Page 60 of The Enforcer’s Rejected Mate (Red River Rejected Mates #1)

Chapter

Forty-Two

CORDELIA

“ C ordelia Fireheart has returned to us. The first of our stolen children. Our blood has cried out for our lost daughter and at long last, she’s come home.

” Ronan points and everyone is looking at me.

The weight of all those eyes would normally have me crumbling into a sweaty mess of anxiety but this time I’m cool as a cucumber.

Thorne’s hand is on mine, the weight and warmth of our hands resting on my thigh grounds me into the now. I don’t feel alone with him holding my hand and telling me he’s here.

There’s silence after Ronan’s speech but then someone claps, and then another does and another until the whole room is full of clapping and cheers.

He motions me to come on stage so I do, even if I don’t want to let go of Thorne’s hand.

It’s the first time that he’s touched me since the meadow and everything about it feels perfect.

Like a puzzle piece sliding into place, except the puzzle it’s putting together is me.

I stand and give him a last look. He’s not his normal stoic self, he’s looking at me with eyes warm and soft.

He smiles and nods at me encouragingly before he lets go of my hand.

I know if I asked him to, he’d come with me on the stage but I can do this alone.

I turn back to Ronan and join him on the stage.

Those few steps feel like an eternity but then I’m taking his hand and stepping onto the stage beside him.

“Welcome home, Cordelia Fireheart,” Ronan tells me. There’s tears in his eyes and it’s like I’ve seen this before. I’ve heard him say my name and look at me like he is. Pride. Regret. Fondness. All of it and more plays out in Ronan’s eyes.

“Thank you, Alpha.”

“Ronan,” he corrects and surprises me when he hugs me. “Your mother would be so proud of you. How strong you’ve been all these years. How tenacious. You’ve honored her memory.”

Tears prick my eyes, I don’t bother fighting them, even if I did it’d be no use.

Ronan hugs me and I cry, we both do while the pack claps and cheers.

When he pulls back it’s to hand me off to an Elder who repeats his words, “Welcome home, Cordelia Fireheart.” Elder after Elder hugs me and welcomes me home, until it’s Esme.

She gathers me close and gives me a hug so hard it cracks my ribs. “Welcome home, Cordelia Fireheart.”

“Thank you, Esme.” When I step back she surprises me when she leads me off the dais and into the crowd.

I turn to look over my shoulder where Thorne, Piper, and Clover are.

Clover and Piper are standing close together and beaming at me.

They wave when they see me and I wave back.

Thorne…Thorne isn’t there anymore. I scan the faces near my friends but his isn’t one of them.

I don’t see his familiar form in the crowd.

I know I’d see him if he was here. He's too tall and broad, his dark hair would give him away even if I missed him somehow but in all the shifters around me, Thorne isn’t to be found.

“What are we doing?” I ask Esme because now we’re down with the crowd.

“Formally introducing you to your pack,” Esme says. “Go on then and say hi.” She nudges me forward and the first pack member steps up to meet me. It’s a woman about Esme’s age with brilliant blue eyes and dark hair.

“Welcome home, Cordelia Fireheart,” she says and hugs me.

“Thank you.” I’m barely able to get out my thanks before the next shifter replaces her and hugs me, a girl of about twelve with a toothy smile.

Then it’s a male, one of the Defenders I remember from the meadow who hugs me warmly like we’re old friends.

Pack member after pack member hugs me and welcomes me home until I’m crying.

It’s like all the love I’ve been starved of has suddenly rushed in, a flood to feed the famine I’ve endured.

Everywhere I look there’s a smile and a welcome.

I’m in shambles by the time Clover and Piper are the one to hug me and welcome me home.

“Are you okay?” Clover whispers in my ear.

I nod. “Yeah, I-I just, I can’t hold it in. Sorry.”

“No need to apologize for happy tears,” Piper says and then gives me a critical look. “These are happy tears right, bestie?”

I laugh as I burst into another round of tears. “Yes, they’re very happy tears.”

The rest of the pack meeting goes on like that until I’ve hugged and met every last Bloodstone Pack member. I’m a wreck of joy. It’s like trying to drink from a firehose but I wouldn’t change a thing about tonight. I’d do it all again, except…where’s Thorne?

I look around the meeting hall. Everyone is mingling and helping put away the chairs. “Music out in the courtyard!” Esme shouts to the pack and a cheer goes up so loud it shakes the rafters.

“How cool! You’re going to love music under the stars. We’re going to have so much fun dancing tonight!” Clover loops her arm through mine and then grabs Piper. “What a perfect night, huh?”

