His Rejected Fated Mate (Riverville Fated Mates #2)

Chapter 1 - Troy

I tapped my hands on the table, still feeling my head wasn’t on straight with all the news that was going on. If it wasn’t one thing, it was another. I was starting to wonder if we would ever get back to normal.

“You’re saying that you don’t have any issues?” Titus asked, looking at Riley with amazement. “Nothing? No problems yet?”

Riley shrugged. “I don’t know if that’s the wording that I would use. I just feel… calmer. More myself than I have in months. All of those sudden bursts of anger are gone. I haven’t had any issues.”

“Or is it all the sex you’re having?” Dustin asked, wiggling his eyebrows at him. “Maybe that’s been keeping you calm.”

I ground my teeth together, and Riley waved a hand. “I wasn’t the one who said it.”

“Can we move on to something else?” I asked, not needing to hear any more details about him and my sister’s sex life.

“Sure, how about we move on to why you’re so cranky today?” Dustin asked, leaning back in his chair. “I thought you’d be over the moon that your sister is back and happily married.”

It wasn’t that I wasn’t happy because I was.

Janella was home, and she had everything I’d ever want her to have.

I knew she was in love with Riley. I could see it in the way she looked at him.

But that didn’t mean it made up for my years of being a crappy brother and not helping her more when I could have.

It was just part of the problem. I had a mountain of issues that were being thrown at me, and I couldn’t seem to get a grip on anything. It didn’t help that my emotions had been off lately. “I’m not cranky.”

“You seem cranky,” Titus piped in. “Need more coffee?”

“I need this meeting to move along because I have a very busy day and I don’t have all the time to sit here and yap about shit that doesn’t concern me.” I snapped the words, and even Riley’s eyebrows went up in shock.

I took a deep breath, knowing that my anger was starting to get the better of me this morning. I had slept like shit, which didn’t help the issue either. I thought a run before the meeting would help, but it hadn’t. Now I was physically exhausted as well as irritable.

“Has your anger been flaring up more?” Dustin asked, a serious expression now masking his face.

I clenched and unclenched my jaw. “Slightly.”

We all knew what it meant, and the space fell quiet. We had been concerned about Riley because his anger was getting the better of him. But he was naturally a little grumpy in general. This was unlike me.

“I still don’t understand how she was able to cleanse your entire pack,” Titus asked. “Why was it only your pack?”

Riley shrugged. “I don’t have all the answers. I just know everyone in my pack hasn’t been having any issues. Ever since we broke free from the darkness, the pack has had a calmness that settled over it.” Riley looked at me with concern for a moment, and I looked away.

“Janella had a feeling, a thought really. She thinks that the council isn’t being entirely honest about everything that’s going on.”

I snorted. “Really? Don’t we all have that feeling? They hide the cauldron from all of us. What makes you think that’s all?”

“A sketchy move on their end,” Titus added with a nod. “I’m glad it’s not in my pack. The damn thing looks like it’s nothing but a problem.”

Riley rolled his eyes. “It’s been calm, but whatever Janella was able to do did nothing to it.”

I had the twist in my gut. We all knew that the council wasn’t telling us everything, but we had no idea what. We couldn’t exactly accuse them of anything because it was just a feeling. But we all knew there was more to this story than they just ran across the cauldron.

I wanted a change of topic. “How has Janella’s training been going now?”

“She’s been good. We’re trying not to push it too far since she’s four months pregnant. The witches said she needs to conserve her energy to grow the baby. Otherwise, she’d probably be spending endless hours trying to use her magic to heal everyone in your guys’ packs.”

Another aspect I was still trying to wrap my head around. My sister was going to become a mom, and I was going to be an uncle. I wished it wasn’t during a time when we had no idea what the future held. At least their pack was safe.

“Your parents must be so thrilled about everything,” Dustin added.

They were. My mother cried, and my dad told everyone he was going to be a grandpa. They had already started shopping online for them because they wanted this baby to have the top-of-the-line for everything.

“Speaking of relationships, who do we all think is next for the match-up? Because clearly the council is matching us up.”

Riley glanced at me, and I swallowed. The council had never come out and said that was what they were doing, but we all knew, after what happened with Riley, that it was their plan. They matched Riley up, and he was healed. So, they were going to go down the line.

We had no idea who was next, but I had a strong feeling it would be me.

I wasn’t opposed to the idea of finding my mate, but I didn’t like the idea of how it was all going down.

I wanted to find her on my own. Run into her while I was out, or spot her from across the park.

I didn’t want our first meeting to be so clinical.

I didn’t love the idea of an arrangement being made.

“I still wouldn’t mind having someone around,” Titus added.

“You said that last time, and I still don’t think you know what a mate is for exactly,” Riley said. “I’ve seen your trail of exes, and whoever lands with you, I’ll feel sorry for.”

“You act like I throw women away. I’m respectful.”

“You do throw women away,” Dustin said with a snort. “Just last week, some lady came up to us while we were out having a beer and threw a glass of wine on you because you never called her. You didn’t even remember her name.”

“That was because it was a one-night stand. I didn’t have to call her back. We met, I brought her back to my house, and we fucked. She was gone before I even woke up.”

“The council is going to have such a fun time finding your mate,” Riley said with a smirk. “I imagine you probably already slept with her. She’s probably going to hate your guts. A match made in heaven.”

Titus rolled his eyes. “At least I’m getting laid. The same can’t be said about Troy.”

