Page 6 of Amaris Rejected (Stone Mountain Shifters #2)

Devon

I can't believe my eyes. We pull into the diner in Sparksburg to grab a burger before heading to the Alpha conference. I feel a tug on the mate bond. It’s the first time I’ve felt it in three years since the day my dad forced me to leave the Meet-and-Greet, the last day I saw the love of my life. I’ve searched for her ever since, but it’s as if she fell off the face of the planet.

I see her through the diner’s window as I step out of the truck. She is even more beautiful than before. Like a zombie, my entire being is focused on her. I don't even know how I got here, but now I'm just feet away from her.

"Amaris?"

"Mmhmm?" She barely acknowledges me, and I don't think she remembers me. But when she looks up at me with those striking moss-green eyes, I know I’m still a goner for her.

"I want a bite!" demands a toddler in a high chair beside Amaris. I suddenly notice her scent.She looks back at me with her chocolate-brown eyes...my eyes.“ Oh, Goddess!” My wolf confirms.“ That's our pup.” She has a head full of golden curls, just like my hair when I was a youngling. She's beautiful.

"Amaris? Can I... can I join you?" I hesitate.

"I don't see why you would want to." Amaris sniffs.

"That's fair. I would probably feel that way, too."

"Look, Devon." She speaks coolly, her voice a sharp whisper. "I don't think there’s anything left we really need to discuss right now . The conversation ended years ago when you ran out of our honeymoon suite and never looked back." She continues eating and giving our pup bites of spaghetti. "Slow down, little one." She coos softly, making my gut churn with remorse. "You are going to choke."

Our little one has some sass as she takes a drink from her sippy cup and throws it to the floor.

"Oopsie." She giggles. I grab it and give it back to her, smiling. "Tank you!" she replies. My heart wrenches; Goddess, she’s adorable. She may have my coloring, but she is a beauty like Amaris.

"Amaris," I plead.

"Why are you still here?" She hisses, her voice filled with contempt.

"I think we need to talk..." I gesture toward our daughter.

"Devon. You’re about three years too late for that conversation!" she snarls with quiet fury. “It’s one that should’ve taken place before you walked out on me—on us.”

Flinching, I turn away under the pretense of speaking to my enforcers. Amaris’ words hit like a punch to the gut. “ Three years too late, you walked out on me… on us.” I can barely breathe, knowing what I know. But she’s absolutely right. I abandoned her, my fated mate, and our pup in the cruelest way while she was vulnerable. I knew it then, and I know it now. She owes me nothing, but I owe her everything, including an explanation. I need a moment to regroup.

Amaris takes advantage of my lapse and shoots out the door with our pup in her arms before I can stop her. I can't let her get away. I’ve spent three years looking for her. Not to mention, we have a child together! Not even my guilt can make me leave her now. I chase after her and order the team to follow.

Suddenly. Amaris whips around to face me. "I’m not sure what this sudden fascination with me is,” she hisses, low and tense, her palm covering one of the child’s ears while the other is pressed against her mother’s chest. “But this stalking behavior needs to stop. I don't want you around me, I don't want to talk to you, and I don't want to see you. What part of this are you having trouble understanding?"

"Amaris, please, let me talk to you for a moment..."

"Leave me alone!" her voice rises hysterically. I look up to see bystanders watching and a couple of wolves running toward us.

"What's going on here, Amaris?" One of the wolves asks, eyeing me suspiciously.

"John, these wolves are stalking me and won’t leave me alone," She answers, pointing to me and my team. I realize they must be pack enforcers as the other wolf pulls out a hand-held radio and requests backup. Amaris continues, "I had to leave our meal at the diner, and they followed me all the way here."

She’s obviously leaving out important information here; I’m not a stalker.

"Listen," I start, "John, right? Amaris is my mate..."

"No!" She cuts me off.

"Whoa, man! Amaris doesn't have a mate." John hisses furiously. "I've known her for three years. What’s your business here? Are you attending the Alpha conference or just passing through?"

"We're here for the Alpha Conference," I explain. "But if I could just..."

"This isn't Alpha's gone wild or spring break, bro." the other enforcer sneers. "You can't just go around harassing our she-wolves. That's not cool, man." He places a hand on my chest to keep me distanced from Amaris. I hold my hands up, indicating I'm no threat.

"Chris, can you let me head home?" Amaris addresses the enforcer between us. "I need to comfort her, and I don’t want him to discover where we live. Will you keep them here until I get home safely?" She gestures toward the child, who is obviously distressed and crying.

“Amaris,” I softly plead. “You know I’m not a threat to your safety.”

“I know nothing of the sort. I don’t know you.”

I flinch at her words, which carry a deeper meaning that pains me. Of course, she doesn’t know me; we spent one beautiful night together before I destroyed our future.

