Chapter 19 Cole

Chapter 19 Cole

 

 

“She hates me.”

Damian glanced at me, his eyebrows puckered. “Who?”

“Sydney.” I let out a sigh and sat back in my office chair.

“Why do you sound so bothered by that? You rejected her.”

Justin, my assistant, who was busy clicking away on his laptop, stopped to stare at me, waiting for my answer. I glowered at them both but reluctantly confessed, “I feel awful for hurting her.”

Justin stroked his chin. “Are you talking about the mate you rejected?”

I nodded.

“May I propose a solution?”

“By all means,” I said. While Justin had a head for business and could solve just about any problem, which was why I hired him, I doubted he could help me with my current dilemma. He was human. He understood many things about the supernatural world because I taught him, but he couldn’t understand the bond between an Alpha and his people and the bond between a shifter and his mate.

“Unreject her,” Justin said with an impatient huff. “Simple.”

Damian chuckled.

“It’s actually quite complicated,” I told Justin.

He shook his head. “Of course it is. Let me guess—some archaic rules made by stuffy elders eons ago?”

“You’re on to something,” Damian muttered.

“This is why I stick to my regular human business.”

Damian nodded. “You’re better off, my friend.”

I gave them both raised eyebrow stares. My Beta trusted the human with our secret, which was saying a lot, considering Damian had major trust issues.

“Shut up, the both of you,” I said.

Justin got up. “I’m going to head down to my office and leave you two to your shifter stuff. I have a meeting in an hour. I’ll give you all the details after.”

I nodded. “Great. Thanks.” Meeting with clients was one less task on my plate, thanks to my assistant.

He took up his laptop and gave me a mock salute as he marched to the door.

“Later,” I muttered.

Justin had been working for my company for about five years. His loyalty to me as a human was humbling. We met when I rescued him from a nest of vampires he’d stumbled upon. Justin’s fiancé was killed by a vampire. Since no one believed him, he foolishly decided to avenge his lover’s death on his own. Luckily, I had been after the leader of that same nest and saved his ass from being their next meal. We’d been tight ever since.

“Justin has a point, you know,” Damian said. “Claim your mate. You’re obviously dying to.”

“I’m the Alpha, and it doesn’t work that way for me. If I decide to claim Sydney, the pack will demand I step down as leader. They’d take my action as a betrayal.”

“Sucks to be you,” he hummed. “I’m going to get going too. I promised Sydney I’d take her shopping.”

“Shopping?”

Damian paused at the door. “Don’t go into jealous mode, man. It’s completely innocent. Besides, you demanded I be one of her bodyguards. I’m just doing my job.”

I gritted my teeth. “I’m not jealous. There are hunters after her.”

“Look, I know you want her to stay hidden, but she’s been going stir-crazy cooped up in your apartment for three weeks. I figured you wouldn’t mind too much if I personally accompanied her on an outing. I’ll guard her with my life, Cole. You know that.”

“I know. I’m just shocked you’re taking her on shopping expeditions now.” Not too long ago, they didn’t get along.

He shrugged. “Syd is alright.”

I almost ground my molars to dust. Everyone was getting closer to Sydney but me.

“Her birthday is coming up, and she said something about needing an outfit for a girl’s night or whatever. I’ll be playing bodyguard for that outing too, so don’t worry.”

I sat taller. “Her birthday?”

“Sure, this Sunday.”

“She didn’t tell me. You see? She hates me.” Sydney had been treating me with cool indifference since we talked over dinner that night weeks ago. Maybe she’ll never forgive me for the way I treated her in the beginning.

Damian shook his head. “I never thought I’d see the day when the Alpha turned into a drama queen. I don’t think she hates you.”

I glared at Damian. “You do know if she’s celebrating her birthday, most likely Macy Dupart will be a part of it, right? They’ve become close friends.”

The color drained from Damian’s face, and his eyes widened. “Fuck, I didn’t think about that. I assumed she’d go out with Violet. I can’t go with them, Cole. You’ll have to take my place. I…” He blew out a long breath. “Macy hates me.”

I quirked an eyebrow. “Who’s the drama queen now?” It was incredible how the ever-composed Damian lost his shit at the mere mention of one woman’s name. The poor bastard probably wallowed in guilt daily for what he did to Macy. I could relate. I suppose I was in the category of a poor bastard, too.

Rubbing the bridge of his nose, Damian sighed. “You know what? It’s all good. I’ll be fine. How hard can it be watching over a couple of women for a few hours?”

“Right…”

Straightening his leather jacket, he squared his shoulders and walked out.

Staring at the spot Damian vacated, I wondered what I could get Sydney for a gift. What did one get his mate, who he’d rejected, humiliated, and was now protecting for her birthday?

“We put a new spin on complicated relationship status,” I grumbled.

***

It was still early when Sydney arrived—only a little after ten.

“Thanks, Damian,” she said.

“No problem. See you tomorrow.” Damian sounded absolutely miserable, which was why I guess he didn’t bother to come in.

