Secrets of His Rejected Mate

RAIN

Rain pulled up in front of the restaurant which had Diner's Delight inscribed on a banner hanging off the roof and flying in the wind. She turned off the little engine, removed her helmet, put it on the scooter handle, and went in. The doorbell chimed as she entered, indicating a new presence. The restaurant was filled with people, mostly people she knew.

"Hey Jason," she waved to a roly-poly man biting into his pizza like he wanted to finish it before a pal sees him eating it.

Jason waved at her and greeted her in a muffled voice. She smiled at him and parked her long blonde hair in a ponytail as she went over to the counter, waving and smiling at a few others. A woman in an apron was taking out orders for a girl her age, as tall as she was, with curly dark hair, bold eyes, and full lips. The girl turned and smiled at her when she was closer.

"Hi, Rain," the girl said. "That jean jacket looks fab on you."

"Hello, Jenny, thanks a bunch. It's thrift, by the way."

Jenny moved away to deliver the orders they had received to a table. Rain moved to the counter where the woman was busy getting another order ready. She grabbed a hand full of chips from the tray and leaned on the counter.

"Need some help, Ms. Claudia?" she asked, tilting her chin, a smile on her face.

The middle-aged woman turned and, for a while, she glared at Rain. "That was an order, Rain."

"Just add it to my bills," Rain said with a mischievous smile.

The woman smiled. "What should I do with you?"

"Just love me," Rain replied.

"I love you so much, I can't even get mad, and how many times have I warned you never to touch food without washing those hands?"

Rain threw the last chip in her mouth and looked at her hands as if expecting to find them soiled. She then blew them off and showed them to Claudia.

"They are clean though. Can I get a pepperoni and a coke?"

"Coming up, ma'am," the woman said.

"Uhm...While that is getting ready, can I get a..."

"You get nothing else until you clear your debts, young Miss," the woman said, but from the hint of a smile on her face, it was clear she was teasing.

"Alright, Ms. Claudia. Okay, just give me a cappuccino to keep myself busy until the pepperoni is ready."

"Are you paying for it now?"

Rain twitched up her lips, a mischievous smile lit up her face. Claudia huffed and rolled her eyes.

"I know what that expression means and it has been successfully added to your heaped-up bills. I hope you get married to a rich man who will pay me off my debts."

"Mom!" Rain yelled and clapped her hand on the counter. "I will pay off my debts, thank you. And for the record, I am not getting married."

Claudia smiled. She knew the effect that kind of statement had on Rain. Jenny returned and saw the horrified look on Rain's face.

"Is Ms. Claudia forcing you to get married to a rich man again?" Jenny teased.

Rain smiled and rolled her eyes. "Why do I feel you both are in this together?"

A smile crinkled Jenny's face, Claudia placed the cappuccino on the counter in front of Rain.

"This one's on the house."

Rain smiled and grabbed the mug. She smiled when she saw the heart design on it. Her mother never fails to design a heart whenever she gives her coffee.

"Thank you, mom. I love you." She made to leave but stopped abruptly. "One last favor, please."

Her mother rolled her eyes and sighed. "Shoot."

"I am going to Sunsets tonight to perform and Jenny's coming with me? Can you let her off a little early?"

Claudia looked between the two girls, she knew from the look on Jenny's face that they had discussed this already and it was all Jenny's idea. She wasn't against her daughter going out with her best friend to have fun, she was an adult anyway, but she wasn't okay with Rain performing on that Sunset stage. It was a little exposing.

"Rain, we've talked about this..."

"Mom, please, not now. I have told you, I am fine. Nothing's gonna harm me. Music is my life, please don't let this dream die."

Claudia stared at her for a while. She could stand anything in this world but she couldn't stand seeing her daughter sad. Besides, Rain was wearing that puppy-eye expression. She huffed. She was too overprotective of her daughter, but she needed to be. A lot of things are happening these days. "You know I..."

"Mom, it's Sunset, it's not even a big place, and I am not even a megastar yet. Okay, listen, Jenny will be there, Jake, Phoebe and all my friends; nothing could go wrong. What else can I say to convince you?"

"Can I even refuse?"

"No," Rain blurted.

Claudia raised her hands in surrender. "Alright, I will call up Monica tonight...but, make sure you are home before 10:30, alright?"

"Ten and thirty? No way, mom. Sunsets don't even start their shows until it's ten on the dot, you want me to perform for thirty minutes? I will be home by eleven."

"Be safe and don't get into trouble," Claudia said, appearing more serious this time.

Rain winked at her as she started moving away. "I don't get into trouble, trouble finds me?"

"I am serious, Rain," Claudia said, watching as she went over to an empty table and set down the mug. Jenny watched the woman as she watched her daughter. Jenny had always wondered why Claudia was so protective of her daughter. She was just a human— a cheerful and lovely one though.