"Sure, Amaris. Go ahead," Chris replies, grabbing me by the arm before I can follow Amaris. "Hold on, man. The Alpha is on his way and wants to have a conversation with you. And you need to leave Amaris alone."

"You don't understand; Amaris is my fated mate," I begin to struggle, prompting the enforcers to wrestle me to the ground. It isn't an easy task for them since I am an Alpha. Soon, a few others join them, and they finally manage to pin me down. When the dust settles, I'm face down in the dirt, cuffed and restrained, while my team is being held in the vehicles. Amaris, along with all my hope, has disappeared again. I lower my forehead to the ground. Breathing heavily, I thrash about in frustration.

"What's going on here?" a familiar voice asks. I look up to see the local pack leader, Alpha Blake, a good friend of mine. "What kind of BS are you trying to pull, Alpha Devon?" He looks at me in anger. "Get him up," he orders his men.

They drag me to my feet. "Alpha Blake. We need to have a private conversation." I seethe, angry that my efforts to talk to Amaris have been thwarted.

"My friend, I don't think you are in a position to demand anything of me." Narrowing his eyes, an edge of danger is laced in his words.

I take a couple of deep breaths and shake my head to clear it. "Blake, Amaris is my fated mate," I say calmly.

Sighing heavily, Alpha Blake concedes, "Devon, I believe you are right. This calls for a private conversation." He pinches his nose and huffs. "Boys, let him go. Devon, you and your team follow me to the pack house. We'll have that private conversation once we reach my office." He looks at his enforcers. "Is Amaris, okay?"

They nod.

"Make sure to check on her."

"Will do, Alpha," John replies.

"Move out!" Alpha Blake roars.

I climb into the SUV with my beta. "Send the other team to track down Amaris and my child." Beta Dale raises his brows in question. "My wolf tells me that the child is mine."

"Okay, boss." Beta Dale nods.

"I know they picked up their scents at the diner." I continue. "Instruct them not to approach her and don't let her see them. Find out where she lives and works. Discreetly, learn everything about her--where she goes, who she sees." I growl at that. "Tell them to report back as soon as possible."

"Will do."

As the second SUV pulls away, we follow Alpha Blake to the pack house.

Later, sitting with Alpha Blake and his Beta Rick, I rehash the entire disaster that was my mating with Amaris.

"I don't know what to tell you, Devon. It looks like you have royally screwed up." Alpha Blake presses his lips together and rakes his hands across his face. I can tell he isn't pleased. "I don't know how well you know Amaris, and from what I'm hearing, you never knew her at all, but she's not only a well-known leader in our community but very well-liked. I can’t believe your father had you reject her or that you agreed.

Honestly, if word gets out that she’s been rejected by her mate, not just waiting for her mate, this could open her up for all kinds of attention from unmated males. I assume you have seen her since she's your rejected mate." He says sarcastically. "She'd make an ideal Luna. I often wish she were mine."

I quickly snarl at him, not liking what he's saying. "Don't get any ideas!" Everyone knows that Alpha Blake is very handsome and a well-sought-after bachelor.

"Hey." He clasps his hands behind his head and leans back, grinning. "I'm just stating the obvious. You shouldn’t have rejected her. Your pack would have been blessed. She was chosen by the goddess for you and your Luna position, you know. I don't get what your dad was thinking, trying to pull a power move to mate you with someone else."

I can't argue with that, so I won't. "All I am asking for is the chance to talk to her."

"Devon, I'm not going to force a she-wolf to talk to someone she clearly wants nothing to do with." He kicks his booted feet up onto his desk, leaning back. I'd love to wipe that grin off his face. "So, again, I’m not sure what you want me to do. She’s already met you, so I think a blind date is off the table." He roars with laughter.

"Screw you, Blake! I'm glad my misery is so entertaining to you!"

Alpha Blake sobers. "Honestly, I sympathize with you." He removes his feet from the desk and leans forward. "I just don't know how you'll come back from this."

"Well, there’s one more thing," I hesitate. "My wolf tells me that the child she had is ours."

"Zoe." Alpha Blake slaps his palm against his forehead. "It all makes sense now."

"Her name is Zoe?" I whisper, fighting back tears. He doesn’t answer me; it’s more of a statement than a question anyway.

"That is an entirely different situation." Alpha Blake sighs. "She’s a good mother, a wonderful person. She is one of the pack healers."

"She's a pack healer?"

"Actually, she is the most gifted healer we have ever had."

"Mate special. " My wolf repeats what he told me so long ago.

"So, go register for the conference." He says, slamming his hand on the desk and standing up to signal the end of our meeting. "Stay out of trouble, and don't bother Amaris!" Alpha Blake barks. "I'll talk to her. She’s a good person, Devon. If what you’re saying is true, I know she wouldn't keep your pup from you. I’d say she was just caught off guard when you showed up unexpectedly." His beta opens the office door, and just like that, I feel hopeful, yet I’m dismissed.