The Alpha's Rejected Mate

SCARLETTE

We ended up staying a few days with my parents and brother. In that time I’d learned a lot about Ben and he was really fun to be around. After the big reunion, Dad noticed that Cade was here, and having heard that he was my mate through Alex, he was not very happy that he was here. Dad had asked to be excused and dragged Cade with him to his office. Despite the fact that they were in a whole other area, we could still hear my dads shouts and curses towards Cade.

I’m not gonna lie and say that I didnt get at least a little bit of satisfaction at that. The day after the reunion while I had been sitting on the porch swing just outside the house, just thinking about anything and everything, Benny had come outside and asked to talk to me in private. I brought him up to my old room which Mum had changed into a study.

Benny sat facing me on the black couch and took my hands in his and told me to tell me about this whole thing with Cade and Kaiden. I told him that I used to be really fat. That I had hoped that, even with my obesity, my mate would protect me from the teasing and profanities of never being loved that were sent my way. That my mate, Cade, was the one I needed to be protected from. I told him that, I ran away, much like Radiance had, but that I’d ran away because Cade had also rejected me. I told him that I’d ran away because I had hoped, that there was someone out there, that wouldnt see me for what was on the outside. That I had prayed that someone would like me for me. The real me. Who would smile and was carefree. How I had been before all the teasing, before my mate had rejected me. And I found that in Kaiden. I told him how, Kaiden had taken me into his care, his pack. I told him that he was the son of my mum’s old friend.

“We just clicked, you know?” I had said to Benny as he held my hands in his own. He listened to every word I said with a certain understanding. “He was so kind to me. I mean, so were all the other guys, but Kaiden just had that certain air. Like you could be anyone you wanted to be around him. And I liked that about him. The fact that he didnt see my fatness as a bad thing. He supported me when I wanted to get fit.”

Benny had nodded and then asked: “How did you actually get into a relationship with him?”

I had smiled at the memory. “It was when I was still pretty obese and I still couldn’t fight for that long because I was pretty weak. There’d been a rogue attack, and Jamie and I were still outside training, so by the time one of the rogue’s attacked me, I was already tired.” As I told him this, I realized I’d actually never told this to anyone outside of the guys and Kaiden. Not even my brother or parents knew about this. “I was so scared, that that moment--those few seconds that I was under that rogue--that I was going to die. My life was going to be over. I remember looking over at Kaiden, who had ran out of the pack house with the comotion. I looked at him and I saw how scared he was, and I was scared for him...” I had paused and looked up at Benny through my lashes for a second. “He saved me that day. Ripped the rogue to shreds, after the rogue had hurt me a fair bit. The rogue had given me a good knock to the head and I had blacked out. Kaiden thought I was dead, I had bite marks in a few places as well. He kept mumbling how he couldn’t lose me, that he wouldn’t lose another person he loved.” I had smiled through my tears then. “I told him I loved him as well, that day. And yeah, we’ve been together ever since.”

Benny had smiled and told me that was beautiful. Although he had asked who Kaiden had also lost.

The answer didnt come that easy from me.

“His mate.” I had told Benny. “He lost his mate.”

Just thinking about it brought tears to my eyes and I immediately felt arms come around my waist. I turned to Kaiden and placed a kiss on his jaw, smiling as I felt him shiver. We were heading back to Cade’s pack now, apparently one solo rogue had been spotted near the territory and we Cade had to get back. I, at first, had wanted to stay for a little while longer, get to know Benny more, but I knew that I couldnt. Jamie and I still had to train Cade’s pack members and I knew that they really needed it.

“What are you thinking about?” Kaiden murmured in my ear, his voice sending a shiver of my own down my spine.

“Just about Cade’s pack. How really none of his best fighters are even close to being good enough against a rogue, not even with Jamie and myself teaching them.”

Kaiden’s chuckle brought butterflies to my stomach. “Oh? You make yourself sound like you’re this amazing and professional fighter.” He laughed even harder when I hit him in the stomach.

“Hey, you know how amazing and professional my skills are. Even you’d be an easy match for me.” I siad with a smirk.

“Really now?” Kaiden asked with a smirk of his own plastered on his gorgeous face.

I leaned up and placed a quick peck on his lips. “Yes really.” I smiled as he nuzzled his nose into my neck and inhaled.

“I love you so much.” He whispered, so softly that I only just picked it up with my wolf hearing.

“I love you more.” I replied as he lifted his face out of the hair at my neck, almost reluctantly like he wanted to stay buried in my hair forever.

“That’s impossible.” He told me smiling.

“Really? How?” I said laughing.

“I’m bigger so I have a bigger space to fill with my love for you.” I swear my heart just melted at his words, so I kissed him. Kissed him like I never had before.

When we pulled away--which felt like hours later when it was probably only minutes--it was because someone--Cade--had coughed, not very discretely at all, from the front seat of the car. It didnt stop me from smiling up Kaiden though and placing another small kiss on his swollen lips.

“Thank you.” I whispered and he mouthed a ‘what for?’. “For everything. From bringing me happiness to just being there for me when I needed you.” He smiled at me and wiped a tear that had escape and was sitting on my cheek. No words needed to be said. Because his eyes spoke those many words. But the main ones, I knew, were “I love you.”