Once Upon A Rejection

I woke up the next morning to Grayson kissing my cheek. My body still felt tired and a little stiff from last night. However, Grayson’s k****s and the feel of his hands on my bare skin were enough to make me push those feelings to the back of my mind.

“We should probably get ready for breakfast.” Grayson said.

‘That is not what I wanted to hear.’ Jade complained.

“Do we have to?” I asked as I pressed my naked body against his.

“I know what you are trying to do and it isn’t going to work. You need food.” Grayson whispered in my ear, his voice low and seductive.

I started turning towards him but it was too late, he was already getting out of bed. I watched him traverse the room to his closet, he was completely naked and it was a beautiful sight. He appeared a few moments later with a pile of clothes in his hands.

He put the clothes to one side while he put on his t-shirt and yoga pants. He looked at me for a second. I could tell he was considering forgetting at breakfast from the way he was nibbling his bottom l*p. I lowered the covers so he could see what he would be missing out on.

“If you aren’t out of bed by the time I get back from my shower I might have to punish you.” He said.

“Are you trying to make me stay in bed?” I asked. Grayson laughed.

“You aren’t meant to want to be punished.” He said.

I shrugged my shoulders.

“Maybe you should offer me a reward for good behaviour instead.” I suggested.

“Ok. How about this, if you get showered and ready for breakfast then tonight I will let you take charge in the bedroom. You can do whatever you want to me.” He suggested.

“Deal.” I replied. I jumped out of bed and practically ran into my new closet.

When I came out again Grayson had already left to take a shower so I went into our ensuite bathroom to get ready for the day ahead. When I emerged again Grayson was sitting on the edge of the bed playing with his phone as he waited for me.

He was wearing a black t-shirt and black jeans. His long hair was still damp from the shower. He looked up as I walked into the room. He smiled, the way he looked at me made me feel like the most beautiful woman in the whole world. I was only wearing a casual t-shirt and jeans but he looked at me as though I was a goddess.

Grayson stood up and with one fluid motion he put his phone into his pocket and reached his hand towards me. I took hold of his hand and we walked down to breakfast together. I could hear the noises from the dining room as soon as we made it to the main staircase.

It was the first time that we had been able to take breakfast at the same time as the rest of the people in the house. I hadn’t realised how many people there would be up until now. There was the rest of Grayson’s family and the omegas. William and Justin were also here, which I had expected. They were staying as our guests but there were also a number of other people who I hadn’t expected.

Rich and a few of the security team who had been working last night were here. There were also some of the people who worked at Grayson’s fathers company. They must have come around to give reports to Grayson’s father and decided to stay for breakfast.

Grayson and I sat down at the dining table next to his parents. We started to help ourselves to food and drinks from the bowls and jugs at the centre of the table.

I looked around the room as I started to nibble on my eggs and bacon. William and Justin seemed to be more comfortable in each other’s presence this morning. I wouldn’t say that they were happy exactly but William no longer looked as though he wanted to rip Justin’s throat out. That was progress at least.

All of the members of the security team looked completely exhausted. Rich looked the most tired of all of them which surprised me. Rich didn’t normally let things get to him, I had seen him work through the night many times and he still always looked fresh and relaxed the next morning.

“Did you see the lycans again last night?” I asked as I filled a mug full of coffee.

I tried my best to hide the anxiety in my voice. Everything about the lycan’s made me nervous but particularly that woman. Whoever she was, she was bad news. Nothing good would come of her presence near our pack, of that I was sure.

“No. I didn’t see any trace of them all night but I knew they were there.” Rich said. He looked uncharacteristically frustrated.

“What do you mean?” Grayson asked.

“I could smell their trails around the pack and they were fresh but everytime we thought we were closing in on their location the trail would go cold again.” Rich said.

Rich stabbed a sausage violently with his fork. From his expression it was clear that he was imagining that it was one of the lycans that he was stabbing.

“So they are acting differently to how they were before?” Grayson asked.

“Yes, I guess they are being more cautious now that they know we are onto them.” Rich said. He took a sip of his coffee. He looked as though he was deep in thought.

“We are going to increase the number of patrols and set up some cameras around the border in time for tonight. I hope that will be enough to track them.” Rich continued.

“I am sure that you will work it out.” Grayson said, giving Rich a warm smile.

We continued to eat our breakfast, making smalltalk with the people around the table. As people started to leave the table the omegas quickly stopped eating and started to clear the table.

