Page 68 of Rejected Beta

They haven't even set eyes on her in her entire life, but they've already decided what kind of person she is.

Most of the things they say on recordings make little sense, not truly explaining why they're bothering to track me down. Even for the chance with Jareth. They've spent a lot of money searching for me.

I want to understand what triggered this. It's not like I ran from them. They rejected me. It was the best thing that's ever happened to me, but they made it clear they weren't interested.

Why so many years later?

"Are you okay?" Brad asks,

Great, now he’s pouting.

"It's been a long week and I'm still feeling a little shitty." I gesture at the table. "Have a seat."

Thankfully, Jareth takes the seat next to me so I'm not within slapping distance of the two alphas. Maybe we should be more careful, but it's too late now, there's a clear divide.

I see them notice it, their eyes narrowed, displeasure in the curl of their lips. Are they going to let down their mask now, giving me a peek of what's really going on beneath the surface?

Brad clears his throat, shooting a look at Nicole. “Thank you for meeting us. We'll keep things brief."

I guess not.

"We'd like to know what you need from us to actually consider joining our pack. It's what you wanted from us so long ago, I rather expected you to be happy we're here offering it."

The utter gall of this dick.

I cross my arms and sit back in my chair, choosing my words carefully. “That's part of the problem. You weren't willing to give it to me before. You strung me along for years, got me pregnant, and then sent me packing because you wanted an omega. I'm having a hard time trusting or even understanding what's changed and why you're here. You found an omega. What do you need me for?"

"We've been looking for you the whole time,” Brad insists.

It’s time for me to call them on their shit a little bit. One, it’ll make me feel better and two, it’ll draw this whole thing out if they have to prove themselves to me.

"Then why didn't you email me? I went back and checked. Nothing. I know you both had my email, you could've contacted me that way and you didn't. I kept my phone for a couple months too and there wasn't a single phone call."

I changed cell phones the day after I got out of the hospital after having Lexie. Once I held her in my arms, I was done. I stopped hoping they'd change their minds and I worked very hard to hide in case they did.

But I didn't go so far as to change my name, so even though I ran everything through the LLC I set up, they still found me. I didn't hide that well.

Brad holds up his hands. “Okay, so it took us a little longer to realize we made a mistake. We're sorry. But you're raising our daughter on your own and have been this whole time. Don't you want a pack? Doesn't she deserve to have her father in her life? This will be better for her."

"She's not "our" daughter, she'smydaughter. And you're right, I have been doing this myself for a long time. I've finally found success and started building a life, so forgive me if I'm not jumping with joy that you've arrived and expect me to give it all up."

I'm trying hard to walk the fine line between making them work for it to buy more time and give them some hope that I can be talked around. As soon as I agree, they'll expect to meet Lexie, and that's not fucking happening. I'm not letting them anywhere near her.

Nicole shrugs. “We can help you set up a business just like the one here back home. We'd be happy to do that."

"Are you going to pay the fees to break my lease too? Pay for us to move? She just started school. It's not that simple."

Brad waves away my questions like they’re unimportant details. “We can figure all that out."

"Maybe we can take this slow. You guys can go back and forth for a while until the summer when it'll be easier to move and I can save money back up." I want to know their answer to that.

I want to know exactly how determined and impatient they are.

Nicole shakes her head, her red lips set in an impatient line. ”No. The kid is only five, I don't think it'll hurt much to take her out of school and stick her in another. We're ready to start this pack, we can't wait a year for you to be ready."

I eye the woman who at one point made me swoon, who charmed me with her confidence before I started seeing the cruelty. “If you're not willing to wait, and I'm not ready to agree, what the hell is the point? Just like before, everything has to be on your terms and timeline. It doesn't sound like you've changed at all. I don't think this is going to work."

It's a gamble, but I want to see their masks crack a little wider than the slight peeks I've gotten so far.

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