Once Rejected, Twice Denied.

Chapter Twenty-Three

BRETT POV:

My fingers tap in little rhythms on the wooden dining table in repetitive motions. There is a whole bunch of testosterone hovering in this room and I can smell the tension. Nick and Damon are watching me very carefully, knowing fully well that I am a ticking time-tomb just waiting for something to tick me off. I cannot believe I am in the f*****g same pack that treated my mate like a piece of s**t. To make matters worse, I have that mutt, Alpha Keith and his father sitting there staring at me. Keith has some bimbo on his arm, busy snapping gum bubbles and grinning like a trophy in a room full of powerful men. I take a deep breath in and swallow my pride. Goddess knows I would be in s**t if I caused a stir now. I have only just recovered and us three could never take down a whole, enormously powerful pack of wolves. I have no choice but to be friendly, even if all I want to do is rip them all apart. I offer Keith my hand for a shake.

"Alpha Keith. Thank you for allowing me to recover in your hospital and for your excellent hospitality."

The mug bastard smirks at me.

"The famous and mysterious Alpha Brett. It is good to meet you in the flesh."

If I didn't know how sick he was underneath all this friendliness, I might have actually thought this had been a normal and decent pack, but all the stories that Tessa told me prove otherwise. My eyes look beyond where Alpha Keith is sitting and I notice the large, wooden staircase and the little door just under it. Tessa always spoke about having to live under the staircase to the pack house. My blood starts to buzz a little and I snap my eyes back to the group of people with a forced laugh at his remark of me being "mysterious."

"I don't like getting out my pack territory unless it is absolutely necessary."

Alpha Keith nods and smiles.

"A private man. I can appreciate that, son."

His father turns to me now with a happy smile. Also friendly, but that is just a mask to hide how cruel he is.

"Housing you in our pack hospital was the least we could do after your brave victory at defeating the rogue Alpha. Thank Goddess he is out of our world now. He was causing many issues to all of us packs this side."

"Oh?"

Damon asks now and Alpha Keith nods.

"He has been rallying up an army for awhile now to bring down all the great Alpha's. Apparently, he wanted to be some sort of King."

"I think he forgot what he was up against with you and your men."

The pair look at me now as though I am some hero. They have no idea how much my balled fists are burning to punch them, but I need to keep it that way. I peep at Nick now who is also straining a smile.

"Well, I think they would have had no chance with you guys either. I have heard amazing things about your pack!"

Damon swoops in to save the day and we all chuckle at his compliment. My eyes look back at the staircase now and my jaw ticks. Alpha Keith notices and looks behind him. When he looks back at me, his expression is somewhat confused and curious all in one.

"See something, Alpha Brett?"

I open my mouth, but one of the maids interrupts us with coffee and snacks. Damon stiffens next to me and I see him balling a fist as the maid walks into the room. He is wearing a deep frown, his eyes flashing and his nostrils flaring. I look at the girl carefully and notice that hidden under her auburn hair, green eyes and light shade of foundation, were the faintest signs of bruising. When Damon looks at me desperately, I know what is going on and, for the first time in my life, I don't know what the f**k to do. I can see the signs written all over his face. I can sense it on him. I also know that if Damon causes any s**t here now then all three of us and the girl is dead. There is no way this ends well for anyone. We need to be more smart about this.

"Nick, you need to make up an excuse to get Damon out of here now. I will be right behind you."

I mind link Nick and he doesn't even look at me. I can see in the body language that he heard me loud and clear though.

"Alpha's, may I offer you some co-"

The auburn-haired girl looks up and as she sees Damon, her fingers drop the tray and all of it's contents drop to the floor in one loud and epic mess.

"YOU STUPID b***h!"

"Clean this s**t up at once, Aimee!"

Alpha Keith and his father roar and, thankfully, their noise hides Damon's scowl. Thankfully, Damon is INCREDIBLY good at controlling his wolf. He has alpha family blood in his veins, but he isn't the alpha, meaning he's a little less possessive. The girl gets watery eyes. I frown, where have I heard the name Aimee before? I am sure that Tessa has brought her up. It clicks. Aimee was Tessa's friend. The same girl who planned to hand over Tessa to be rejected and banished. I feel my one hand shaking and have to put it under the table. Why would they beat her now, though? It makes no sense and something is very off here.

"Excuse us, Alpha Keith, I just got a link that our vehicles are ready outside. Damon and I are going to go pack up ours and Alpha Brett's things for the journey ahead."

Nick excuses himself and Damon. Alpha Keith and his father seem more concerned about the auburn-haired girl who is now in tears and picking up the mess on the floor. Finally, she finishes and scurries off quickly. I notice how she flinches under the stare of the two men and this makes me feel deeply concerned. Concerned for her and concerned for my brother.

"Stupid maids just can't do their jobs these days!"

