Page 16 of Rejected Sold Mate (Crystal Creek Wolves #4)

I’d avoided my friends long enough, and after the mate announcement, I knew if I didn’t acknowledge them, they’d be on Jayce’s doorstep soon enough. So, despite the urge to hide away forever, I finally answered all of their messages and agreed to meet up.

As it turned out, they were getting together the next day for tea and to go over some magic that Kiera had been working on.

I usually avoided the magic-based get-togethers, not just because I wasn’t magically inclined, but because the subject gave me a sinking feeling whenever I thought of my past. But I wanted to get the embarrassment of talking about Jayce over with, and the Lunas were insistent that I join them.

I hadn’t realized how much I missed them until Gwen opened the door to her and Joe’s home, and she pulled me inside with a squeal. Kiera was right there to greet me, too, but the pregnant Nayeli remained on the couch, waving happily.

“I knew you couldn’t avoid us forever,” Nayeli said when I leaned down to embrace her, “You just couldn’t stay away.”

They didn’t bring up Jayce right away, which I was thankful for.

I’d considered just blurting out everything that had happened as soon as I arrived so we could get it out of the way, but I’d decided against it once I was in the warmth of their presence again.

I wanted some time to pretend that everything was normal, and they appeared more than happy to give it to me.

Before I knew it, I was sitting cross-legged on the big green rug in Gwen’s living room, a cup of tea in my hand and the sound of familiar laughter all around me. It calmed parts of my soul that I didn’t even know needed calming, and I was more relaxed than I’d been in days.

Nayeli was sprawled out on the couch, her hands on her belly and a blanket over her legs, while Kiera sat on the ground with me, and Gwen occupied the recliner.

We talked about pack drama and looked at pictures of Nayeli’s nursery, laughing when she told us how protective Scott had become now that she was so close to giving birth.

But once all of those subjects wound down, all eyes turned to me.

“Soo…” Kiera stretched the word out as she stirred her tea. “You and Jayce…you know we have like, a million questions.”

“Yeah,” Nayeli added. “I hate to be pushy, but we’re all dying to hear everything. Explain yourself!”

Her tone was teasing, but I also knew there was no way I was getting out of there without actually explaining.

“Well—” I could feel my face and neck getting hot, but the three women were already leaning in, ready to hang on my every word. “It’s sort of a long story…”

“We have all the time in the world,” Gwen insisted. “Take your time.”

Ugh. There really was no escape. I stared into my half-empty cup of tea, trying to gather my thoughts.

I wasn’t sure how I could be so unprepared, given that I knew what they were going to ask and had rehearsed my explanation the entire drive over.

But when the time came to actually admit to someone everything that had happened since that night at the Broken Barrel, it was like my mind immediately went blank.

Still, I hated the idea of lying to them.

The three women were the closest thing I had to a real support system, and they’d been there for me when I was positive the entire world was against me.

I could dress things up a little, sugarcoat some of the facts to make them less embarrassing, but what was the point?

They’d never made me feel ashamed of anything.

So…I told the truth.

“Okay.” I blew out a nervous breath. “Okay. I’m going to start from the beginning.

Jayce and I…we met by chance one night at this bar called the Broken Barrel.

It’s outside of pack territory, so I’d go there when I wanted to feel…

Anonymous, I guess. I knew Jayce, but he didn’t know me, and there was this immediate attraction sooo…

we left together. It was just supposed to be a one-night thing, but obviously things got a lot more complicated than that. ”

I could almost hear all of their jaws drop at the same time.

“Wait, wait, wait,” Kiera held up her hands, eyes sparkling, “Are you telling us that you hooked up with him? Like, before the mating bond even showed up?”

“Yeah,” I nodded, trying to ignore the excited noises they were making, as if what I was telling them was the most interesting thing they’d ever heard.

“Then things sort of got complicated when he figured out who I was, and we were supposed to just go our separate ways, but…well, you all know better than anyone. We both felt the mate bond, and I had no idea what it was, but Jayce did.”

Gwen had her hands clasped in front of her chest, beaming. “And he just went to Scott and claimed you, just like that? That’s actually really romantic.”

