Two Rejects

Chapter 20 - Absolutely Insulting

He doesn't say anything, not until I feel his aura calm down. The deep breaths he was taking helping him immensely. I pull away to look him in his eyes—back to the dark green I'm falling for. He won't look me in the face which I find odd of him. I give him a gentle smile, cupping his face and running my thumb on his cheek. He relaxes further, grabbing my hand to give it a small kiss in my palm.

"You're okay." I tell him softly.

His eyes meet mine, something different behind them flickering. I want to say fear, but Matthew isn't one to be afraid. He's also so good at hiding it because just as soon as I think it's there, it's gone.

"We were just about to call for you." Sage interjects.

I look just around Matthew, Sage is standing against one of the bookshelves. Her body tense and expression hard. Then my eyes fall on the man in the middle of the room, who oddly enough looks like the male version of Sage. Very muscularly built, a kind smile, but hard eyes. His arms crossed and notice an ear piercing on his right ear.

I smile at the man, who seems very intrigued by both myself and Matthew. "Sorry," I take a step forward towards him, making sure to keep Matthew's hand in mine. "We've never met."

"The pleasure is all mine, Mia." He returns with a gentle smile. Not only does he look like Sage, but he has a massive scar just down his cheek. It's much more noticeable when he grins. His eyes flick to Matthew who's standing just behind me, "I've heard a lot about you from this one."

"This is River," Sage says. "My brother."

"Oh wow," I perk up. "It's so nice to meet you. I've heard a lot about you from Sage."

Sage mentioned that Matthew gave her the title of Beta over her brother. I don't talk to her often about it because she doesn't bring it up, but apparently, Matthew and Sage's brother are close friends. It just happens that Sage is more suited for the role of Beta. Even River himself didn't want the title, he just felt obligated to hold it because of their father. No one complained though when Sage took it. And River is perfectly happy as the lead warrior of the pack.

I feel Matthew's hand on the small of my back, his body feeling tense. "River is the head of the warrior program here, if you recall. He's my strategist and...what would you call it River?"

"I'd say commandant," River shrugs with a grin. His focus entirely on me, "I was never built for the bureaucracy side of things, but I'm especially excited about fighting."

I'm sure that River would fit well in Sparta. Physically, he looks like a Spartan. He also has that bloodlust in his gaze when he talks about fighting that I grew up with. But he seems quite nice. I've learned that the nicest people tend to be the most ruthless.

"He's definitely a shark," Sage rolls her eyes. "Can smell blood from miles away."

"Well, it's still nice to finally meet you," I raise my eyebrow at Sage. "Your parents must love nature to name their two children River and Sage."

River let's out a small laugh, "They were quite the hippies for sure."

A silence falls into the room, the tension in the air building up as soon as I realize that the three of them are all staring at me. There's a sudden shift in the air—the mood turning to quickly I feel like I've gotten whiplash. I feel like I'm suddenly under a microscope. I turn to Matthew, his eyes staring at me intently, like he's trying to memorize my face.

"What is it?" I ask no one in particular. My nervousness starting to build up, "Did I do something wrong?"

"You didn't do anything." Sage quickly intervenes. Her focus turns to Matthew, and I watch as she mind links Matthew with me in the room.