Once Rejected, Twice Desired (Book 1 of Blue Moon Series)
Once Rejected, Twice Desired Chapter 8

Alaia POV

I'd been rejected. My mate rejected me. I pulled my blanket back over my head and willed the world to just swallow me whole. So far, being an adult sucked. I rolled over and buried my head in the pillow. Amethyst stirred, and I immediately tensed up. What is it? I asked her, almost too afraid to hear the answer.

Mate.

We don't have a mate, remember? He rejected us! I spat.

She let off a small whimper, which immediately led me to apologize. I'm so sorry, Amethyst. None of this is your fault, and I shouldn't be taking it out on you. We'll get through this together, right? Maybe if I say it enough, my heart would finally start to believe it. He was here, Doll.

Alexi was here? Why would he come to my room after he ripped my heart out and stomped on it? I took a deep breath before I caught a scent.

Someone was here, I think, but it wasn't Alexi's sandalwood and fresh-cut grass scent. No, this one was even better. It was the smell of fresh-baked bread as you walked into your favorite bakery. This smell made my mouth water in more ways than one, and I couldn't help but wonder what was going on.

I nuzzled farther into the pillow and inhaled deep. Goddess, this smelled so good, but where did it come from? Confusion clouded my mind as I heard Amethyst say again:

It's our mate, he was here, and he wants us.

With that thought fresh in my mind, I dragged myself out of bed and into the shower. I turned the jets on full and let the hot water rain down on my body. My muscles relaxed as I tried to unravel the events of last night.

I pulled out my favorite caramel apple body scrub and rubbed it all over my body, repeating over and over in my head: Alexi came to my room last night? Why does he smell different?

Still not getting anywhere simply talking to myself, I rinsed off and stepped out of the shower.

I just needed to talk to Alexi myself to get to the bottom of this. I quickly dressed in a pair of blue jean shorts, a yellow tank top, and my trusty Chuck Taylors. I pulled my hair into a messy bun before leaving my room and heading to the kitchen.

As I rounded the corner, I spotted Mrs. Wilson, who offered me a bright smile and a huge hug. "Good morning, my sweet girl. I've got your favorite strawberries and cream pancakes waiting for you."

I moaned out loud. "Mrs. Wilson, you truly are amazing."

She smiled again before sitting the plate before me. I took an appreciative look at the masterpiece in front of me before diving in. They tasted ten times better than they looked!

As I was polishing off my breakfast, Jordyn came in and immediately gasped.

I turned to see what the matter was and had to catch myself from falling backward off the stool.

She'd wrapped me in the tightest bear hug ever. "Oh my Goodness, Alaia, I'm so sorry this happened. Tell me who the fucker is, and I'll make him wish he never even thought about rejecting you." Realization dawned on me.

"Of course, Aaron told you. Why wouldn't he? He's your mate, after all."

Jordyn seemed slightly hurt by my comment.

"I'm sorry, babe. I just saw him after he left your room last night and he looked so hurt and broken. He told me what happened, and we had to literally keep each other from tearing the bastard apart." That made me chuckle. "I would have loved to see that. I don't think anyone is more protective over me than the two of you."

Jordyn seemed to relax a bit before she dropped her voice to an almost whisper and asked, "Do you want to talk about it?"

Did I want to talk about it? "No, not quite yet. I'm just so confused at this point, and I don't even know where to start. Once I've made heads or tails of it all, you'll be the first to know."

"Okay," she reluctantly replied, "but at least tell me who he is so I can make him pay."

That got another laugh out of me. "Nope. I'm not quite sure if I want that to happen yet."

Jordyn looked at me with a confused look on her face before she sighed. "Fine, I guess."

We sat and talked for a while with her filling me in on what happened at the party that I unfortunately missed. It sounded like it was a massive success with all the visiting alphas and their guests enjoying the hospitality of the pack. Before long, Aaron came in and rushed toward me.

Jordyn stood to intercept him and said, "Don't worry, she's fine. Or, at least, she seems to be. She'll tell us what's up when she's ready. I still don't know who we're going to kill though, so stay on the ready." She then kissed him on the cheek before he walked up to me and pulled me into a hug.

I relaxed into his arms as I heard him ask, "You good, sis?"

I smiled and nodded my head. "I will be soon enough."

Aaron accepted my answer and sat beside Jordyn and me at the counter. Mrs. Wilson proceeded to serve them both full stacks of her famous pancakes, and I smiled as I watch them begin to devour them. "So, what's on the agenda today, guys?" I asked.

Aaron washed down his mouth full of pancakes with his orange juice before he replied.