I frowned and made a face. “How the hell am I pulled into this?”

Titus snorted. “You haven’t had a girlfriend since you stepped into this role. Actually, I don’t recall you having one before you even became Alpha.”

“I’ve had girlfriends. I’m just more private than you are.”

Titus tapped his hand on the table. “And when was the last time you’ve been laid?”

“That is none of your concern.”

“Might help you loosen up,” Dustin chirped.

I shook my head. “Just because I haven’t had girlfriends doesn’t mean I’m not getting laid, Titus.”

“Then you shouldn’t have a problem remembering the last time you’ve been laid. You should be able to state it.”

“I don’t talk about my personal life like that.”

Titus leaned forward in his chair. “I know the three of us have been laid at least within the past week.”

Dustin scrunched up his nose. “There is no possible way you know that.”

Titus nodded and waved his hand. “Riley is married, so he gets it whenever he wants.”

“That’s not how that works,” Riley interjected.

“You had some women all over you when we were leaving the bar, and you can’t even lie that you did it in the back of your car because I saw her slinking out half an hour later.”

Dustin looked at him with wide eyes. “How the hell did you know she left half an hour later?”

Titus looked directly at me with a smile. “Because I was in the alleyway, leaving my date because I was having sex. So, all three of us.”

I rolled my eyes. “This just tells me you guys are a bunch of whores,” I explained.

“Hey, I’m married.” Riley quickly snapped. “I’m not a whore banging someone in a car or an alleyway. I’m doing my wife in our house.” He looked at me. “Respectfully.”

“Okay, how did we even get here?” Dustin asked.

“We landed here because we let Titus lead the conversation. Now, can we bring it back to what we were talking about?”

“My point was that you’re next,” Titus said, leaning back in his chair. “They are going to start with whoever has the flare-ups, and it’s you. Dustin and I have been fine.”

My stomach sank at his words. I knew it was possible, given the way Titus and Dustin were looking at me, which told me they believed it, too. I couldn’t deny that I’d been having anger issues. It was sudden too. One moment I’d be fine, and suddenly the tone in someone’s voice would set me off.

After the meeting, I went straight to the Council members. I couldn’t head home with how much of a mess my head was. I needed to know what their next steps were and if I was really the next one to be paired up.

As I pulled the door open to their building, I remembered why I hated them so much. The space always felt like walking into a jail. It was like a weight was pressing down on me as I headed up the stairs, and my gut clenched.

I’d never liked the Council members. It wasn’t just them but the position itself. There were always things they kept from the Alphas. I remembered growing up, how they always seemed to look down at the rest of us. They acted like they were untouchable, and I think that’s what I hated even more.

Every meeting I’ve had with them has always put me on edge. We never saw eye to eye on any major decisions we had to make. They wanted me to go one way from what I wanted. I hated the constant need to fight. I didn’t understand why we couldn’t just see eye to eye on things.

I paused as I got to their door, feeling like my head was going everywhere. What exactly was I going to say? Demand to know what’s going on? I tried that, and it got me nowhere.

I remembered coming here just a month ago, when Janella healed Riley.

I was like a bull in a china shop demanding information, but they remained quiet.

After I screamed and demanded they tell me the truth, they asked if I was calm.

They asked if I needed to be locked up until I got a hold of my anger.

They asked if I was succumbing to the dark magic and if I was next.

I knew I couldn’t go in until I was calm. I didn’t want a repeat of the last meeting, so I took a few deep breaths. I tried to center myself, but it was hard. I saw what was going on and wanted answers. We all did.

We were raised and trained to care about our people.

We were told we had to protect them and do what was best for the pack.

We made hard decisions so they didn’t have to.

But what were we supposed to do when things were out of our control?

How were we supposed to protect our people when we couldn’t even protect ourselves?

I looked back toward the door, feeling a rush of frustration hit me. If we were supposed to protect, why were they hiding things? Weren’t we all wanting what was best for the people?

I pushed the door open and stepped inside. The council members were sitting at their round table. They were looking through paperwork, and their heads popped up. They sat in their normal spots: Jasmine, Dean, Laura, and Kelly.

Dean placed his papers down. “Troy? Did we have a meeting with you today?”

“No, I came here to have a discussion with you.”

Laura raised an eyebrow at me. “You do realize you should have scheduled a meeting. We are very busy today. We don’t have a lot of free time.”

“And as I remember, Alphas are allowed to show up at any time.” I narrowed my eyes, not in the mood to be pushed around.

Dean sighed as he rubbed at his eyes. “What brings you in today?”

I opened my mouth and realized I didn’t know what I was even doing in here. I didn’t know what I was going to say. I’d already come here demanding answers and got nothing. I knew they wouldn’t tell me anything this time.

“Troy?”

“I’m wondering who’s next to be paired up.”

I watched their eyebrows go up in shock. Just then, I heard the door behind me open. Jasmine smiled. “Interesting timing.”

I glanced over my shoulder at whoever had entered. My eyes widened as I watched Elize step into the room.

I felt my heart stop beating as I stared at her, having not seen her in years. I watched her freeze, her neutral face fall into shock, and her frustration mix with anger.

“Troy, meet your mate, Elize. You were actually next to be paired up.”

I couldn’t breathe as I stared at her. I felt like someone had just kicked me in the guts. I’d spend so many hours trying to find her, and here she was.