Rejected by Fate: A Mated in Silence Novel Read online

  “Come in,” barked the alpha. Graciousness was not his middle name. When we obeyed and stepped inside, he was speaking into a phone in a low, tight voice. We approached his desk tentatively, but he waved us into the guest chairs in front of it, and we sat down and waited.

  For a while. Whoever he was speaking with seemed disinclined to end the conversation, and he wasn’t much better. They rambled on about an upcoming meeting and the possibilities of changing dates, for a good twenty minutes before the alpha hung up and looked at us, blinking, as if wondering how we’d gotten there.

  “Hello, alpha.” I cleared my throat. “You asked us to stop in?”

  “Ah, yes.” And just like that he went from vague to laser focused. “It took you long enough to get here.”

  I tensed, and Jillian squeezed my thigh, giving a tiny headshake.

  “I’m sorry about that, alpha,” I said through gritted teeth. “We’ll try to do better next time.” I’d heard he hated excuses, and since I hated making them, that worked fine for me. “But since we’re here now, what can we do for you?”

  “Ruston tells me the two of you have become a couple, and now that I have you here, I scent that’s true.”

  I was stunned. Did an alpha have a say about the pack members’ sex life? What was I supposed to say in response to this? Fortunately, the alpha was still going on.

  “I called you in to see how you’re progressing with the pack, if you had any questions or anything, but I can see you’ve settled right in.” He focused on Jillian. “You know how difficult you’ve made it for us to protect you? The danger you’ve put yourself in by mating?”

  I didn’t point out that he’d approved my living with her and, really, what did he expect to happen? My mate was beautiful and charming and smart. The only surprising thing was that someone else hadn’t managed to snap her up before I got here.

  I watched her expression but she appeared just as confused as I was.

  “And you haven’t at least marked one another? Your irresponsibility is stunning.” He looked from one of us to the other then sighed. “Just go, and try to be less reckless, all right?”

  Then he was on the phone again, and we were dismissed. Jillian jumped up and grabbed my hand again then towed me out into the hallway. Just when I thought I was starting to understand what it meant to be a shifter, I was totally at sea again.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Jillian

  Dean hadn’t come back to the cabin after work. He said he had something to do and, while I had shrugged it off, thinking he had more work, that ease had died down as the sun set and I was now alone, brewing stew for two, but only one of us was present.

  I paced the place, trying to focus my attention on something else, anything else, except it wasn’t working. My anxiety made my heart pump and sweat to break out along my brow.

  When I heard a noise outside, I forced myself to sit, grabbing the first book I could find to pretend to be reading instead of pacing the floors, like a lovestruck lunatic.

  “I’m sorry I’m late. There were some people going into town, and I took the opportunity. This is for you.”

  Dean held out a small fabric bag, cinched at the top. I held my breath. Had he gotten me a gift?

  I stood but hesitated in taking it from him. The only person in my life who had ever gotten me a gift was Magda.

  A gift from my mate... I almost cried.

  There were things weighing on my mind that chose that moment to make themselves known. The alpha had, in so many words, told us to mark each other. He knew we were mated now but acted as if my mating had somehow hindered everyone else’s lives.

  I let out a breath, intent on focusing on this moment, etching it in my mind.

  “Jillian, you’re hurting my feelings. I bought you a gift, and you’re not accepting it.”

  There was a smile on his face, but his tone made me think he was completely serious. The last thing on this Earth I wanted to do was to hurt his feelings.

  Reaching out, I took the bag from him and then stood to open it. His eyes gleamed with something I didn’t recognize, but my wolf knew. It was expectation—hope—love. Even though we hadn’t spoken the words, I knew it was true. There couldn’t be true mates without love.

  I pulled on the cinched part of the bag and opened it slowly. I wanted to savor this moment as much as I could.

  “It was all I could find. I know you deserve more, and I swear one day I’m going to buy you a real set with everything you need. You are so talented, Jillian. I just wanted to support you.”

  He rambled on while I stared at the bag in complete awe. Reaching inside, I pulled out the pieces one-by-one and laid them on the table. Even if I was the talking sort of female, I doubted the right words would come at that moment.

