Rejected by the Alpha (Alpha Shifter Collection)

Misha burst out laughing. Blueberry closed and locked her doors, and as she came toward her, Misha grabbed her arm.

“I never asked this before, but why do you not have a mate?” she asked.

Blueberry tensed. “Because I made a vow long ago, Misha, sweetheart.”

She wanted to ask what kind of vow, but Blueberry moved her toward the back door that led to the apartment where Blueberry lived.

****

“Let me get this straight. Your mate, who you’re not by pack law mated to, is pregnant, and rather than talk with her, you came to me?” Decker Senior asked.

Decker sat at his father’s dining room table and nodded. As his father put it like that, he knew he’d fucked up, but there was no going back.

“Son, I didn’t think I raised an idiot, but right now, I’m starting to wonder.”

“I’m not an idiot.”

His father seemed to frown a little deeper, his brows nearly touching.

“I’m not. I just … I needed to know how Mom was, you know.”

“Damn it, Decker. I thought we had gone over this.”

“I know that Misha is not like Mom. I know that. I get it.”

His father glanced behind him, and Decker turned to see his stepmom, Claire.

“I’m sorry,” he said. This had to be hard for her. Claire was his father’s second mate, and if she had to constantly listen to how her mate was with another woman, it couldn’t be good.

“It’s fine,” Claire said, stepping into the room. She went to his father and put her hands on his shoulders. “I know all about your mother, Decker. Your father and I, we don’t have any secrets. We consider our mating a miracle, and we thank the fates that they have given us each other when so many people go without knowing a second love.”

He watched his father smile up at his mate. The love they shared was real. It was pure, it was … everything. This was what he wanted with his mate.

Staring at his father, he knew he wanted to have that kind of love.

“Misha is pregnant,” Decker said.

“And you’re worried she is going to hurt herself like your mother did.”

“I just need to know about your life together, that led to her … doing what she did.”

His father squeezed Claire’s hand. “Your mother was not Misha, son. One day, you will see it. She was always so sweet and kind, but she never stood up for herself. From a young age, even when she was tired and she didn’t want to do anything, she would if people asked. She didn’t seem to know how to tell others no. For the longest time, the pack walked all over her. When it came to our mating, it was a surprise to everyone. I didn’t even see it coming. Don’t get me wrong, Decker, I loved your mother very much, but as a pack female, I knew she was weak, and it was going to be hard for her. Even your grandfather warned me.”

“Grandad did?”

“Yes. We all know the role of alpha is a hard one. You’re experiencing it now. They always need us. We’re at the mercy of our pack, and I, for one, relished the role. I did.”

“You’re a good alpha.”

“Thank you, son. I know you are as well. Our mates have to be able to handle everything. The good. The bad. It can get ugly. Since you took over, I know you haven’t had to deal with some of the harsher realities of what this life entails.”

Decker knew exactly what his father referred to. In rare cases, young wolves who didn’t handle the transition well didn’t make it. Helping parents as their child died was one of the hardest things he’d seen his father do. The death was felt throughout the whole of the pack. He hadn’t dealt with a case like that, and so far, he’d been able to help all of those with ease.

“I don’t want you to think less of your mother, Decker. She was a great woman, but the demands of the pack were too much for her. They needed her to make decisions when I wasn’t here. She … she always felt out of place. I did my best to make her feel part of it, but there is only so much we can do.”

“What about when she was pregnant?”

“Your mother loved being pregnant, but even that didn’t come without complications. She couldn’t stand pain. Her parents always felt it was a miracle she survived her first transition.”

“I remember people talking about that,” Decker said.

It wasn’t long after their daughter’s passing that her parents had moved on to a different pack. Decker didn’t see them, and they had never reached out either. His grandparents were far more reclusive than his mother had ever been.

He looked down to see his father had put his hand on top of his. “You’ve made many mistakes with Misha. It’s time for you to come clean to her, and to not let her think you don’t want her. She’s your mate, and it’s time you started to act like an alpha in love, not someone who hates the idea of having a woman.”