?" she asked, homing in on my slip.

"Yeah, sure. I'm good." I swallowed as my tongue thickened in my mouth.

"Spill." She paused. "You know I'm not going to stop pestering until you tell me."

I let out a shaky breath and told her everything. She was silent as I talked, and I told myself to stop blubbering, but I couldn't. When I finally finished, she whistled.

"I don't like it," she blurted. "It's dangerous."

"Neither do I," I agreed. The ground was soft underneath my feet and the wind blew warm and steady overhead, rustling the leaves together in a gentle swoosh. My gaze followed the line of trees marching off into the distance beyond the distant paths of cars and trucks idling at the traffic lights.

I slowed to a stop. I had been so wrapped up in how to tell Husk and my mom about my decision to join the group, I never thought about the fact that they wanted my father dead. "I can't help but think I'm making the wrong decision. That I'm missing something. But I know my father, or at least I thought I did. He won't back down."

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