I cringed. I couldn’t tell them about the rogues, especially since Jayce had intentionally kept that little tidbit of information away from Scott, but I couldn’t lie about the state of our relationship, either.

“Not really. It was more of a convenience thing, I guess. It was too hard to be apart from each other, but we aren’t really together. More like…friends.”

Nayeli laughed loudly, “You and Jayce, friends? He’s the broodiest Alpha out of the bunch. I didn’t think he could actually have friends.”

“He’s not that bad once you get to know him…” I knew it sounded lame, but it was the truth. “Jayce is still intense, but we’re learning to be around each other.”

Gwen’s expression was kind when she laid a hand on my shoulder, smiling, “It’s good that you aren’t rushing things. You don’t have to figure it all out at once, you know.”

Impulsively, I hugged her, and she hugged me back tightly.

Gwen was the most recent of the three to take a mate, so while Kiera and Nayeli had settled in with their Alphas, Gwen and Joe were still learning to live together.

I felt a new sort of kinship with her, and was comforted knowing I wasn’t alone in fumbling to become an Alpha’s mate out of nowhere.

After they asked a million questions, and I answered all of them, outside of the ones about our first hookup, the three Lunas seemed content.

The conversation shifted away from Jayce and onto Alphas as a whole, and the women gave me all the advice they considered important, from their egos to tips and tricks for getting around their most dominant tendencies.

I was surprised to find that I found the conversation fun, and I felt a lot less lonely knowing I wasn’t the only one living with an overbearing mate.

Once we had laughed ourselves silly, Kiera waved her hands to bring us all back to order. “Okay, okay, enough about our mates. I wanted to show you guys something I’ve been working on.”

We gathered into a loose circle, making sure Nayeli didn’t have to move too much, while Kiera went to get a ceramic bowl.

She set it in the center of the circle and sprinkled a few herbs inside, “I think with some more practice, I can do this without the bowl, but I need a little boost at the moment.”

After filling the bowl with water, she added a few drops of a fragrant oil and spread her hands over it, murmuring under her breath.

The energy in the room changed, becoming charged with her power, and I shivered as it ran through me.

The other two women, both witches who had claimed their power fully, exhaled as it passed over them, but they weren’t nearly as affected as I was.

A little part of me started to panic, remembering the horrible feeling of a much darker sort of power, before I got myself under control.

It was Kiera’s magic, light and beautiful, nothing harmful or scary.

Once the fear was gone, it was replaced by an answering pull from deep within me, and I longed to answer the call…

But I didn’t dare. Not with the history my bloodline had.

As much as I ached for that hidden part of me, I could never acknowledge it.

It could have just been my imagination, anyway. There was no way to know for sure.

As Kiera’s voice reached a crescendo, her hands began to glow with a butter-yellow light, and a warmth spread through the air. It was more like sunshine than a warming fire, heating all of me all at once, but gently.

“Whoa,” Nayeli breathed, sitting up. “That’s new.”

Kiera was grinning, “It’s a heat spell I’ve been working on since it’s starting to get cold out. It’s still a little shaky, but once I get it locked down, I think we’ll be able to cast it and keep ourselves warm outside whenever we want.”

She gestured for Gwen to come over, who attempted it next, and after a few tries, she had it.

Nayeli waved her turn off, claiming that her pregnancy had made her magic a little more unpredictable than normal, but she paid close attention, and I had no doubt that she’d be able to cast it easily if she really wanted to.

I watched along with them, but never made a move forward.

It was fascinating, and a little sad, to watch.

Sad, because it was just another reminder that I was different, separate from them, even if I had an Alpha mate.

But fascinating because they made it look so effortless.

There was nothing dark or worrisome about their power at all.

It was bright, beautiful, and simply a part of them. It looked as natural as breathing.

There was no real reason to think I could be like them, but still something called inside of me to try.

It would be so easy to just lift my hands and tug at the string of curiosity, just to see if something unraveled.

I’d never expected to mate with someone like Jayce, so maybe there were more surprising parts of myself, if only I were brave enough to look… .