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That night, Rain and Jenny set out from the restaurant with Claudia's strict warnings to avoid trouble. Rain was a lively human who lived her life as free as the wind. She was just in love with everybody, she was a lovely girl who everyone wanted to roll with and she is at peace with everyone. Rain was a girl who could walk into a room filled with strangers this minute and the next, she was best friends with them, chattering with them as if they had known each other since Adam. Jenny always wonders how she does it. Even though her mother didn't want her to attract so much attention to herself. Rain was hard to ignore. First, she was a looker and her name was unique. It's unusual to find someone with the name Rain.

She has her unique ways and her smile was an infectious one. She was super talented, especially at music and painting. She was a very good artist. But as usual, her mother wouldn't let her take up any profession that would expose her or draw attention to her, so Rain had not even gone to college, because her mother was scared to let her leave her sight.

At twenty-four, Rain still lived with her mom, even though she could leave on her own, and even though most of her friends in their circle had asked her to move in with them, Rain just lived with her mom and it baffles her friends that she obeys her mom so much like a dependent teenager. Although she was jovial, she was feisty too and never let anyone trample on her or those close to her. She also possessed an astonishing physical strength that marvels some of her friends, but she doesn't use it often because her mother wasn't happy about her fighting. She was not supernatural because she wasn't affected by silver, and neither was she burnt by the sun. She was just so unique and lovable.

When she moved newly to town, she told Jenny that she was once the mate to an alpha's son back in Autumn Falls where she and her mother came from and her mate had rejected her. Jenny had always wondered why any wolf in their right senses would reject Rain. Although Rain has not always been this beautiful. She was a little on the chubby side when she was a teenager and she never took care of her looks then.

"Why is your mom always so protective?" Jenny asked as they left the restaurant and walked down the alley.

"Well, I am all she's got, you can't blame her. She saw how hurt I was back in Autumn Falls and she watched my dad die from a were wolf's bite. She became overprotective. I am so jaded talking about this anyway."

"Is that why you have decided not to marry?"

Rain huffed and slid her arms into Jenny's arched elbow. "I am a feminist, will that do?"

" Feminists get married, you know. Don't you like to feel the companionship between a man and a woman?"

"Jenny, I am not having this conversation with you. I feel you just enjoy seeing me squirm."

"Are you still hurt by that rejection? I heard that you had a huge crush on him."

Rain quickly removed her arm from Jenny's and gave her a gentle push. "Stop it, who fed you all those crap?"

"You," Jenny replied snickering. "Should we call Jake to come pick us up?" Jenny asked when they entered a dark alley.

"Sunset is just a few walks from here or are you scared, wolf?"

"Well, I'm not scared. This place is notorious for its dangers."

"Nothing is gonna happen." Rain grabbed her hand and started walking faster.

In no time, they were at Sunset. It was filled with a lot of people and as usual, Rain knew almost everyone there, she proceeded in greeting both old and young people. Her band mates came over to her. They had a lot of fun that night, drinking and dancing and even after performing, Rain urged her friends to play drinking games. They did and they sloshed so much that she got a little tipsy. Her phone was vibrating like crazy in her pocket, she knew it was her mom. She had ignored it long enough. But her mother won't stop calling until she answers the call. She took it out of her pocket and looked at the screen. It was a few minutes to midnight.

"Oh boy," she said and started going outside the door to answer the call because the noise in the room was too much.

"Hey, Rainy, where are you off to?" Tyler, a spiky blonde dude asked her.

Rumors had it that he was a vampire and he had been on Rain's trail for a while now. Although he hides his identity. The vampires hide their identities because the town was dominated by werewolves, seconded by humans. Aside from being too full of himself, she hated that he called her Rainy.

"My name's not Rainy, douche," she spat, turned to leave, and collided with a wall that was not even supposed to be there.

A gruff expletive reached her ears. She pulled back immediately and lost her balance and would have crashed to the floor if not for the strong hand that grabbed her shoulders and anchored her. Her phone flew out of her hand and crashed a few feet away from them. His masculine scent weaved its way into her senses.

"I"m so sorry," she said breathlessly, knowing that she was at fault. Somehow, she felt that whoever she had run into was new there, he was tall and too broad to be anyone she knew in Elmwood. Her eyes fell on her broken phone lying on the ground, her spirits as broken as the phone. she sighed.

"Are you alright?" the deep voice asked.

Her face crumpled into a frown. Something about his voice stirred memories long buried, and her eyes quickly left the broken phone on the floor to focus on the man in front of her, who was still holding her. When she saw his face, she was grateful that he was still holding her or her knees would have buckled.