Rejection Accepted

Chapter 9

I woke up at 4:30. Stretching slowly, I decide to go to the gym and workout for a bit. Pulling on a sports bra and shorts along with a pair of neon blue shoes, I pull my hair into a pony tail braid and walk out of my room. My body was still a little stiff from lying in the bed for two weeks, but it did feel good to be up and moving.

Several of my top fighters were already in the gym. They were surprised to see me, but it only lasted for a few brief seconds. You can’t keep a strong wolf down for long. Smiling at them, I start my warm up. After an hour of working with various machines, I glance towards the mat and smile. Glancing over the wolves around me, my eyes land on Rivers. He was a good fighter and he didn’t look that busy at the moment. Whistling to catch his attention, I almost laughed when the gym fell silent as a tomb.

“Rivers, care to dance?” I ask nodding my head towards the mat. It wasn’t often that I went one on one with the men, but when I did it was something to see. Rivers just smiles and makes his way to the mat. I would tell by the way he walked that he thought he could take me. And right now he probably could. Slipping under the middle rope, I loosen the muscles in my arms and smile at him. “I’ll go easy on ya Captain.” I growl at him, and step closer. “If this was a real fight, my enemy wouldn’t take it easy. If I see that you’re taking it easy on me, I’ll be in charge of your training for three months. Understand?” He gulps but nods his head. “Good, now let’s start.”

We raise our fists and softly bump them together before stepping backwards. He starts to circle me and I do the same to him, looking for any weaknesses. From the corner of my eye, I could see the others slowly making their way to watch. Patiently, I wait for him to make the first move. Rivers throws a punch and I block it landing a solid hit in his stomach. The fight was on.

Thirty minutes passed, and we were throwing or blocking punches so fast you couldn’t see our arms. Tami, where are you? Dean wants to leave by eight.

 

I’m in the gym having a little sparing session with Rivers.

 

Well, hurry up. You still need to pack and I imagine that by now, you might want to take a shower. I laugh at him and close the link. But I knew that he was right. Sighing softly, I feign an injury and I watch as Rivers hesitates before letting his guard down for a split second. Lunging at him, I flip him over me and pin him on the mat. As the others start cheering for me, I help him up. Patting him on the back, I look Rivers in the eye. “Never hesitate Rivers, you understand. Your enemy will use every trick in the book, and things never are what they appear.”

“Yes ma’am.” He rubs the back of his neck and then smiles. “Thanks for the dance.” Throwing my head back, I laugh as I climb out of the ring. Before I reach the door, I turn to face him. “Rivers!”

“Yeah?”

“The Alpha, Gamma Cooper and I are leaving for Montana today. A couple of alphas are having a bit of a tiff. I’d like you to come as my backup, if you’d like. We’re leaving at 8.” Throwing me a grin, he jumps out of ring and runs out of the gym. Shaking my head, I hurry up to my room. Packing enough clothes for two weeks, I take a quick shower. Slipping into clothes that were a little between casual and business attire, I grab my suitcase and hurry down the stairs.

I reach the car just as Rivers walks out of the house. Dean looks at them and then at me. “Is he coming?” Putting my bag in the trunk, I answer. “He is Sire. I asked him to come as my backup just in case.” Before I knew it, I found myself seated in a plane cruising 36,000 feet above the ground. “Gamma Cooper, what’s the reason behind their little fight?” He opens his mouth to get on to me for using his title, but stops when I motion to the warriors and guards around us. Dell nods once as it dawned on him.

“Well Captain, as far as the council understood it, Alpha Jubal accused Alpha Greg of killing you and Alpha Greg accused Alpha Jubal of kidnapping you. As you know, the Council won’t give out the names of those serving in the King’s service for their protection.” I slowly rub my hand across my face. “And whose pack are we stopping at first?”

“The Lost River, Alpha Greg’s pack, if I remember correctly, and then we’re off to the Lotus Rock.” I let out a low groan, but he still heard. Leaning towards me and dropping his voice to where I could only hear, Dell spoke. “You’re not the same person Jubal once knew Tamar. You’ve changed; you’re stronger. You are the Captain of the King’s  warriors, his best fighter, and you saved his life. On top of that, you’re one of his best friends. Neither Dean nor myself will let anything happen to you.”

“What would I do without either of you?” I ask causing him to laugh. Looking out of my window, I spent the rest of the flight worrying about how Greg would react when he saw me. I knew that he would be hurt that I left without saying goodbye. When we touched down in Helena, it was dark. The guards took turns driving, so we made good time.

As we came to a stop in front of their pack house, I noticed that nothing had changed. I let the others get out before me. Taking my place beside Dell, my eyes glance towards the sky. A smile hits my lips when I notice four of our watchers circling high above us. Slowly my eyes turn to the house and landed on Greg talking with Dean. “Before you show us to our rooms, I’d like to introduce a couple of people I brought with me.” I heard Dean say as they walked towards us.

“This is my Gamma, Cordell Cooper.” They shook hands slowly. “My Beta stayed behind to keep an eye on things for me. And this,” He says walking up to me and laying a hand on my shoulder, “This is Captain Tamar Hale. She’s the head of my warriors.” Greg shakes my hand and I felt Dean’s hand tighten on my shoulder. Mentally sighing, I offer a small smile to Greg. “It’s a pleasure to see you again Alpha Greg.”

“You too Captain. I’m glad to see that you’re doing fine.” Greg turns to lead us into the house and I look at Rivers. “I want you to post five warriors and five guards outside the house at all times. And put two outside of the King’s room.” Rivers nod and I catch up with them just as they reached the front door. I was given my old room, Dean was across the hall from me and Dell had the room beside mine.

Once we were unpacked, Greg announced that there would be a bonfire in the King’s honor. I was currently standing in front of my window watching as my alpha made his way slowly through Greg’s pack, talking to the members. Dell was in his room. Right as we were heading down the stairs to join them, his mate called. I heard the sound of glass breaking and I rushed out of my room.

As I knocked on Dell’s door, I noticed a sweet, alluring smell coming from his room. Lilly howled and started pacing in my mind. Mate. Our mate’s here. She tells me softly. When Dell doesn’t answer, I slowly open the door. The scent hits me in the face, stronger and fresher. Then I notice his phone lying on the floor broken. Beside it lay pieces of glass from a picture frame. And then my eyes landed on a picture of his mate. It was torn to little pieces. Raising my eyes, I see Dell looking out the window. His shoulders were shaking but he wasn’t making a sound. It broke my heart to see him this way. Our mate’s hurt Tamar. Go to him. Go to our mate.

Slowly, my feet move towards him on their own. I wrapped my arms around him and I felt shocks shooting up and down them. For several long minutes, we stayed there not moving. Finally, he starts to turn and I immediately drop my arms and step back. I was confused and shocked. Then it dawned on me. Lilly was calling Dell our mate and the presence of the sparks I felt when we touched could only mean two things: his mate rejected him and he was my second mate.

Dell placed a finger under my chin and slowly lifted my face up towards his. The second our eyes met, I felt myself getting lost in their depths. “Mine.” He whispers softly, his eyes sparkling with happiness and love. “My mate.” Dell steps closer to me and I smile at him. Someone coughs behind me and I spin around my eyes widen in shock. Leaning against the door frame with his arms crossed staring at us, stood Dean. “What in the world is going on?”