The Bounty Hunter's Mate

The Rejection

LEXI POV

The revelation from Adriene was pretty interesting. Kevin was looking for a girl he was convinced could give him information he needed to keep his butt out of jail. So now I had two people I could find. The girl would eventually lead me to Kevin and she might be easier to find.

I checked with a few other people I had wanted to talk with but I heard most of the same things all over again. No one knew where Kevin was. He was innocent. He would never have hurt Ella.

It was after lunchtime and Hagrid’s stomach was making vulgar noises so we detoured to a sandwich shop in the village. I bought myself a chicken salad sandwich on toast and I bought Hagrid five of them. He also polished off an entire family sized bag of chips and about a gallon of sweet tea, much to the delight of the family sitting in the booth next to us. Giants don’t often mingle with other supernaturals and he tended to collect a few stares whenever he forgot to use the Glamour.

“I think I have all I need.” I was playing with my sandwich and not looking at Hagrid. I had already packed my overnight bag in the car and I was thinking about skipping out without seeing Luke again. He confused me too much.

“I gotta get my bag, first.” Hagrid looked at me. “And you need to at least say goodbye. He’s your mate.”

Well, Hagrid is certainly full of opinions on this trip. He normally doesn’t say two words and here he is commenting on my relationship status.

“I’ll buy you new clothes. Let’s just go.” My stomach was in knots so I wadded up the last of the sandwich in my napkin and stood up to toss it in the trash. Hagrid shrugged.

“Nigel gave me that shirt. Got to get it.”

“The one with the coffee stain?” I was being a sarcastic b***h and we both knew it. Hagrid stuffed the last whole sandwich in his mouth and I averted my eyes from the half-eaten mess in his mouth. The kids at the next table waved at us when we left.

I took a deep breath and turned the Toyota back towards the Packhouse. I just needed to do the interview and get out of the house before I found myself weakening and wanting another kissing lesson from Luke.

We got back to the Packhouse and Hagrid wandered off to grab his bag while I grabbed my notebook and went in.

“Hey, Heidi! Is Luke in? I just have a few questions for him before I leave and go back to the city.”

I swear the woman looked disappointed in me. What was with these people. I would be a terrible Luna. Why couldn’t they understand that?

“I’ll check, Luna.”

I stood awkwardly by her desk until she beckoned me to follow her. She held the door open for me to walk through and then she shut it firmly behind me, effectively trapping me in Luke’s office. With Luke. The man that smelled like summertime and cherries.

I waved my notebook at him. “You’re the last interview before I go back to the city. I really appreciate you being so cooperative.”

Luke leaned against his desk and smiled at me. “Of course. You’re my mate. We work best when we’re working together.”

Ug. Cheezy. I forced a smile on my lips. “Well, I appreciate it all the same, despite the circumstances.”

He frowned. “What circumstances?”

I plopped myself in the chair I sat in yesterday. Luke loomed over me. “You know last night changed nothing. I can’t leave my job. You can’t leave your Pack. I’d be a terrible Luna. You’d end up resenting me. This relationship, this mate thing, it can’t work. Whether we reject each other now or draw it out and reject each other later, it will all end the same. What we can control is how much heartache we go through getting to that point.”

I felt like I summarized it really well. Luke leaned forward and I caught another whiff of his scent. I was suddenly glad I decided to sit down. My knees were pretty weak.

“Why do you think you’d be a terrible Luna?” he asked. He looked genuinely curious. His lips were just inches from mine. I forced myself to lean back in my chair, pressing my thighs together. I didn’t like what my body was doing right now.

“I just would.” I said breathlessly. He continued to look at me expectantly, so I continued. “I’m selfish, Luke. I like to do what I want, when I want to do it. I don’t like to justify myself to anyone. I don’t play nice with others and I’ve always been a lone wolf. I don’t do empathy really well. And, even though it’s not overtly obvious, I’m a Hybrid. I can’t think of one Alpha bloodline that wants that mixed in. Alphas are the purest of werewolves.”

The look of amusement on his face confused me more than I already was. “Sounds like someone has gotten into your head and told you all of those things about yourself. What surprises me is that you believe them.” His grin got wider. “And, for your information, my line isn’t the purest of werewolves. Great grandad was a Fairy. And my packmembers don’t care. They actually think it’s cool that I can Telekinesis. I’m a favorite at birthday parties.”

That explained his table throwing the other night at the club. So that was kind of cool.

His lips got even closer and, despite my resolve, I found myself leaning in. His amber eyes closed. I leaned in closer, feeling the tingle and sparks leaping from his skin to mine, the mate bond clouding my determination. Maybe this could work.

My eyes flew open and I put both hands on his chest, pushing back hard. No! This could NOT work. I stood up, shaky, and backed away. Luke stayed where he was, propped up on the edge of his desk. He looked at me and I could tell he was irritated.

“I, Alexandra Jones, reject you, Luke Steen of the Riverstone Valley Pack as my mate,” I burst out breathlessly, getting it over and done with. I watched his amber eyes darken. I prayed he’d accept my rejection.