Chapter Two
“Thank you, Harper. It looks stunning. I cannot wait to show my mate.”
Harper smiled at Sheila. The woman had been with her mate nearly forty years, even though neither of them looked a day over forty. She knew they were close to seventy years old. Wolves aged a lot differently, and their lifespan wasn’t well-known. She’d heard rumors of some alphas being near two hundred, not that anyone talked about it.
“Oh, dear, I’m sorry,” Sheila said.
“What are you sorry about?”
“I said mate . How callous of me.”
Harper held her hand up. “Don’t worry about it.”
“You’re not upset?”
“No, I’m not upset every time he comes here. Why should I be?”
Harper was aware of his annual secret visits, sometimes twice a year. She wasn’t sure if he ever visited monthly, but then, why should she care, because he never came to see her. That first time she was aware of his presence, but then he never showed, although she knew he turned up. One conversation with Franny confirmed it. Although, Franny had said she’d never actually seen him. She heard her parents talking about him in whispered voices, and according to Franny, her parents’ whispering was pointless.
“It’s just that … I remember how hard it was for you when you first arrived.”
She walked over to Sheila and took hold of her hands. “It’s fine. I don’t even know what it’s like to be mated, or to have any of what you have. Trust me, I am so happy for you.” She pulled Sheila in for a hug. She didn’t squeeze too tightly. “So, anyway, good luck tonight on your anniversary.”
“I will, and I have to say, you’re right about this lip gloss, it is spicy. I love it.”
Sheila paid and then made her way out of the shop, leaving her alone, to which she breathed a sigh of relief.
Mateo was still in town. She sensed him close, and her wolf wasn’t exactly in a very receptive mood right now. Her wolf wanted to hunt him down and do all kinds of bad things, and not any of the sexy kinds of things either.
In the past seven years, she’d done well. She loved the Silver pack, and they had grown to love her. When she first arrived, she spent a couple of weeks just crying, and that had irritated her even more.
Why would she cry over a guy she barely knew, about circumstances she didn’t quite understand? It made absolutely no sense to her.
She hated crying.
She hated feeling hurt.
She hated the pain.
Eventually, it had faded, or she’d buried it deep down so she could function.
“Hey, girlfriend,” Franny said, stepping into the shop.
Harper smiled. Her best friend never failed to surprise her.
“Sheila is looking mighty fine,” Franny said.
“Well, thank you. It’s her and Thomas’s anniversary, and she wanted to do something special for him.”
Franny smiled. “That’s sweet. Don’t you think that is sweet?”
“I do, actually. So, what brings you by?” Harper asked.
“I came with a warning.”
“Warning?”
“Your mate—”
“He’s not my mate.”
Franny opened and closed her mouth.
“What?” Harper asked. “How can someone who rejects you and then banishes you so he doesn’t have to look at you, be your mate? Did I ever tell you that we’ve never even kissed? Just by looking at me, he didn’t want me. That man is not my mate. That man is nothing to me.”
The smile on Franny’s face fell. “You’ve never said anything like that before. Are you okay?”
“No, I don’t think I am.” She collapsed into a chair and felt exhaustion sweep across her.
“Anyway, what is it about Mateo?”
“He hasn’t left, and, well, I think he and my father are actually heading over here right now.” Franny quickly got to her feet and Harper couldn’t believe her friend, and followed suit.
Sure enough, seconds later, Silver along with Mateo stepped into her shop. Now she wished she had a ton of clients waiting to be seen. Today was a slow day. It was rare for a Saturday to be slow, but she’d also had a delivery of the latest stock, and the pack ladies liked to give her time to display it.
Being banished to a pack she didn’t quite know, not being able to see her parents, having the big question mark as to why her mate didn’t want her, she hadn’t exactly gotten the ability to blend in without too much trouble. However, what she could do was make many beautiful displays in her shop window, and around the small store.
The ladies loved it, and she already knew they were planning to come around on Monday. It gave her today to set everything up and try out a few of the products, before helping them on Monday. New deliveries of fresh products were always a hit.
“Alpha,” she said, bowing her head, and showing him the respect he was due.
In response, Mateo growled, and she felt her skin tighten.
Her wolf was happy at showing him no respect, because she was speaking directly to Silver. He’d lost the right to be called her alpha. She would never say those words again.
“Hello, Harper, I know how busy Saturdays can be for you, but I also heard of a new shipment. My mate is talking about it.”
Harper smiled at him. “Yes, I’m about to get ready to set it up.”
“I was hoping you and I could have a talk,” Silver said. He turned toward Franny. “Would you please show Mateo the sights?”
“Me?” Franny asked. “You want me to be nice to him?”
“I want you to do what your father and Alpha have told you to do.”
Franny groaned. “Oh, man, you used the father and alpha card. Damn it. Come on, be glad Daddy used those words.”
“Silver!” Mateo said.
“Do as I ask,” Silver said.
Harper watched the exchange, and she felt nothing.
He was not the boss here. He was not the one running the show. This was all Silver.
The shop closed with a reluctant Franny and Mateo leaving.
