Chapter 3

Leila POV

“Kim?” I sniff into the phone as I try to drag myself up off the ground and brush the dirt from the knees of my jeans. “Can you come and pick me up at Taaffe’s?” I try to keep my voice steady, but it cracks, and there is no way that she can miss that I’ve been crying.

“Oh honey, you already heard. I was just about to call you. I’m leaving the house now,” she says sympathetically, and I can hear her jingling keys in her hand as she walks through the unusually quiet packhouse. “Poor Rex, it’s just so awful,” she sighs sadly down the line, and I freeze at her words.

“Rex? Is he ok?” I ask, fear gripping me. My own worries are now forgotten as I try to work out what could have happened to Rex without somebody mind-linking me.

“I mean, he’s as ok as anyone who gets rejected by their mate could be. He’s gone for a run with Cooper and Nathan, and everyone has cleared out of the packhouse to give them some space,” Kim continues as I gasp, and I put a hand up to cover my mouth.

Oh, dear god no.

A sob escapes me as I try to imagine the pain he feels. He met his mate weeks ago and has been building a connection with her ever since then. I’ve never seen him so happy. I am in bits, crying in a car park, and my mate has only shot down my advances tonight. A formal rejection, severing the mate bond, is devastating. Many wolves go mad from the pain and the loss. What happened?

Wait until I get my hands on that bitch.

“Where is she?” I ask Kim through gritted teeth. I can tell she is on her way now, the low thrum of the engine in the background.

“Oh no. No, no, no,” I almost see her shaking her sleek pale blonde bob as she drives. Kim is always the sensible one, always the one keeping me out of trouble, or trying anyway. “You sit tight, and I’ll tell you everything I know when I get there.” Her bossy work voice is being used to full effect but the fierce protectiveness I feel for my brother overpowers anything else.

“Kim, you tell me right now, or so help me I’ll…,” she cuts me over before I threaten her, because those were the next words out of my mouth.

“I don’t know Leila. Honestly, all I know is she’s gone. Her parents too. They must have been all packed up and ready to go when she did it because she just disappeared. She’s probably already on a flight home. And good riddance,” Kim adds. I know it’s better that Rex doesn’t have to see her again now, but I’m mad as hell that I didn’t get to give Stacey a piece of my mind before sending her packing.

Leila: Oh Cooper

Cooper: I know Leila, I know

Leila: How is he?

Cooper: I just… I’ve never seen him like this. I’ve never seen anyone like this. He’s just lost

Leila: Oh god, what are we going to do?

Cooper: Tonight, we’re just going to keep him safe. Nathan and I are going to try and run him into the ground so that he might sleep. And we’ll worry about tomorrow in the morning

Leila: Mind him, please Cooper! I’m on my way back to the packhouse. I’ll see you there.

Cooper: He’ll be ok Leila

Leila: I know, he has to be

Kim’s tiny little hatchback tears into the car park of Taaffe’s far too fast and she’s out of the car in a flash, pulling me into a big hug. She takes in my tear-stained face but puts it down to my brother’s misfortune rather than my own. I cling to her, feeling helpless that I can’t do anything for my brother when he needs me the most. And selfishly, I despair at the thought that it could happen to me too.

Wolves mate for life, and their fated mates are precious to them. They treasure them, and to be rejected by your mate is the most horrific thing a wolf can be subjected to. It’s rare, I’ve never known anyone it has happened to. It’s not right that it’s happened to Rex of all people. He’s got a tough exterior, but he has a heart of gold and he’d do anything for anyone. He doesn’t deserve this.

“Why Kim? Did she say why?” I ask as we finally let go of each other and climb into her car to head back to the packhouse, dread washing over me at what I’ll find when I finally get to see Rex. Kim shrugs her shoulders, obviously just as confused by the whole thing.

“I didn’t see it, but apparently, she laid it on him right there in the hall of the lodge, no privacy, no warning. Jack said he heard her say something about her needing to be with someone with ambition, but she wouldn’t reject him just because he is passing up being alpha, would she?” She glances at me looking horrified at the thought that someone could be that callous, but a tingle in my spine lets me know that she is on to something.

“I heard her asking him something about where they would live if they weren’t going to have the Alpha’s quarters. She didn’t look happy when he was talking about building a cabin back up in the hills a bit…” I ponder out loud, remembering the little pinch in her forehead when he had been telling her all about the plans he already has drawn up for a place in the forest. Now that I think about it, she complained about having to serve herself at the buffet at breakfast too.

“That gold-digging cow,” I mutter, thumping the dashboard. Red hot rage surges through me at the thought of her casting my amazing brother aside just because she wants to be queen bee and rule over the packhouse, getting waited on hand and foot. Her pack is clearly different from ours because everyone works here, my mother as Luna probably harder than anyone.

“I know honey,” Kim soothes softly. I know that if that’s the kind of person she is, it’s better that she’s shown her true colors now and gone on her way. But at the same time, you would never wish a rejection on your worst enemy, let alone family, and I know the weeks and months ahead are going to be tough for everyone. It’s like a loss in the family. My mother will be devastated at the loss of the magical future she had hoped was beginning for her first-born son.

At that moment, I make a decision. Nobody can know about Marcus. Not yet at least. As a family, we have bigger problems than what is hopefully a temporary glitch with my own mating. I can’t dump my issues on them while they’re trying to focus on Rex. He is going to need us all. I’ll just have to suck it up and deal with it myself.

Two hours later, three very tired-looking wolves appear in the tree line at the front of the packhouse. I get up from the steps where I’ve been sitting waiting for them since I got home and drop three piles of clothes onto the ground for them to put on, before turning away. Seeing all three of my brother’s junk might turn what is already a horrendous evening into a truly traumatic one.

“Leila,” I hear Rex whisper behind me. I turn and step up to him, grabbing both of his hands in mine as I search his eyes, looking for the strong, brave man I know is in there somewhere. Rex’s eyes are red and bloodshot, his face pale and drawn, and his arms are covered in gashes and scrapes as though he was just running blindly through the trees and branches.

“Oh Rex,” I grab him and pull him to me, and he leans down and buries his head in my shoulder.

“What did I do wrong?” He asks, broken and pleading with me to give him some kind of explanation, but I can’t. I look over his shoulder to Nathan, who’s shaking his head at me, warning me not to say what I want to say. He looks like he’s going to be sporting a black eye for a few hours, and I can see blood seeping through Cooper’s t-shirt in lines. He’s clearly been on the receiving end of some sharp claws.

“You didn’t do anything wrong. It’s going to be ok Rex,” I murmur softly, as I rock with him. I can sense how volatile he is, he looks so sad, but I can feel the tension in his body, like the slightest thing could set him off. I’d love to tell him he’s better off without a money grabber like her, but he’s upset and irrational. His wolf will be devastated and still pining for her. It’s not the time for those types of conversations yet.

“Come on, I’ve made some food. Get something to eat and go to bed, ok?” I grip his face in my two hands and he nods weakly, trudging past me towards the kitchen. I look at Cooper and Nathan, and if it’s possible, they look even more upset than he does. They’re struggling to see their big strong invincible brother brought to his knees like this.

“Guys, he’ll get through it ok. It’s just going to take time,” I put as much confidence as I can into my voice as I usher them towards the mountains of food I prepared. I know I’m doing the right thing. My family needs me to be strong right now, I’m not going to give them anything else to worry about.