Rejected

2 weeks later – Liam Lynch

The past month has been chaotic, with the last week and a half being the worst. Between meetings, negotiations and having several unexpected visits from my parents, I have not had a chance to catch my breath. To top it all off, I cannot get my conversation with the white haired she-wolf out of my head. I feel for the poor girl, more than she will ever realize. After working at my desk for over an hour, I decide I am going to go check on her at the daycare and see how she is adjusting to life here. I grab the keys to my black Mercedes and head out to the daycare, a place I certainly do not frequent. I walk into the old brick building and am immediately greeted by the woman at the front desk.

“Good morning, Alpha Lynch! We weren’t expecting you! Is there anything I can help you with?” She definitely has the personality to work with children, positive, upbeat and all around bubbly.

“Good morning, Kendra. I am just here to check in on Nadia.” She gives me a polite smile and motions to the door on the left.

“She is just through there.” I walk through the door only to be assaulted by the deafening wailing of a baby who is clearly not happy. I cautiously walk further into the hall and stop when I reach the room where the cries are erupting from. An older woman, Ida, is trying to console a newborn pup with no success and I can see that she is almost at her breaking point. Movement at the end of the hall catches my attention and I look up just in time to see Nadia rushing toward me, but she veers into the room and takes the tiny pup from Ida, who looks more than a little relieved as she hurries out of the room. Within seconds, the pup falls silent and I can hear the faint sound of humming coming from within the room.

“She is a natural. That pup, the McCallough’s little one, will not sleep or eat for anyone but her and his mother. I don’t know what we would do without her.” I look down at Ida as she stares in awe at the white haired she-wolf, rocking and soothing the now sleeping infant.

“Has she had any issues settling in here?” Ida glances up at me, but her eyes drift back to Nadia.

“No, she is doing very well, alpha. She is very quiet and when she thinks no one is looking, I can see so much sadness in her eyes. She must have gone through something pretty terrible. She is a lovely young woman. I should let her know it is time for her to go on her lunch break.” She walks in, whispers something to Nadia then exits the room and disappears into one of the rooms further down the hall. A moment later, Nadia is walking toward me with her arms now free and the child sleeping soundly in his crib.

“Hello Alpha Lynch.” She walks past me and out the door to the lobby with me following closely behind her. She walks out the front doors and turns left, not stopping until she reaches the playground where she sits down on a swing.

“How is everything going here?” I sit down in the swing beside her and watch her expression as it shifts from sadness to happiness then to grief.

“I love working here.” Her answer is quick, but I can see that she looks more worn down than the last time I saw her.

“How are you doing?” She raises her eyes to meet mine with a pained smile.

“I have been better. I thought time and keeping busy would make things hurt less, but I was wrong. How did you get over the raw and unrelenting agony?” Her eyes are brimming with unshed tears and I feel lost as to how to help her through this.

“I didn’t. The pain is still there, even now. I have just learned to live with it. I know that is terrible and not comforting in the slightest, but it is the truth.” She sighs and shrugs her shoulders as she begins gently rocking herself on the swing.

“At least you are being honest. I have been going to the library and doing research on it, but it has not turned up much.” One thing is for sure, she is a determined little she-wolf.

“I want to apologize for how everything played out when we met. While I was asking questions out of interest in preserving the safety of our pack, my wording should have been much less harsh and callous.” She forces her swing to still and takes a deep, ragged breath.

“Why did you reject your mate?” Her voice is soft, broken and there is hesitation in her tone.

“I didn’t. She rejected me.” Her head tilts in confusion and her brow knits together as she processes my reply.

“I have never heard of anyone rejecting an alpha before.”I have never openly discussed what happened with Leah and have even gone so far as to attack someone who asked me about it, but now? I find myself wanting to tell her…everything. Maybe it is out of guilt for how I behaved when we first met, or maybe it is because, unlike everyone else who has ever asked, she actually knows what I am going through.

“I wasn’t alpha yet. In fact, I was second in line. My older brother, Lorcan, was supposed to become alpha. When Leah and I discovered we were mates, she had been devastated. She thought it a cruel joke, that the moon goddess had lost her mind when she paired her with someone who would put her close to being the packs luna, but the title would be just out of reach…almost as if it would be taunting her. So, she rejected me and all of my ’2nd place’ shame.” I see the thoughts and questions churning in her mind and I can sense her reluctance to ask them.

“But…you became alpha?” I lower my gaze and nod softly.

“He was killed in a rogue attack only a few weeks after…after Leah.” The searing ache in my heart breaks through my defenses momentarily, but I quickly choke it back and attempt to steel my nerves.

“I…I am so sorry about your brother. Your ex and mine really should meet, they sound like they would be perfect for each other.” Caught off guard by her comment, I suddenly burst out laughing and she quickly joins me.

“I am sure that could be arranged.” She gives me a gentle smile that lights up her blue eyes.

“I should probably get back in there before Toby wakes up and drives Ida up the wall.” We rise to our feet and I walk her back to the building.

“There is a pack get together tomorrow evening. It is a potluck and there will be dancing. It would be a good way for you to meet some of the other pack members.” She pauses for a moment then I watch as the corner of her lips curl slightly.

“I am not much for dancing, but I do love food.” A rough chuckle vibrates through me as I watch her walk back into the building. Well, that whole encounter went much better than I had expected. She is rather pleasant to be around when the hostility isn’t present, although her previous hostility toward me was justified. I drive back to the pack house and back into the chaos of helping with the arrangements for tomorrow night’s pack dinner.