Page 11 of Reject Him

Eme laughs. “It’s nice to meet you, Val.” She sniffs the air. “Is that pie I smell?”

“Oh!” She quickly turns and dashes to the oven. She grabs an oven mitt, opens the oven, and takes out the pie. “Apple pie, Logan’s favorite.”

Eme blinks in surprise. It’s her favorite too, though she won’t admit it aloud. Doing so means having something in common with Logan, and she isn’t ready for bonding yet.

“Do you want a slice?” Val points to a pie cooling on a rack.

“Make that two,” Draven says.

“No, make that three,” another voice says behind them. She turns to find Logan striding into the kitchen. He wipes the stress from his brow with his thumb and slides onto the stool next to Eme.

“You’ve got it.” Val turns, busying herself with plates and forks.

“Bad phone call?” Draven asks, leaning forward to do so.

Eme frowns. “Who were you talking to?”

Logan looks at her and scratches at his jaw. “Your father.”

“Oh.” Her father? Why wouldn’t her father call her? “What about?”

“Apparently, there’s someone in your pack who isn’t happy about our . . . mating.”

“Dillon,” she sighs, sagging her shoulders. If she could just die and shrivel up into a little ball, all would be right in the world.

“An ex-boyfriend, I presume.”

“He tried calling her earlier,” Draven mentions. Eme elbows him in the stomach. “Ouch.”

She peeks up at Logan and witnesses his eyes flashing with anger. “If I keep ignoring him, he’ll eventually find someone else.”

Val slides them each a plate, and Logan picks up his fork and takes a bite to hide his jealousy. “I don’t think so, and neither does your father. He’s giving us a week to complete the mating, or the alliance folds.”

“What?” Eme’s hands ball into fists. “Why?”

He points his fork at her. “Because it was supposed to be done last night. Because we need your father’s money to support the growing pack. Because we need the alliance to stop the rogues should they continue to creep into our territory.”

She blinks at this. Wayne had said they leave them alone for the most part.

Logan continues without missing a beat. “Because if you don’t mate with me, you’ll have to go back home and mate with the male who wants you.”

Eme swallows hard. “My father said those things?”

“Your father isn’t happy the mating isn’t complete. He didn’t have to say those things.”

The two stare stubbornly at one another until Val breaks the silence. “Draven and I - ah - will find somewhere else to be.”

No pack likes it when the alphas fight, but technically, Eme isn’t their alpha yet. It touches her that they see her as such and have the kindness to leave for a private conversation to be had.

They exit the room, and Eme says through her teeth, “I’m not ready.”

He sighs deeply. “I know.”

“You do?” She’s taken aback.

“Of course, I do. I’m not going to force this on you, but I also want to be blatantly clear that the beta of the Stonewell Pack desires you, wants to claim you, and I won’t be able to stop it unless we imprint.”

Eme looks down at her uneaten pie and pushes her plate away, appetite lost. “What do I do?”

He lets the silence settle for a bit then reaches out and touches her hand. She doesn’t pull away. Instead, she finds his touch on the comforting side, something that confuses her. “I cannot make this choice for you, but for now, put it aside. Will you let me show you the grounds?”

She sniffles and then nods. He pulls her from the stool, and they both stand, stomach to stomach. Again, she doesn’t pull away when he extends his hand toward her and tucks his fingers under her chin, bringing her eyes to his. Maybe it's her vulnerable state, maybe it’s her dismay, but his touch doesn’t cause her to recoil as it should. For the moment, she’ll allow it.

He searches her eyes, wipes away the tear that spilled down her cheek, and whispers, “Come on.”