Page 2 of The Alpha King’s Rejected Mate

“His stomach is about extended from all the treats you have given him today. You do this every time, Snow. You have to let go of them. You have to let go of Diamond.”

I sighed, knowing he was right, and surprised that there was a moment of softness in his tone, before he got back to business and his blunt ways.

“I know you like him, but he’s got to go. I am not paying to feed him any longer, and before you try to buy him, Snow, you can’t afford him. You have to let him go.”

I pretended like I wasn’t going to say something like that, but he knew me too well. I was going to offer that very thing, even if I had to work for free for a while. Some of the horses that were raised and trained there were worth millions. I could work my entire lifetime and still not pay off the cost. I didn’t make that much.

“He will be out there when he is ready.”

He started to say something, and I braced for it, but instead, he agreed to my terms. “Don’t make it too long. The trailer is leaving in an hour and if I have to come back out here and drag him into it, I’m going to be pissed.”

I agreed that I would have him ready and he stalked off, shirtless, short hair still wet from his shower, and I was thinking about more than I was supposed to. There was heat in my face now, but it was for a whole other reason, and I saw the way Dutch was looking at me. He just shrugged, like he knew the power Sterling had over women. It was hard to ignore the raw energy that came from him. It pulled me in, like it pulled in many women he picked up and tossed away from town. I didn’t want to be one of those girls, but damn if he didn’t look good on occasion. This was one of those occasions.

I had showed too much, and I knew better. I was one of only a few women who actually worked on the ranch and wasn’t visiting one of the guys. I lived in the bunk house with them for a long time and never had any trouble. It had a lot to do with the fact that I knew better than to get involved with any of them. I kept myself neutral. With the boss shirtless, it was hard to focus on neutrality.

We got back to work, and I begrudgingly got Diamond ready to go. He was going to be missed, but he was going to have a great life. That’s what I told myself as I tried not to get teary-eyed when I took him out. The last thing I needed was for Sterling to see me upset. He already knew I was partial to Diamond, he didn’t have to know how upset I was about it all.

When I got outside, the sun was dipping to the lower part of the sky, and I heard the sounds rush back to me. The barn was soundproofed for the horse’s sake, and coming out of there, everything seemed so loud.

Sterling was there, shirt on, thank god, and he took the reins from me. It was like Diamond knew, resisting until I touched his head and told him everything was going to be okay. It felt like a lie.

“He looks good, Snow.”

“Thank you,” I said quietly, but he heard me. He had heightened senses as a shifter, and everyone knew he was blessed with powers from his father that people whispered about but didn’t know enough about. Sterling was superior in every way, and when his slate-blue eyes turned to me, I felt like I couldn’t move. I was standing in front of him and I was speechless. Thankfully, Dutch wasn’t there to see me completely lose myself. I could only imagine what he would say. It would not be anything good, I was sure of that.

“I’ll take it from here, Snow, okay?”

I agreed with a nod of my head. I was going to start crying, whether I wanted him to see or not.

Sterling looked at me and smiled, just for a second. “Fight it, Snow, don’t let the other guys see you cry.”

I instantly tightened up my face and tried to stop the tears from falling. I just had to will it so. He grinned, and for a second, I saw that image I got when I was sleeping a lot, the guy standing over me, telling me to fight. Sterling’s words triggered that memory, and this time I remembered just a bit more, though it was still a muddled mess in my mind that didn’t make sense.

Sterling was being nice to me, Diamond was gone…nothing made sense anymore.

2

STERLING

Seeing Snow get all upset about her horse leaving reminded me of a time many years ago when my father had to teach me a similar lesson. My horse’s name had been Thunder and it was sacrificed for a greater good. It had killed me, never seeing her again, so I couldn’t help but feel for Snow. I wanted to lessen the blow, let her know that Diamond would be well taken care of. It was far more than I’d ever gotten.

It didn’t last long, that wistful look in her eyes, and then she had straightened up. She had to be good at it by now. Snow worked and lived around mainly men. She couldn’t show her soft side, even if it came out at times like this. It was her vulnerability that called to me inner beast, but I ignored it as best I could. She’d been at the Pullers Ranch for almost three years. I’d seen her beauty, but the more I was around her lately, the more I wanted her.

“Why don’t we go get a drink after work? You and Dutch are about done, aren’t you?”

“Yeah, but I have something to do afterwards.”

“Like what?” I asked, a bit surprised she wasn’t jumping at the chance to go out with me. I’d seen the way she looked at me without my shirt on. She was interested, so what was the problem?

She just shook her head and then walked off. It stung a little to be turned down like that.

I stopped Dutch on my way out and asked him where his kid was. He was at once defensive, and I told him Carlton hadn’t done anything today. I wanted to give him something to do so that he wouldn’t tear things up. Dutch was relieved and told me he was with Maggie doing his homework.

“You mind if I give the young man a job?”

He said he didn’t mind at all, so that was my go-ahead. Dutch didn’t know how lucky he was, and I was feeling it at the moment. He had a good kid who was going to grow into something great and worked with Snow all of the time. I was jealous. I couldn’t help it. Why did Dutch get all the luck? It really didn’t make sense when I remembered I was the boss.

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