Rejected
Chapter 17

I stand in front of the door to the room where the alpha was placed after being treated, but I have suddenly lost the nerve to push forward. I am about to turn and leave when Doctor Morrow swings open the door, startling me and nearly knocking me over.

“I am so sorry Miss Delante! I didn’t know anyone was there!” I glance up at him with a soft smile, but do not miss the weight of the honey brown eyes that are staring at me from within the room.

“It’s my fault. I was lost in thought and wasn’t paying attention.” He smiles warmly and glances over his shoulder.

“He is doing well and should be back to his old self in only a day or so.” I give a stiff nod as I step past him into the room. I let the door swing closed, remaining a healthy distance from him as I try to formulate the words to tell him what Barsali told me, but he has other plans.

“How did you do that?” My eyes meet his and I slowly step closer.

“To be completely honest, I don’t know. I saw them on you and…I don’t know…It just kind of happened.” He tries to sit up, but groans in pain when it pulls on the injury on his shoulder. Once again, my body does the opposite of what my head is telling it to as I rush over to help him. With a hand on his chest and one on the center of his back, I help steady him then slide his pillow into position. I feel the way his body tensed the second my hands made contact, but I try to brush it off and act like I hadn’t noticed.

“You commanded them like an alpha.” His voice makes it clear that he is still struggling to come to terms with what he saw, but hell…so am I.

“I spoke to them…well, one of them. His name is Barsali. He told me they were following orders. They are trying to save their families. If they do not do as they are ordered, she will kill their loved ones. One of them, Manfri, already lost his mate after their last mission failed. They are only doing what every one of us would in the name of saving their families.” His head drops back on the bed and he lets out a ragged sigh.

“Who is doing this to them and what were their orders?” I run a hand through my hair as I realize that I should have got more information before coming to him.

“She is a sorceress named Avalon. I was trying to replace out what the orders were, but Kazia seems pretty intent on not divulging more than necessary out of fear for their families. We have to help them.” He gives me a stern glare and sits forward, wincing in pain, but not allowing it to deter him.

“Help them? They injured several of our people and were going to do goddess only knows what to the children! Why the hell would I help them?!” What started out as a soft tone quickly became a shout. I clench my fists, unable to believe that the men around here are so narrow minded.

“So, you are telling me that if someone had your mate…your child…your mother or father…you would not do what you had to in order to save them? She has already proven to them that she will follow through with her threats, so what other choice do they have?!” He growls and I can see the swirling of honey in his eyes as his wolf draws closer to the edge.

“Would you still feel this way if they had killed Rose instead of only injuring her?” His argument make literally NO sense to me and only adds fuel to the fire in my soul.

“But they DIDN’T kill ANYONE! We killed two of THEIR people. They incapacitated ours. There is a fucking difference!” The low growl is meant to serve as warning to how close I am to pushing him too far, but his alpha command is having no effect on me.

“We did what WE had to in order to protect our people, just as you claim they are doing.” I step closer to him, rage fueling my every thought and action.

“Yet they did not come here for revenge. They came to finish what they others had failed at…a failure which cost a man his mate.” He swings his legs off the side of the bed and stands on his unsteady feet.

“In case you forgot, you have blood on your hands as well. Is that why you are doing this? Are you trying to atone for your sins by helping the others? Would they even want your help if they knew that you played a hand in the failure that cost his mate her life?” My blood runs cold and my heart shatters into a million tiny pieces.

“I have not forgotten. I will not forget for as long as I live, which thankfully will not be long. I am going to help them, with or without you. I will tell them of my role and pray they will still want my help.” I turn to leave, but freeze a few feet away from him. My next words were intended to be a thought, but came out of my mouth in a bitter, venom filled breath. “How the fuck did the goddess ever think we could be mates?” I exit his room before he can react and hurry back to the pack house to lay my sins bare.