“Almost as good as a GNO, but we’ll go on one of those soon,” Piper says. She stops and looks at me when she sees me half paying attention while Clover charges ahead with the both of us in tow. “What is it?” she asks.

“What? Nothing.”

“You’re looking for him, aren’t you?”

I blush hot. Rats. Of course, Piper knows who I’m looking for. “W-what? I mean, who are you talking about?” When in doubt, play dumb.

“Thorne,” Piper says.

Playing dumb never did get me anywhere smart.

“Ohhhh, him. Why didn't you just say Thorne?” I ask, making a hard turn into the land of semi-delusion. If I don’t tell her that she’s wrong she’ll let it drop, she’ll think she’s right and I’ve got nothing to hide.

Which…why do I have anything to hide? Thorne and I are both unmated, would it really be so odd that I was looking for him?

He’s been my shadow since I got to the pack after all.

What kind of shifter would I be if I didn’t wonder where he was now?

A really inconsiderate one, that’s what kind.

It’s perfectly normal to wonder where an alpha that you may or may not consider your friend to be and-

“She didn’t say so because we’re letting you play coy about your feelings for my cousin,” Clover tells me.

I stop my mental breakdown and stumble and almost break my neck down the flight of stairs we’re walking down.

“What?” I croak. Feelings? Holy hells. They know. “What do you mean?”

“Don’t you ‘what do you mean’ us, Cordy.”

“I don’t have feelings for,” I look around us, the pack is rushing like water towards the exit and we’re nowhere near being clear of them, “ Thorne ,” I say in a whisper.

“And my cabinet doesn’t conjure,” Clover laughs.

“It’s okay, we’ve all had a crush on tall, dark and broody at some point,” Piper tells me.

Clover makes a face. “You had a crush on my cousin?”

“Hey, it’s not like we have a giant dating pool and you’re only a hormonal fourteen-year old once, I’ve had a crush on everyone. ”

Clover hums. “Fair point….even if it grosses me out.”

Piper points at me. “How come she can have a crush but I can’t?”

“I think it’s because you’re new? I don’t understand the quick math of it,” Clover tells her with a shrug.

“Wait what? I mean, I don’t have feelings for him, we’re just…you know, friends,” I tell my friends. They both look my way and for one shining moment I think I’ve gotten through to them and they believe me, but that’s before they burst into laughter.

“Hey, what’s so funny?” I pull my arm from Clover’s and cross my arms. She doesn’t notice on account of her slapping her knee and doubling over with laughter. She takes a breath and looks at Piper who’s wiping tears from her eyes.

“They-she-I mean you’d think that,” the pair of them are talking over each other before they laugh again. We’re on the bottom floor now and I stomp off with the pack towards the doors leading to the courtyard and leave them behind.

“Cordy! Wait, wait, we’re sorry!” Piper rushes forward, she’s grinning at me but she holds her hands up to show she means no harm. “We’re sorry. We’ll zip it.”

“Really, we didn’t mean to laugh that hard,” Clover adds, coming up on the other side of me. “It’s just so funny.”

“What do you mean it's so funny? What’s funny about Thorne and me?”

“Because not even a blind bear couldn’t miss the way you two gravitate towards each other,” Clover tells me. “I’ve known Thorne all my life and he’s never once treated a female like you.”

“He has orders from Ronan to watch me, I’m sure of it.” It’s true. I know he has to watch me.

“He dotes on you. Brings you food, walks you to work, makes sure the riff-raff stays away.”

My ears get hot. She’s right, he does do all of those things. “He’s thorough at his job? He thought I was a witch and then a fairy, plus there’s the whole spy thing I think he’s still worried about. He’s sticking close for that reason, so if you think about it, I’m really his prisoner.”

“That’s kind of hot,” Piper chimes in.

“Piper, not now,” Clover gives her a swat and looks at me. “He’s not worried about any spy stuff or whatever. I know him. He likes you.”

“But-”

“Your first night in the Keep…you remember that?” she asks.

“Yeah.”

“He was so worried about you he fixed your food himself.”

I remember that plate of food. It was delicious. Overflowing stew packed with so much meat there was hardly any broth and bread oozing butter. I’d needed the hearty meal after the day I’d had. It’d been a godsend.

“That doesn’t mean that he likes me though.

He knew I was hungry. Had a long run into the Keep.

” I say softly. We join the pack in the courtyard.

I can see that a band has already started setting up at the center of it.

A group of shifters is being ordered around by Esme to string up lanterns.

I look around and still…there’s no Thorne.

“That may be but he slept outside of your door.”