Alpha Keith's father mutters. I nod and smile, trying not to look too worried. Another maid comes running in with some coffee and I gladly accept it, just wanting to get this all done with.

"Well, I am just glad the rogue Alpha is taken care of. We can all rest now."

"And their land is all yours. How fortunate for you."

I don't miss how Alpha Keith says it. Of course, he would be worried about the giant area of "no-man's" land that I have claimed. I smile at him stiffly.

"I will gladly discuss the distribution of the land with the council. First I would like to get back home to my own bed, my family, my pack and..."

I look at Keith now.

"And to my mate."

He puts his mug down now and his smile widens. His father smacks my shoulder in joy.

"Your father never mentioned anything about you getting a second-chance mate! What amazing news!"

I offer him a small smile.

"Yes, the Moon Goddess really has blessed me. I am not sure what I did to deserve this one, though."

I give Keith a sort of "in-yours" type of look, which he smirks at.

"And do tell us, who is this mate of yours?"

My smile broadens as Tessa's long, golden hair and crystal blue eyes come into my mind as if she were right in front of me. Goddess, I cannot wait to see her again when I get home.

"Her name is Tessa. I found her in the rogue territory awhile back."

Keith's smile fades and I see his fingers squeezing at the table. His father and him share a weird look.

"Such a weird story. She said her pack banished her for no reason! She has no recollection of where she came from though. I think her time in the rogue territory traumatized her a little."

Keith's whole body is tense. I look between him and his father. I purposely left out me knowing it was them. I also kept out the rejection part, because who the f**k cares if this mutt WAS her mate? She is MINE now.

"You wouldn't happen to know her?"

I tease them a little, but manage to keep my resolve through a sip of my black coffee. The two share a weird look and Alpha Keith's father finally breaks the thick silence.

"Never heard of her, to be honest, but we are so glad to hear that you have found your mate!"

Liar. I wish I could s***h his mouth. f*****g LIAR! A car horn sounds from outside and brings us out of our little bubble. Keith is pale and looks frozen to the spot. I stand whilst finishing the last drop of my coffee.

"Thank you. She truly is the best. It feels good to have someone again who is all MINE."

I emphasize the last word and look at Keith again. His eyes flash and I am pretty sure mine do too. Oh, the fucker knows exactly what is going on here. He is an alpha and he is clever and from a long line of excellent alpha blood. Of course, if what Tessa said was true, Keith was embarrassed by being mated to her and wouldn't want his father to know this fact, so I doubt he would do anything right here and now. The young Alpha knows better than to challenge me though.

"Now, if you will excuse me. Let me put my mug in the kitchen and I will be off. Wouldn't want to keep my pack waiting considering how long it's been."

I smile and shake hands with both of them. Keith and I share a look of forced understanding. I wish he would challenge me now, so I could kill him for hurting my mate, but he wouldn't and when he opens his mouth and nothing comes out, I just smirk and let go. Coward. My legs take me quickly to the kitchen. I know I have very little time to tie up loose ends here and I owe this one to my brother. I see the auburn-haired girl wrapping her hand with bandage by the kitchen sink. I put my mug down and she looks at me with green eyes.

"One hour. Have your things packed and meet me at the road that borders your pack. You need to be smart and you need to be quick."

"That man that was with you..."

I smile at her now softly.

"My brother, Damon. He won't rest until you're safe."

She nods and up close, I can tell she has a lot more strength and courage than a normal wolf. She is a high-ranking wolf. I frown now at her. How did a high-ranking wolf get degraded to being a maid?

"They don't keep tabs on me. I can slip out."

I nod.

"One hour."

She nods and I leave through the kitchen door with balled fists. I thought I had left behind a battle when I killed the rogue king, but how wrong I was. The look in Alpha Keith's eyes, the way his hand wrapped around mine, the glint in his eyes and the testosterone fuming off him was enough for me to know the truth. We may not have fought today, but the day will come. I round the house and see Nick and Damon in the car and I jump in quickly.

"MATE! MATE!"

Damon starts going f*****g crazy.

"I CAN'T LEAVE HER IN THERE! BRETT, I CANT!"

I grab my brother by his shoulders and make him look at me. His wolf is trying to battle for control, his breathing is coming out in hot spurts and his eyes are black.

"Listen to me, Damon. You need to be strong, because we only have one shot at this. You will have your mate. She is busy packing her things and we have one hour to get to the road that links to the border of her pack territory. I chose there because it gives us twenty minutes to drive as fast as we can into the neighboring pack's territory and we know they won't come for us on someone else territory."

"MATE!"

He growls. Nick helps me.

"We cannot take her now, Damon. It would be blood shed and none of us would make it home to our mates."

This makes Damon look at me now. Nick also looks worried. Damon's breath starts to calm a little and finally, I see his Hazel eyes coming back. He nods at me and Nick, who also lets go and starts up the engine.

Well, today has been crazy!