CHASED BY MY REJECTED MATE

CHAPTER TEN

TYLER

My heart almost stopped the moment we walked into the school and saw Rex.

He looked rough.

His shirt was dirty, and his hair was all messed up. His face had a small bruise on one cheek, and his lower lip was red like he had been hit by someone.

He looked like he’d been in a serious fight. A real fight. And he was only four.

He was still a boy.

I stood frozen, my heart pounding so hard to the extent it hurt my ears.

This was the first time I was seeing my son, my own blood, up close like this. And the sight of him in that state broke something deep inside me.

Kat and Julian rushed to him immediately, both bending down to his level.

“Sweetie, what happened?” Kat asked gently, her voice shaking.

Before Rex could speak, a woman in a yellow floral top stepped forward. “I’m his new class teacher,” she said softly, a little out of breath. “There was a fight. Rex got into it with a few of the boys.”

I blinked. “A fight?”

“Yes… and it’s unlike him. Rex is usually very quiet. Obedient. He never causes trouble,” the teacher continued, glancing at Kat and Julian with an apologetic look. “He’s the calmest and most brilliant kid in class.”

The words hit me hard. So hard I had to take a step back. My chest tightened painfully, and not just because of the ache that had been haunting me for years.

It was the guilt. The sharp, choking guilt.

My son got into a fight. And I hadn’t been there. I hadn’t been there to protect him. To teach him. To guide him.

I missed his first steps. His first words. His first day at school. I wasn’t even there to kiss his forehead when he had his first fever or to read him a story before bed.

I wasn’t there.

For four long years, I missed it all.

And it was all my fault.

I should’ve believed Kat. I should’ve stayed and listened instead of turning my back on her when she needed me the most. I shouldn’t have walked away that day.

I should have stayed and let her explain herself to me. I should have stayed so that we could talk things over and maybe all this wouldn’t have happened.

My chest throbbed again, that same dull pain I’d felt ever since she left. I thought I was sick, thought I had some kind of heart condition. I’d gone to doctors and traditional healers. They ran tests. But they found nothing.

Now I believed what Kat me earlier.

I wasn’t sick. It was the pain of being away from my mate. My true mate. Because she never accepted my rejection.

I was a fool.

I clenched my jaw as I watched Rex wipe his nose with the back of his hand. He was my son. He was my flesh and blood.

He looked just like me when I was his age. The same nose. Same lips. Same eyes. He was a smaller version of me, and it made my heart ache with regret.

How could I have let all this go? And now Kat was getting to this Julian of a guy. Ugh, I hated the guy.

Kat’s voice broke the silence. “Honey, why did you get into a fight?”

He looked down at his feet, twisting his fingers nervously. He sniffled.

“They started it…” he mumbled in that soft, innocent voice only kids had. “They were… they were mean to me…”

Kat touched his shoulder gently. “What did they say?”

“They said…” he sniffed again, and his lips quivered. “They said I didn’t have a Daddy. They said… My Daddy left me because I’m not special and I don't have a future. They said he… he didn’t want me.”

Tears started to fall from his big eyes, and he hugged Kat tightly. His little arms shook around her. Then he turned and wrapped his arms around Julian too.

I stood there frozen, finding it difficult to breathe.

I did that. Me. I was the reason my son thought he wasn’t wanted. I was the reason he felt like he wasn’t loved. That he wasn’t special.

I swallowed hard and cursed under my breath. This pain? I deserved it. I deserved every damn inch of it.

Whoever tried to frame Kat’s up back in my pack and separate us… they succeeded. They stole four years of joy from me. From her. From Rex. And I couldn’t even get justice.

I remembered how I had gone back and beat the guy who tried to force himself on Kat. I didn’t hold back. My wolf took over. The bastard couldn’t even talk when I was done with him.

They rushed him to the hospital. I thought I could finally make things right.

But when I got to the hospital… he was dead.

He was gone, just like that.

No explanation. No answers. Just… dead.

And I knew. I knew something was wrong. I tried to investigate it for years. Chased every whisper, every clue. But found nothing.

It was like the whole thing had been covered up too cleanly. Like someone didn’t want the truth to come out.

All these years. I had nothing to show for it.

Just regret.

And now, seeing Rex sob in Kat’s arms broke me all over again.

I stepped forward and bent down slowly, my body stiff and sore. “Rex,” I said quietly.

He didn’t look at me. His head was still buried in Kat’s chest.

I cleared my throat and tried again. “Hey, buddy. Don’t ever believe what they say. You’re not worthless, okay? You’re amazing. And those kids? They’re just jealous because you’re smarter and way more handsome than they’ll ever be.”

I meant it. Every word. My boy was perfect. And I wasn’t going to let him feel otherwise ever again.

Rex slowly pulled back from Kat and Julian. His cheeks were red and wet, his eyes puffy. He blinked a few times, then looked at me.

He sniffed. “Mommy… who is he?”