"Dad has his meetings with the Alpha's today. Since I've found my mate already, he feels like I may be able to take over as alpha soon, so Alexi and I will be sitting in with them for most of the day."

At the mention of Alexi's name, my body stiffened, and I felt a chill move all over me.

Jordyn noticed and leaned over. "You alright, sweetie?"

I just nodded my head in reply. I needed to talk to Alexi, and soon. I didn't understand what was going on, but I was determined to replace out before the day was out. "Well, I'm off, guys. I've got something I need to do real quick. I'll see you two later." I left the kitchen and started my search for my mate.

***

I headed out to the training grounds and saw our lead warrior and trainer, Jason, sparring with some of the warriors from the visiting packs.

"Hey, Jay. Have you seen Alexi this morning?" I asked him while he quickly and smoothly put the other guy into a headlock.

He released him before shaking his head and replying, "Uh, no. I haven't seen Alexi. When you replace him, tell him that drinking too much at your party is no excuse for missing training today. He'll be on two-a-day for the rest of the month." "Yikes. Well, that sucks now, doesn't it?" I said as I started to walk off. "I'll talk to you later, Jay!" I yelled as jogged back toward the packhouse.

When I got back inside, I looked everywhere but still couldn't replace Alexi. I started to mindlink Aaron to ask where Alexi was before I realized they both had to sit in on the alpha meetings today. I headed over to the conference room, hoping to catch Alexi before everything got started. When I reached the room, I saw that the doors were still slightly ajar, so I knew the meeting hadn't started yet.

I poked my head in, and I was again hit with the smell of fresh-baked bread. He was here.

Amethyst paced in my head, purring, telling me to go to our mate.

I took a step in and saw my dad, Alexi, and a few other alphas and betas sitting at the round table in the middle of the room. I started to head over when out of the corner of my eye, I saw a figure move toward me. Time stopped as I took him all in.

At 6'6, he was easily the tallest man in the room. His bronze skin was flawlessly pulled across his taught muscles. I glanced down at his chest and saw the thin T-shirt straining to cover his eight-pack. I forced my eyes to move back up to his face, and that's when I saw it. A face that could only be described as carved by the Gods. His thick, curly black hair was perfectly tousled and looked like silk. I wanted nothing more than to run my fingers through those curls. He had thick, dark eyelashes that drew my attention to eyes so blue; they were almost clear. His straight nose ended at a perfect point, and his lips were full and lush. I immediately imagined those lips roaming all over my body and latching on to my n*****s.

Before I could control myself, I started to feel the moisture pool between my legs, and I noticed those once crystal blue eyes go dark. He could smell my arousal.

I immediately blushed then I heard a loud growl from the table. I pulled myself out of my trance and thought, "What the hell was that?"

I glanced over at Alexi and saw him fuming.

s**t, I'd just totally eye f****d this stranger in front of my mate.

Great.

***

Unknown POV

When she walked into Alpha Jonathan's office, to say I was surprised would be an understatement. Her warm caramel scent hit me like a ton of bricks, and Alastair howled in absolute happiness. I watched as she scanned the room with those golden-honey eyes of hers before landing them on the Opal Moon pack's future beta.

Why is she looking at him? Alastair whined.

Not knowing the answer to his question, I stood up and walked toward her.

When her eyes locked on mine, that was it for me. At that moment, my heart became hers, and I knew I would do any and everything for this goddess. I stood there as I saw her eyes roam all over my body, taking me all in. Needless to say, I was doing the same. She was so tiny and perfect, barely 5'2. She had the most beautiful dark hair, and it was pulled up, exposing her sexy neck. I couldn't wait for that neck to bear my mark. And the way her thick thighs glistened in the sunlight made my d**k twitch in my jeans. All I could think about was having those thighs wrapped around my waist as I buried myself deep inside her, f*****g her until she saw stars. I wanted her to have my pups-all of them.

I caught the scent of her arousal, and Alastair fought to take control. My eyes went black as I had an internal battle with myself.

Not yet, you beast. Let me at least talk to our mate before you try to mark her.

I heard a low growl and realized it wasn't coming from me. I saw my mate look down before the future beta barked out, "Why are you here, Alaia?" with an ugly sneer.

I balled my hands into fists and took a few steps forward. Who was this kid to talk to my mate that way?

Kill him! Alastair shouted in my head.

As I saw him stand up and place a hand on her arm, I lost all control and let loose a terrifying growl. MINE! Alastair yelled as he forced his way to the surface.

Just then, the future alpha, Aaron, came into view. "Well, this just got interesting," he said with a smile.