  He’d bought me art supplies. There was one notebook with all blank pages, along with charcoal pencils, erasers, and a sharpener. Another box revealed what looked like crayons in every color of the rainbow and beyond.

  “They are oil pastels. If you don’t want them, I can give them to someone else, maybe the school would want them. I don’t know…” He cringed and I realized how vulnerable it was to be like this. In love and needing the approval of your mate. He was wearing a T-shirt that stretched around his pecs and biceps. It was probably a size too small, but not once had he complained.

  He never would.

  That was simply Dean.

  Vulnerable Dean was awfully cute. Still, I didn’t want to make him squirm any longer than he had to.

  I rushed him, jumping at the last second to wrap my arms around his neck and my legs around his waist. He chuckled as I squeezed him as tightly as I could, peppering his face and neck with kisses all that said thank you or at least, I hoped it did.

  “I guess you like it, then?” He chuckled, reciprocating my embrace and my kisses. Dean hadn’t been around very long, but he had burrowed his way into my heart. Every day I woke up next to him was a tiny miracle, and truth be told, I couldn’t remember what my life was before him. The days had just run together in silence.

  Maybe because before, I was in survival mode. And now, I was living.

  I nodded, cupping his hand as he let me down. My body slid against his in the most sultry way.

  “Maybe tonight you can draw something for me. Oh, and I got you this.” From behind him, the gods only knew where he was hiding it, he brought out a tiny white paper bag. As I opened it, the smell of sugar and chocolate almost knocked me over.

  I wasn’t an expert on mates, but Dean was winning all the trophies so far.

  “I didn’t know if you had ever had them. I felt like chocolate chip was a safe bet.”

  I pulled one out, still hot, and held it up to his mouth. He paused, shaking his head. “No, I bought them for you.”

  Damn it. Time for that whiteboard. I scribbled out something, and he smiled before kissing my forehead, a move that melted me more than the chips in these cookies. “You wanting to share is the sweetest.” He took a bite from the cookie and groaned. “They are incredible.” I moved to take a bite but he took it from me. “Allow me. You were right, mate. Things like this are meant to be shared.”

  He held the cookie up to my mouth and I took a bite, the chocolate and vanilla flavors bursting in my mouth.

  “So good, right? But this isn’t dinner. I smell stew.”

  I nodded, but all of the sudden my offering of stew bubbling over the fire didn’t quite compare to his gifts. Still, it was all I had to give other than myself.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Jillian

  We hadn’t marked one another yet, but we would do it in our time, not on orders. The more I thought about it, the more I dug in my heels. We were building our relationship in a way I’d never dreamed possible, and my heart soared every time I saw him. I still had the last cookie nearly a week later, nibbling edges from it, the sweet richness reminding me of the moment he gave it to me.

  “Jillian, I came to…is that one
of the cookies?”

  I was sketching out a tree in front of our home and eating little crumbs and hadn’t heard him come along. My cheeks blazed.

  He dropped to his knees in front of me and closed his hand over mine. “Sweetheart, I’ll go to town and get you a dozen, a hundred more if you like. You don’t need to eat old, stale cookies.”

  I shook my head and grabbed the board, scribbling, No, it’s fine. You don’t have to do that.

  Instead of speaking, he wrote underneath, It’s little enough for the girl I love.

  My throat swelled too much, even if I could speak, I’d never have been able to force the words out. And I wanted to say things to him. Not just when we were mind to mind as wolves but all the time. To speak his name. And now I could never wipe off the board and write anything else…

  “Jillian, are you thinking of keeping those words on the board?”

  Darn, he knew me. I shrugged.

  “How will we talk, then?” He grabbed the paper I was sketching on and wrote it again, with a twist. I love you. “Keep that one, okay? I’m going to get you a tablet so you can write anything you want, and it will even vocalize it for you if you like. But it might be a few days before I can get into town, so I think you’ll need the board.”

  While he watched, I wiped away everything but the line he’d written on the whiteboard. It was never going away. He laughed at me, but I didn’t care. As we stood staring at one another, a droplet of rain landed on my nose and he kissed it away.