“Do you need me to cut your hair?” Harper asked.
His mate had asked her to keep him well-groomed. Silver tended to let it grow a little too long for his mate’s liking. She was pretty sure he did it from time to time just to annoy her, which was cute.
She didn’t get the mated couple, but they were very much in love, at least she could see that and to a point understand. They were a cute couple.
“No, not today.” Silver sat down in one of her chairs. “Please, take a seat.”
Harper wanted to argue, but she had a feeling she would need to sit down to hear whatever he wanted to tell her. Not a good start to the weekend.
“You know everyone in the pack adores you, Harper, and your position here is not in any danger.”
“Okay.”
“But I also have to consider what another alpha would like.”
She gritted her teeth. There were so many words she wanted to say, but instead she stayed completely quiet, even though it was so fucking hard for her to do.
“Mateo wants to take you back,” Silver said.
“What? No, I refuse,” Harper said.
Silver sighed. “He is your mate.”
“And he rejected me,” she said. “Right at the very beginning. It’s why I’m here. It’s why I … don’t know what it is like to be mated. Why I’ve had to deal with a lot of people curious about what I did to cause that rejection.”
She hated to even say those words, but it was all true.
“I am sorry if my pack has been less than welcoming,” Silver said.
She closed her eyes and took a breath. “It’s not that. In the beginning, it was difficult, but you and I talked about that, remember?”
Silver nodded his head.
“I don’t want to go with him,” Harper said. “He banished me. Isn’t there, like, a law, I don’t know, where it says no take-backs?”
He chuckled. “No, there’s no law, but I also value your opinion and if you don’t want to leave this pack, then you don’t leave.”
“I don’t want to leave.”
“I do want to warn you, though, that I cannot force Mateo to leave either.”
“What? This is your pack. This is your life. Your rules.”
“And getting between a mated couple is not ideal,” Silver said. “Until you and Mateo, I had never heard of a mated couple even living separately like you two.”
“Yeah, I know it is messed up,” she said, sighing. “But we’re not mates.”
“You are mates, you’re just going through a difficult time.”
This made her laugh. There was no way they were going through a difficult time.
“So, what you’re saying is, you’re not going to force me out of the pack, but Mateo gets to stay.”
“Yes, unless he … causes trouble, there is nothing I can do.”
“You do know this sucks, don’t you?” she asked.
Silver smiled. “Is there any part of you that might still love him?”
She opened her mouth and closed it. “I don’t know.”
He sighed. “That is … sad. Being with a mate is the most wondrous feeling in the world.”
“Then take that feeling of finding your mate, and imagine she crushed your heart within the next second. That’s what Mateo did to me. He hated me.”
“I don’t think he hates you.”
“He certainly doesn’t love me.”
“I think you’ve got that wrong.”
She wasn’t in the mood to argue with him.
Mateo was going to stay, and she couldn’t stop him, but that didn’t mean she would make this easy for him. He’d crushed her heart, dampened her spirit, and darkened her soul with his rejection.
She was not going to fall into his arms without a second thought.
****
Franny didn’t like him. They sat outside a coffee shop, and she continued to glare at him.
He wasn’t used to being on the angry side of a woman. Apart from Harper’s mother. She’d not liked what he’d done to her daughter, and she refused to be respectful to him. He’d been able to avoid the woman at most situations but it had been difficult.
“So, you’re back,” Franny said.
He noticed they were gaining some attention.
“Yes, I’m back, and I want to thank you for taking care of Harper—”
“Don’t.”
He looked at her and waited.
“Don’t try to pretend that you did anything good,” she said.
“I know I’ve upset you—”
“You have not upset me. I don’t like you and I think you’re a big asshole, but I know for a fact you won’t be able to win over Harper.”
“And why do you think that?”
“I know how broken she was when she came here, and from what she told me, you and she didn’t even share a kiss.” Franny shook her head. “You broke her heart. Crushed her. I hope you know that.”
He had already made an enemy out of Franny.
This was not his idea to be away from his mate. Walking into that shop, the place had smelled like Harper, and his wolf finally felt peace for the first time in seven years. He’d not known this feeling in such a long time, he’d forgotten what it was like.
“Harper will forgive me.”
Franny laughed. “Is this because you feel that as the alpha, she is going to have no choice?”
“I am her alpha, but I’m also her mate.”
“Wow, I think if they did a reward for most delusional, you’d be right on top of that list.”
He didn’t appreciate the sarcasm, but he had a feeling she’d just enjoy antagonizing him even more.
Lifting his coffee, he took a sip. In his own pack, there was no judgment. His pack, apart from her parents, had accepted what had happened. They figured Harper had done something and he’d not changed their minds. It was easier that way.
“Ah, my father is coming,” Franny said.
He turned to see Silver approaching. Several men and women stopped him in his tracks, and he took time to speak to them.
Harper had come to a good pack. Her father had done her proud.
