Once Upon A Rejection
Part 2 Chapter 10

Talen Bancroft’s POV

When my father said he wanted to come with me to meet my mate I didn’t realise that he planned to bring a literal army with us. He brought close to a hundred lycans with him in total, every one of them was an excellent fighter. I trained most of them myself.

It made me feel happy that Molly would be surrounded by so many powerful lycans. Nobody was going to mess with her when she was so well protected. She was going to be the best protected woman in the whole country.

“So son, tell me more about this mate of yours” my father said.

I agreed to let my father ride with me on my way home but unfortunately that meant we had hours alone to talk. I didn’t really have a valid excuse to get out of it so I was stuck. My father and I didn’t really talk much unless it related to security or training so I was ready for this drive to be quiet and painfully awkward.

“What would you like to know?” I asked.

“What is she like? I imagine she is quite feisty so she can cope with you,” he said.

“She is, she didn’t even accept me straight away. She waited to know more about me before she let me in,” I replied.

“I like her already. Is she a good fighter?” He asked.

Of course that would be one of his first questions. His obsession with security was coming through strongly. He started my training when I was barely able to stand by myself. He always acted as though there was someone after us, I guess for once he was right.

“Her stepfather stopped her training after her mom got killed by Amelia. I think that he was trying to keep her safe by keeping her profile low but instead he just made her more vulnerable. That is an error I am trying to fix now, I have been training her. She is really strong,” I replied.

I glanced away from the road for just long enough to gauge his reaction. His concern was clear, his jaw tensed in the way that it does whenever he was worrying about something. I could even hear the soft sound of him grinding his back teeth together over the sound of the engine.

My father was silent for a few minutes as he thought about what I had just told him. It was an uncomfortable silence as I waited for his reaction but once he started I wished for that silence to return. My father spent the rest of the journey telling me what I needed to do to train Molly.

He spoke to me as though I was a pup. I had been in charge on multiple missions of my own and yet he spoke to me as though I had just finished my basic training. It was insulting but I was trapped in a car with him and there was nothing I could do other than put up with his rant. I learnt a long time ago that interrupting him only made him worse.

When we finally arrived back home it was time for dinner. The scent of roasted meat and vegetables hit us as soon as we walked through the door. The delicious smells made my mouth water but the food wasn’t the best smell in the house.

I could smell Molly’s scent and it was amazing. I felt every muscle in my body relax at the knowledge she was near and she was safe.

“Looks as though we arrived just in time,” My father said.

“Mhmm,” I replied but my feet were already moving of their own accord.

I followed Molly’s scent all the way into the dining room. She was sitting next to Grayson, the seat on the other side of her was empty. I kept walking towards her but she had her back to me and she was deep in conversation so she didn’t notice my presence as I approached.

Grayson noticed me approaching, the corners of his lips turned upwards slightly as I got closer. He turned towards Molly whose mouth was currently filled with food.

“Are you looking forward to Talen coming home?” he asked.

“Why are you asking me that? Of course I am,” she relied.

I leaned forward and pressed my lips against her cheek before sitting down in the seat beside her. She turned to face me, her smile was so bright that I couldn’t stop myself from echoing it. I looked into her eyes for a few moments longer before getting to my feet again.

“I would like to introduce you to someone,” I said, helping her to her feet.

I introduced her to my father and a few of the people who my father brought with him. It only took a few minutes before everything settled back down and Molly and I took our places at the table.

Now that we were seated everything else started to return to normal. Conversations started up again around the room while the omegas were running around to bring extra chairs and plates for the rest of the lycans.

Grayson started to fill me in on what happened over the last couple of days as I filled my plate. I was concerned, all this business with Finn and the lycans in his pack seemed serious but maybe I could help to work out what was really going on.

“Maybe tomorrow we can go over what you discovered. I am sure that between us we can work out what is really going on here,” I suggested.

“Sounds great,” Grayson replied.

“No, you can’t do it tomorrow. Molly and I have an exam in the afternoon,” June said.

“I still don’t think you should be leaving the pack right now,” Ezra objected.

“You are being overprotective. I know you worry but everything will be fine,” June said, she had her arms around him trying to reassure him.

“I know your education means a lot to you but your life is more important. I can’t let you go, it is far too dangerous,” Ezra said.

“Ezra, she is right. You are being overprotective, you need to calm down,” Molly said. She was looking her brother straight in the eye, letting him know how serious he was.

“I’m sorry Molly but I agree with Ezra,” I said.

“What?” Molly looked at me as though I had just insulted her.

‘Looks like you are in the dog house,’ Jax, my lycan said.

“I just don’t think it is a good idea to leave the pack right now. I don’t know what is going on with the lycans and I don’t want to put you in danger,” I said.

I was trying to sound strong and authoritative but looking into his eyes I felt weak. I was desperate to make her happy, but I wasn’t willing to put her in danger. Even my lycan felt conflicted.

“Are you trying to tell me that I wouldn’t be safe under your protection,” Molly said.

I could tell from the tone of her voice that she was manipulating me but I couldn’t resist falling into her trap. She had me exactly where she wanted me.

“You are safe with me,” I said.

“I know I am, which is why you and Grayson will come with me and June tomorrow,” She replied.

“I didn’t agree to this,” I objected.

“No but you will go with me anyway and you will keep me safe,” she replied.

‘She’s right,’ Jax said.

No chance. I wasn’t going to let her go anywhere. I was keeping her safe even if I had to tie her to the bed to keep her home.

‘Kinky,’ Jax said.

“We can’t, it’s not safe. Grayson, back me up,”I felt like I was losing this battle.

“I think that the lycans are currently under the impression that they have laid a successful trap for us. As long as we let them continue to think that, the threat is relatively low,” Grayson said, shrugging his shoulders.

How could he be so laid back at a time like this? I guess it must be something to do with his pack’s remote location and peaceful history but I still don’t fully understand it. These lycans are dangerous.

‘Can you really say that your concerns have nothing to do with your fathers paranoia?’ Jax asked.

I wanted to deny it with every part of my being but it would be a lie. My father had taught me to fear everything and I wasn’t going to let that fear control me any longer. It may look to everyone else that I am being weak by giving in to Molly’s wishes but that wasn’t the case. This is the bravest thing I have ever done.

“Fine but if anything happens that is even remotely dangerous then we come straight back here,” I said.

“Thank-you,” Molly said.

She practically threw herself at me. She wrapped her arms around my neck and jumped onto my lap. She looked at me for a moment, smiling but then the smile dropped from her face slowly.

Her eyes started to flicker rapidly between hers, her lycan’s and her werewolf’s. She was nibbling on her lower l*p as she looked into my eyes. I was completely mesmerised by her. She was so beautiful and sexy, I wanted her so badly. I didn’t want to wait, I wanted to take her right here. That was when the scent of her heat hit me.