  When more rain fell, Dean helped me gather my supplies and carry them indoors. I moved to the stove where I had a venison roast in the Dutch oven, another gift from Dean, but his next words froze me.

  “I met three guys today, on a work crew. They were visiting from another pack and mentioned they all have the same mate.” He cleared his throat. “Odd, isn’t it?”

  Hell. Not odd at all. An image of the pair of new members of our pack flashed through my mind. My wolf rumbled every time I saw them. But it didn’t mean anything. I’d never dreamed of having even one mate. And Dean wasn’t used to how packs operated. There were others in Crystal Cave in such relationships, he’d just never noticed. I suspected he’d handle it badly if he thought I had any interest in more than one mate. I grabbed the handle of the pot without folding the cloth over and burned my fingers. Then he was kissing them…kissing me…and nobody else mattered. Nobody else ever would.

  Thank you for reading Rejected by Fate! Next in series is Rejected by Blood.

  An Excerpt from Rejected by Blood

  Available Here

  Chapter One

  Jillian

  So far, I’d avoided the other two men my wolf demanded I run toward for the last few weeks. Dean was enough. He was more than enough.

  “Where are you going, mate of mine?” His voice popped my ever-present overthinking bubble and plucked me back into reality. I’d just finished a longer shift than usual since harvest season was over and the winter preparations were in full swing. Winters around here were harsh. Despite the alpha barking about more supplies and more firewood for the entire pack, it never seemed to be enough. Inevitably, as the snow began to melt, you would hear axes chopping at trees that simply wanted to finish their winter rest.

  Good thing I didn’t rely on the pack’s provisions to get me through. I’d never depended on them and never would. Not that they would allow it anyway.

  But this year was a little different. This year I had more than just me to keep warm and fed.

  Didn’t feel like a burden one single bit.

  I held up my basket as an answer. This time of year boasted mushrooms and green onions that grew wild in the forest, but the pack wasn’t privy or else, they just didn’t care. Season by season, the forest gifted different herbs and sprigs of flavorings.

  “Okay. Be careful. I have this to finish and then I’m coming home.” Dean walked over to me after putting his axe down and grabbed me by the hips, pulling them against his as he kissed me until I was downright delirious.

  When I was a little girl, I’d always wanted an affectionate mate. But as I grew up and became more and more pushed away from everyone in the pack, I gave up hope that he would actually appear. Learned to be grateful for the scraps tossed my way, the occasional kind word from someone who didn’t pay enough attention to be rude to me. And Magda. I was always grateful for the half-witch who lived even deeper in the forest than I did. But a mate? I’d decided that would never happen.

  Until Dean. His hugs and kisses, long winter nights of lovemaking and casual but loving compliments. Sometimes I even forgot about my unfortunate affliction.

  Fate seemed to like me after all, just a little.

  I left after making sure my knees were still working and found myself hopping over roots and winding around tree trunks in my search for treasures for that night’s soup. Dean never complained about having basically the same thing every night. He’d gotten into the pack’s good graces thanks to his hard work and perseverance, despite being mated to the outcast. So several times a week, he now came home with a fresh loaf of bread and once some cinnamon rolls. Bread made my soup taste like, well, more than soup.

  “You should be more careful walking out here alone...Callista.”

  I rolled my eyes. I’d never seen this man before but he must’ve been drunk or something. My name wasn’t Callista, not even close.

  I shook my head and turned slightly, pointing toward the pack common area. He was probably lost and inebriated. It happened more than one would think around here.

  “No, I’m not here for them. I’m here for you. You look so much like your mother. It’s incredible.” He moved with his hand extended as though he might touch me, but I slapped it away. I grimaced at the mushrooms I had just spotted but would have to forget since this jerk was blocking my path and apparently was a touchy-feely sort. My basket swung as I walked away, but the man followed me.

  Whirling on him, I intended to give him the stink eye of the century, but probably failed. He did look like I’d slapped him.

  “You don’t even know who you are?” He stepped toward me but I stood my ground. My wolf snarled and snapped at another male so close. “Can you speak?”

  My wolf took over then. She wasn’t putting up with this any longer and forced the shift.

  Bad people. Won’t find us again. Need mate.