Rejected

• TWENTY •

"Are you serious?" I asked hopefully, not caring about the asshole behind us. "You want us to be serious...like in an actual relationship?"

They honked again.

She smiled and nodded, "I like the way I feel when I'm with you...and as much as I like the idea about you and I being together, I wanted to be careful around Harper."

I understood completely. "It's because she doesn't like me...I get it, and I'll work things out with her."

The car honked on as it finally went around us.

She shook her head, "that's not the whole reason." She sighed...can we pull over really quick?"

I did as she asked and pulled the car over to the side of the street, I rolled the windows down and killed the engine, what's up Duchess?"

"So, when I was in Cali...you know why Ellie came to find me right?"

I nodded, "Yeah to make sure you were alright and see why you took off."

She nodded, "But do you know why Brax let her come?"

I shook my head now, "I wasn't aware she needed permission to go."

"Not so much permission, more like an order..." Then she sighed. "Okay so Elise pointed out to Brax that I overheard some stuff the night you found her...stuff about the Weres."

I listened on.

"So when she got there I told her what I knew and she filled in the rest...when I got back your cousin sat me down and asked me to keep the pack a secret and in doing so not letting the pack or Harper know that I am aware of the existence of Weres."

"But why keep the secret from Harper?" I asked, "I mean not only is she his mate but also his Luna to be...you'd think he'd want her in on everything that's going on."

She shrugged now, "He said he didn't want her to be sad or take it personally if she found out that I was told about the Weres and I wasn't told by my mate when no one told her."

I rolled my eyes, "This isn't about her or her feelings...-"

"Either way, in exchange for keeping my knowledge a secret from her and the rest of the pack I am now under pack protection...the only people who know are Richard and Rebecca Ocklan, Ellie, Brax, and now you."

I looked at her, "You know you could tell her if you wanted, you aren't fully part of the pack since you didn't exactly shift on pack lands for the first time....since you're not a wolf you don't have to take orders from our Alpha or our Luna...or in our case our Luna to be."

"Is that what it takes to be considered an offical pack member?" She asked smiling.

"Essentially."

She sighed, "regardless, even if I don't have to...in a weird way I kinda want to prove to Brax he can trust me."

I could understand that fully."Fine Duchess, we can lay low but just know that you can tell Harper whenever you feel you're ready...and just so you know, I told Braxton about us already."

"You did?" She smiled a little before it fell, "What'd he say?"

"Not much, just concerned how we were working out since he knows we had both been absent in the past." I said, "But I assured him we were working things out to make a relationship that works for us, and that we'd tell people as we see fit."

She nodded, "thank you."

I smiled and took her hand into mine before I kissed it."I'd do anything for you Duchess..."

"Alright then...So I'll introduce you to my brother as my boyfriend only because I can't tell him you're my mate without telling him about Weres...so that's one thing figured out, but we still haven't figured out a place to strengthen our bond if you know what I mean."

I chuckled, she was so fucking adorable.

"I've got a place in mind we can go for some privacy." I said, "how about we go to this movie as planned and afterward go grocery shopping and have dinner with your brother, then you can come back to the pack house...I've got a room there and honestly the pack house is pretty empty these days."

She nodded and I started the car back up before we took off.

"Hey Is it okay if I talk to Elise about us?" She asked.

My wolf instantly felt sadness, did she not want to open up to us?

She must've sensed it as she soon reached over and grabbed my hand, "I-it's stupid...but, it's just something's are easier to talk about with a girl...plus I know Ellie will give me a true and unbiased response unlike a mate who wouldn't want to hurt my feelings."

She was right.

"Okay." I smiled at her, "

From there we continued on our way, hand in hand to watch whatever movie she wanted...I didn't even care what she chose as long as I was watching it with her by my side.