Silver sat down, and within seconds he had a large mug of coffee, as well as a cinnamon roll, of which he took a bite and closed his eyes, releasing a growl. “Tell Susan they’re always heavenly from here,” he said to the waitress, and then leaned back in his chair to drink his coffee.
Clearly, he’d been given the second-grade coffee, because he didn’t think it was anything to compliment. From the look on Franny’s face, he had a feeling she had something to do with this. It irritated him, but also delighted him in a strange way.
She was taking care of her friend the only way she knew how, and for that he could respect her. He didn’t like it, and he didn’t have to like it. In fact, he was a little pissed off about it, but she at least had Harper’s back.
He turned his attention back to the alpha in front of him, and waited. There was no rush in Silver.
“Franny, would you like to grab a coffee and head over to Harper’s?”
“Damn it, come on. You know I want to know.”
“And Harper will be the one to tell you. For now, I’ve got to talk with Mateo.”
Franny got to her feet. “I’m doing this reluctantly. You’ve got to banish his ass.” And with that, she left.
Mateo turned toward Silver. “I don’t think your daughter is my biggest fan.”
“From the smell of that coffee, I don’t think there are many people who are your biggest fans right now.”
He couldn’t argue with that.
“When can I leave with Harper?” Mateo asked.
“You can’t,” Silver said.
Now, he was starting to get angry, and he didn’t like it. “Before you start to think of going on a rampage, you must consider Harper. She doesn’t want to be with you.”
“She doesn’t know what she wants.”
Silver laughed. “She knows she doesn’t want to be with you, and seeing as I took her in, and she swore loyalty to me, and has done nothing but become a member of my pack, I am not going to banish her.”
Mateo felt his anger start to grow. “Silver, I don’t appreciate this.”
“I know, but you were also informed that this might not end the way you hoped,” he said.
He knew the other man was right, and it pissed him off. That anger he tried to keep at bay was coming back, in full force. It wasn’t a good feeling. He needed to get himself under control and fast.
“What do you propose?” he asked.
“Simple, the only thing you can do is stay here and attempt to win back her trust. That is the only reasonable solution I can see to your current situation, otherwise it is not going to work. I cannot cast Harper out, nor can I send her where she doesn’t want to go. For me, it doesn’t work that way.”
He pressed his lips together, and he felt that anger about ready to burst. His mate was close and his wolf wasn’t liking being told no. “Fine.”
Silver looked at him. “I know you want to kill me right now. I get it. To you, I’m the reason you’re not with your mate, but what you have to remember, Mateo, is that all of this is on you. You’re welcome to stay in my pack, but you will not be alpha here. I am, and these are my rules. Harper is protected, and in the pack, we protect our own.”
With that, Silver got to his feet and left.
He ran a hand down his face, and knew there was only one other person he could call.
“Hey, Pop, can we talk?” he asked, when his father answered the phone.
“Always. When are you on your way back?” he asked.
Mateo put some money on the table and got to his feet, looking for a spot with privacy. He went to the edge of the woods and leaned against the nearest tree, which allowed him to overlook the town. Most packs were situated around surrounding woodland. His pack was no different. They were a small town, a small community, but they were thriving, as was his own, but seeing it from the outside-in was an amazing thing.
“I … Harper doesn’t want to leave with me, and Silver refuses to cast her out.”
“Ah, I figured there were going to be a consequences for your actions, son. You’re now feeling them.”
“Damn it, Dad, tell me how to fix this.”
“Unless you can find a time machine, go back seven years to the moment you rejected Harper, there is only one way out of this. Win back her trust. Make her fall for her mate, if that is what you want. I’m assuming it is because I figured you were just doing your annual visit.”
He ran a hand down his face.
It wasn’t an annual visit. This official visit was an annual one, but he also took monthly visits around the full moon, when his wolf wanted to catch a glimpse of their mate. He’d not been very successful at that. During the full moon, Harper had become surrounded by other wolves.
Even her scent had become hard to detect when she mingled with them. He figured it had been easily swallowed up because of the new pack, and the fact he’d not cemented any kind of bond between himself and Harper.
“What do I do?”
“You’re going to have to figure out how to win Harper’s trust. I don’t know the woman. I didn’t get that chance, remember? You banished her before anyone got the privilege.”
He wasn’t pissed at his father, but he was pissed at himself for fighting this. It was pointless fighting.
“Dad, I need to be here to win my mate. Will you take care of the pack?”
“Son, you don’t even have to ask. Don’t fuck this one up.”
And with that, he hung up.
He didn’t have anything great to help him.
Standing at his secluded spot, he wasn’t in the mood to be seen right now. This was his fuckup. He stayed lurking in the shadows, and watched as Harper left the shop with Franny. The two had their arms linked together and were heading back to the coffee shop where Franny had taken him.
He looked at Harper. She wore another long skirt, this one had a slit up the side, exposing some of her thigh for him to see.
The urge to go to her was strong. His wolf wanted her so badly, to strip them both naked, and press his body against hers. He couldn’t do that. Harper wasn’t ready. She wasn’t ever going to be ready for that. And it upset him.
He fucked this up, and now, he had no choice but to fix it.