Alpha Ward had always wanted the omegas in our pack to feel like part of the pack rather than servants. Part of this was inviting them to spend breakfast with the rest of the household every day. He had been doing it for a couple of years now but from the looks of it the omegas were still struggling to adjust to the change.

“Alpha, I have that information you asked for.” Ezra said.

I looked up and Ezra was standing next to Grayson with a pile of very old looking books. I could see that Ezra had marked out some of the pages in the books with small pieces of paper.

“That is great, let’s go to my office.” Grayson said.

Grayson led me and Ezra upstairs to his office. I had never been into Grayson’s office before but it was very familiar. It was almost identical to his dad’s office in terms of size and layout. The only real difference was that the computers were newer and the monitors for his pc were a little larger.

“So what did you find out?” Grayson asked.

“There isn’t a lot of information on lycan werewolf hybrids. I think that the main reason for this is that they are incredibly rare.” Ezra said.

My heart skipped a beat. I had told Grayson in passing that I didn’t like knowing so little about what I was. He must have got Ezra to do some research on my behalf using the books from the alpha’s private library.

“It sounds as though most hybrids die the moment their lycan and werewolf halves wake up. Apparently only alpha and beta werewolves are strong enough to survive.” He said.

I felt sick. I could have died on my eighteenth birthday, I wonder if my stepfather knew that. Did my mom and my biological father know the risks when they were together or were they not thinking of such things.

“From what I can tell if the hybrid survives past their eighteenth birthday they end up being stronger than a standard lycan and faster than a standard werewolf. It is something to do with each half being able to draw strength from the other half” Ezra said. He sounded a little confused, I guess the texts weren’t really clear on how it worked.

“That is good but I still think it is better if we don’t take any risks. I still want Molly to resume training immediately.” Grayson said.

“I understand.” Ezra said, nodding his head in agreement.

“Did you find out anything else?” Grayson asked.

“The only other information I could find was about mates.” Ezra said. He glanced at Grayson anxiously.

“What did you find?” Grayson asked.

“Hybrids have two mates, one for their lycan and one for their werewolf.” Ezra said.

“What happens if I reject my other mate?” I asked.

It was something that I had been thinking about ever since I started to care for Grayson. I didn’t want to feel forced into having two mates but I also didn’t want to reject my other mate just to be given a second chance mate.

“There haven’t been many examples of this, only two. In one of those cases they got a second chance mate. In the other case the hybrid had already marked the lycan mate so their werewolf half formed a bond with the lycan’s mate.” Ezra said.

“That is good to know.” I said. I tried to keep my face neutral but I could feel the corners of my mouth rising.

“Thank-you. Are you packed and ready to go?” Grayson asked.

Ezra smiled, I could tell from the look on his face that he had some kind of plan. I had seen that particular smile too many times, I knew whatever he had planned was not going to be good.

“Yes, I can’t wait to get to know some of those college girls.” He said, winking at Grayson.

“You are going there to protect your sister, not to chase women. Is that clear?” Grayson said, in a tone that left no room for discussion.

“I am sorry alpha, I understand.” Ezra replied. He looked a little embarrassed.

We spoke for a while longer but then Ezra went to retrieve his luggage for the week, leaving me and Grayson alone in his office. Grayson looked at me for a moment, paying particular attention to my facial expressions.

“I know what you are thinking.” He said after what felt like an eternity.

“I don’t know what you mean.” I said.

“You are thinking about rejecting your lycans mate without giving him a chance.” Grayson said.

“Maybe.” I replied, it looks as though I wasn’t going to be able to keep anything from my mate. He could see right through me.

“I would rather you didn’t do that.” He said.

“Why?” I asked. I was shocked, surely he would rather have me all to himself. I didn’t understand his reluctance.

“Don’t get me wrong, I don’t really want to share you with another man but if you reject him without considering it fully then you might regret that decision. The last thing I want is for you to live your life in regret.” He said.

“Oh.” I replied. I didn’t think I would regret deciding to be with Grayson alone but I could understand why he might think that.

“So can you agree to give your other mate a chance, even if it is only a few days to get to know him before you reject him.” Grayson said.

“Ok, I will give them a chance for at least a few days before I reject them.” I said.

I was already pretty sure that there was nothing that would change my mind but if it would make Grayson happy, I would wait a couple of days.