Sydney stepped inside, still gazing into the hallway. When she turned around, she gasped and clutched her chest. I sat in the living room, facing the door, waiting for her like some kind of creep.

“Cole, what are you doing here? Stupid question, this is your house. I didn’t think you’d be back so soon. You mentioned going to the pack’s compound to meet with the elders tonight.”

“The meeting was rescheduled.” Because I told the old goats I’d be busy tonight. I wanted to come home early to see Sydney on her birthday.

“Oh.” She nibbled her lower lips. “Are you angry? I know I’m not supposed to go out, but I’d already promised Macy we’d hang out, and then Violet wanted to come along. I didn’t want to disappoint them. Damian said—”

“It’s fine, Sydney. I trust Damian with my own life. I trust him with yours.”

She watched me warily. “Are you okay?”

“Fine, except I’m a little miffed. I had to find out from Damian about your birthday.”

She fiddled with her purse. “I didn’t mention it because, honestly, I didn’t think you’d care.”

I subtly assessed her in the skintight red dress that left her legs on display. Her chestnut waves hung around her shoulders like a silky curtain, and her lips were painted crimson. She was temptation on legs.

“I care,” I said.

She frowned. “You’re in a strange mood like Damian. What’s with you guys tonight? Come to think of it, Macy behaved strangely all night too. What’s up with her and Damian?”

I stood up. “Not my business to tell. You’ll have to ask them. And I’m in a strange mood because I’m nervous.”

Her eyes darted from side to side. “About what?”

“Giving you your gifts. I hope you like them since I didn’t get much time to plan.”

She stared at me wide-eyed. “You didn’t have to get me anything.”

I pulled the rectangular velvet box from my pocket. “I wanted to get you something.” Flipping the box open, I took out the bracelet with emerald stones. “I decided against getting a necklace since you never take that one off.”

She stroked the crescent moon pendant nestled between her breasts. “It was my mother’s,” she whispered, staring at the bracelet. “Cole, I can’t take that. It looks insanely expensive.”

“That doesn’t matter. It’s yours, if you like it. I chose this because the stones reminded me of your eyes.”

Her gaze flew up to my face. “I…I love it.”

“Good.” Putting the bracelet around her wrist, I snapped it close.

“Thank you,” she said, although she still watched me with confusion.

“Now, for your next gift. I think you’re going to like this one more.”

Gazing at the bracelet, she said, “I don’t know. This bracelet is gorgeous.”

“This is worth way more than jewelry.” I picked up the stack of folded papers from the coffee table and handed them to her.

She glanced at me before unfolding them. “Letters?”

“Yes. I sat in my office for a while, wondering what to get you.”

“You put that much thought into it?”

I nodded. “I remembered your mother and mine.”

Her eyebrows puckered.

“Although I was a child, I vaguely remembered my mother petitioning my father not to be too hard on your mother. She said something about the beauty of true love. Anyway, she was convinced the love between your parents was worth forgiving.”

“Really?”

“My mother was a gentle soul.” My lips twisted into a smile. “And a hopeless romantic. “Anyway, another memory surfaced—very clearly—because at that time, I was a teenager.”

Sydney stepped closer, apparently hanging on my every word.

“My mother was reading something, and Dad was pissed about it. He wanted to know why she hadn’t ‘burned the evidence of betrayal years ago.’ Mom insisted that they were too beautiful to destroy. As it turned out, she’d saved the letters your mother left behind when she was shunned from the pack. Letters from your father. They were stashed in my mothers’ things.” I never got around to getting rid of my parents’ things. I didn’t want to.

Sydney gazed at the letters.

“I’m sorry I read through some of them. I had to make sure they were really Sophia’s.”

“Why are you giving them to me?”

“Because no matter what anyone says about your parents’ union— no matter what I’ve said—you were conceived out of love, Sydney. I thought you should know that.”

“My father really wrote these to my mother?”

“Yes.”

She dashed away tears that I hoped were happy ones. “This is…incredible. I can’t wait to read them. I don’t know what to say.”

I shrugged. “They were your mothers, so you should have them.”

Sydney launched herself at me, wrapping her arms around my shoulders. I froze because I wasn’t expecting the embrace or how my body reacted to her nearness. When I had myself under control, I cautiously hugged her back.

“I love my gifts. No one has ever given anything so…thoughtful.”

Relief swamped me. I wasn’t an expert at gift-giving, and I had worried she’d hate them.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

She pulled away, leaving me feeling bereft. As she gazed up at me, something shifted between us. The sexual tension that crackled couldn’t be ignored. Sydney’s teeth sank into her lower lip, drawing my attention to her mouth.

“I should get to my room,” she said.

She took two steps before I snagged her wrist and pulled her back. I couldn’t fight the pull between us any longer. Whether or not Sydney despised me, I suspected she couldn’t either. Eyes locked with mine, she dropped her things onto the nearest sofa and tipped on her toes until our lips were almost touching. I lowered my head just a bit, capturing her mouth.