Rejected: Found By Another

Chapter 12

LYANNA'S POV

"Knock, Lyanna, just raise your hand and tap your knuckles on the door. It's not that hard," I muttered under my breath as I stood in front of the door.

Xander spent the whole day out. I had no idea there was anywhere in this thick forest and mountains to visit, but when he left after the incident at breakfast, he didn't return all through the day.

I even swallowed my pride and went out looking for him but couldn't find him anywhere around, and I didn't want to keep walking around for fear of getting lost since I barely knew any parts of this woods.

So I returned to the house and stayed locked up in the room where I stayed, guilt eating me alive for the rest of the day.

It didn't help that Reyna had also been ignoring me. I knew she was still upset with me for pushing Xander away this morning, but I swear I hadn't really meant to do that. I have no idea what happened at that moment, to be honest. One second I was staring at him, getting lost in his scent and everything that had to do with him, and the next thing I knew, I was pulling away from him.

What's wrong with me?

It was already getting dark outside, and I lay curled up on the bed, praying and hoping he was okay, when suddenly, the sound of a door slamming shut in the hallway startled me, making me nearly jump out of my skin as I quickly sat up on the bed.

He's back. He's home—I mean, his home, not mine. Definitely not mine.

"Reyna? Reyna, come on, please. I already said I was sorry like a million times already; stop being so difficult," I whined to my wolf in my head, only to once again be ignored by her.

Seriously?

What's wrong with her? She can't just shut me off whenever she feels like it.

'Yes, I can, Lyanna, you were being unreasonable,' Reyna's voice sounded in my head, and I fought back a smile at the relief of hearing her voice again.

"I know, Reyna, and I'm sorry."

'Whatever, Lyanna. What do you want?' Reyna said rudely, causing me to frown.

"Xander is back," I said, deciding to let her attitude slide.

'So?' Reyna asked with even more attitude, and I sighed.

Alright. I may have kind of deserved that one. I guess I really did push her too far last time.

"I think I should go apologize to him for... everything," I said and tried to ignore me, causing me to roll my eyes at her attitude.

"Fine! I'll just go without your approval then," I said before crawling out of bed and walking out of the room.

That was how I found myself standing in front of Xander's room, trying to summon the courage to knock. When did life become so hard anyway? Why does everything have to be so difficult for me? I'll never know what I did to upset the universe and cause it to hate me this way.

"Alright, Lyanna. You can do this. Just—"

'For goodness sake! Just knock, Lyanna! We've been standing here for almost half an hour!' Reyna's voice was just the right push I needed, and I nodded, taking a deep breath and letting it out before raising my hand and tapping my knuckles on the door.

Here we go. There's no going back now.

It was silent for a second, and I started to wonder if I heard wrong and Xander hadn't come home at all.

I felt a pinch of disappointment at that thought and turned to head back to the room when I heard the sound of the key turning, and I froze at the sight of Xander in a towel, water dripping from his body as he ran his fingers through his equally wet hair.

My eyes widened, and my jaw fell as I let my eyes trail down his body, and I quickly turned around with my back to him.

"Oh, God! I'm so sorry, Xander, I—I didn't mean to interrupt your shower!" I hurriedly apologized, only to completely freeze in shock when a sound met my ears, one I never thought possible.

Xander broke into a laugh. Not a smile or a chuckle, but a real, actual laugh. I felt the sound and vibration wash through me, and I almost felt my legs melt into a puddle.

'Have we died and gone to heaven?' Reyna's equally shocked voice asked in my head, and I couldn't help joining in her wonder.

"Turn around, Lyanna," I could still hear the laughter in Xander's voice as he spoke, and I immediately shook my head no, causing him to explode into another round of laughter.

What's wrong with him today? Did he eat or drink something from wherever it was he'd been all day?

I heard the rustling of clothes behind me, and after a moment, Xander spoke again.

"You can come look now, Lyanna. I'm all covered up."

I slowly turned around, and true to his words, Xander was in a pair of black sweatpants and a grey t-shirt.

I let out a sigh of relief, feeling my cheeks heat up from both embarrassment and the memory of what I just saw.

"Would you like to come in?" Xander asked, and I hesitated for a while, making sure I knew what I was doing before I slowly nodded.

"Come on then," Xander said as he took a step back while holding the door for me. I hesitated for a minute before taking a deep breath and walking in.

"Would you like to sit, or do you prefer standing?" Xander said, gesturing to the sofa in the corner of the room, and I thought about it for a second before shaking my head.

"I think it's best if I just stand."

"Suit yourself," Xander shrugged before walking over to sit on the bed.

"So, to what do I owe the pleasure?" Xander asked as he folded his arms across his chest, his attention now fully on me, and I gulped heavily.

And here comes the hard part.

"I—about last night, and this morning... I guess what I'm trying to say is, I realized I was wrong, about a lot of things, and I just... want to let you know, that I know, if you understand what I mean?"

I knew I wasn't making much sense. I knew what I should say. Call it pride or whatever, but I just couldn't bring myself to say the words that were sitting right at the tip of my tongue.

Xander chuckled. "That was the worst apology I've ever had the displeasure of listening to, Lyanna," Xander said, and I frowned.

"Well, that's all you're getting," I snapped, and Xander chuckled once more before nodding.

"Fair enough."

"Sooo...are we good?" I asked, my question sounding more like a plea than I meant for it to, and I felt my eyes light up when Xander nodded after a moment.

"Good. So then can I ask for a favor?" I asked, probably too soon for someone who has just been forgiven, but I wasn't sure how much time I had.

Xander didn't reply, and I

took his silence as permission to go on.

"I need you to tell me more about the dagger that stabbed me. The Ereden dagger."