After Rejection

"We were devastated when he left."

Chapter 12!!!!
Happy reading!!!
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"Y'all are mates, so why isn't he living in our pack?" Zach questioned.

  I rolled my eyes, annoyed at his constant questioning.

  "Second chances are different. There is a connection, but it's so small that it's barely noticeable. It takes time to build and strengthen. It's similar to a human relationship."

  "Okay, then. Change of topic." He paused, thinking. "What time are you leaving to meet your cousins?"

I checked the clock. "An hour. Now get out of my office, please. I have some paper work to catch up on and so do you."

He raised both his hands in surrender and backed out of my office, slowly closing the door. I spent half an hour doing paperwork, before deciding it was time to go. I mind linked Lio to meet me in the car and we left.

We were meeting my uncle and cousins at a steakhouse in town. The drive over there was short and it wasn't long before I was parked in front of the restaurant. I took a deep breath to calm my nerves before walking into the restaurant.

A hostesses greeted me by the door. "Hello. Welcome to Ray's Steaks."

"Hello, I'm looking for Jacob Alvarez," I told her with a polite smile.

"Right over here, miss." She lead us to the back of the restaurant where a large table was. My uncle and cousins were there, but there were more people seated at the table. I recognized Alpha Martinez.

"Hello, everyone." All conversations dropped as they turned to face me.

"Cami," Jacob said as way of greeting. He stood up to hug me followed by his sons. "Who is this?" He asked, looking at my brother.

  "This is my brother, Emilio. Emilio, this is my uncle Jacob and his sons."

  Jacob smiles and shook Lio's hand as did Alv and Chris. "Nice to meet you."

"Now, I know that I should have probably informed you, but I wanted to surprise you," he paused and I nodded for him to continue. "Remember when I mentioned your father?" I nodded again. He pointed at an older man. "That's his older brother and his three children." He pointed at Martinez and two women. "I couldn't keep the fact that I found our niece away from him. When he found out, he wanted to meet you. Is this okay?"

I studied the man at the table. He closely resembled my birth father. "Although I was very young when my parents passed, I still hold a lot of love for them. My adopted parents always talked about them and shined them in a good light. I'm happy to meet their sides of the family."

  They all grinned as introductions were passed. The other man was named Nikolas and his daughters were Jasmine and Samantha.

I still felt awkward around them, but I was slowly getting comfortable with them. So was Lio as he laughed with Chris, Alv, and Martinez.

  "I'm so excited to meet you." Jasmine exclaimed. She was twenty, the youngest of her siblings. "Now, I'll have someone to train with, that's if you want," she smiled excitedly.

I laughed, "of course."

"Oh, thank you so much," Samantha said with a big sigh of relief. "She's been dragging me with her on her runs and defense classes and that's just not my thing." She continued causing Jasmine and I to laugh.

"We heard you're an Alpha, is that true?" Samantha questioned. That caught everyone's attention.

"Yes, of the Rose Thorne Pack."

"How did that happen? You're seventeen." Nikolas questioned.

I retold them the story of how I became the Alpha and the response was proud faces.

"Could you tell me more about my father?" I asked Nikolas as we all began to eat.

I small smile crossed his face. "He was a charmer. Confident in himself but not arrogant. He had a leader mentality, especially in training. There wasn't anyone in this pack whose name he didn't know. Although he wasn't Alpha, he always let pack members eat before him. He was a walking magnet, always catching everyone's attention." His smile became sad. "We were devastated when he left."

"It was painful and depressing, however it brought our packs together. Our packs could never get along, but when you're parents left, we united of resources to find them. We were still looking for them up until we met you," Jacob paused for a moment. "Our packs now have a peace treaty."

"And we're hoping you'd like to sign it too," Dean, Nikolas son said with a hopeful smile.

I thought about it for a moment. "I'll have to talk it over with the leadership in my pack."

Dean and Alv nodded in agreement. Many different conversations sprung up during dinner and through dessert. After agreeing to see each other soon and exchanging hugs, we all left to our perspective packs.

  Back at home, after everything going on, I decided to spend some time to myself.  I walked into the gym and began with cardio, before moving to an exercises. I ended with weights.

  I took a long bath and changed into comfortable clothes. Sweatpants and a T-shirt.

I spent the rest of my day doing paperwork and online classes in my office. A cup of tea next to me.

  A typical teenage thing to do.

  I mind linked Zach, Drew, and Isa and waited for them to come to my office.

  "What's going on, C?" Andrew asked, getting straight to the point as Isa and Zach sat on the couch.

  "The Alphas of the neighboring packs want to re sign a treaty that they previously had with our pack. I wanted y'all's input on the topic."

  They all sat, contemplating. Andrew was the first to speak. "They have been great allies in the past. They, also, have strong leadership. Keeping a treaty with them would be wise."

  Zack and Isa nodded in agreement.

  "I'll call them tomorrow to let them know." I paused for a moment. "There's something else I wanted to tell y'all." They looked at me expectantly. "Alpha Alvarez and Alpha Martinez are my cousins."

  Shock covered both Drew and Isa's faces. Zach already knew, being one of my closest friends and Chris' friend.

  "You didn't mention that when you became Alpha," Isa stated.

  "It's a recent discovery. I just wanted to keep my leadership updated. Please do not tell any pack members yet. I'll tell them when I tell them about the treaty." They nodded in reply. "So, update me on training and the progress."

  They gave me their input before leaving. The warriors were making great progress and getting stronger.

  "Cami, you have a visitor!" I heard through the door.

  "I'll be down in a second," I replied, finishing up some paperwork. I locked my office before walking down the stairs. I entered the living room to see the surprise guest sitting on the couch.

  "Hey," I said, catching his attention. Elijah stood up and walked towards me, his hands behind his back.

  "What brings you here?" I questioned him.

  He frowned. "Do you not want me here?"

  "Yes!" I began to wave my hands to emphasize my point. "I was just curious as to what brings you here."

  Something akin to relief crossed his face before it was replaced with a small smile. He brought his hands forwards; an assortment of candies in one hand and sunflowers in the other.

  "Will you go on a date with me?"
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