Page 31 of His Rejected Fated Mate

After dinner, I headed to my room. I flipped through some more books, trying to see if there was anything I could learn about the cauldron. I’d checked out several books from the library and was coming up empty everywhere I looked. I knew the basics, but nothing new. Nothing told me about the bubbling or how to learn about the magic within it.

I’d even tried to find books about dark magic, but that was a dead end as well. Whatever I did find wasn’t much. It didn’t go into detail on how to stop it.

I pinched at my eyes and felt they were burning. I needed sleep.

I slammed the book shut and flicked off my light. I stared at the ceiling fan and wondered if everything would be okay tomorrow. I couldn’t help but feel anxious about what would happen. Troy said not to worry, but it was only natural that I did.

The next morning, I stood in my closet trying to find something decent to wear. A lot of my clothes were hand-me-downs or something I’d worn so much that they were faded. I didn’t buy myself new clothes because I saw no need. I didn’t like flashy things.

There was a knock on my door, and I heard it open. “Elize, you up?”

“In the closet.” I hung up another dress and sighed, flipping through my clothes again.

Troy stepped into the closet and raised an eyebrow at me. “You’re still not dressed? We have to leave in ten minutes.”

“I have nothing to wear,” I grumbled, throwing my hands up. “I can’t go.”

He chuckled. “You have plenty of clothes, Elize. Just put something on.”

“I have nothing nice to wear.” I turned to him. “You should just go without me. I can’t attend if I have nothing nice to wear.”

He raised an eyebrow at me. “It’s not a party, Elize. And you have plenty of nice clothes. I promise, just put something on, and you’ll be fine. No one is going to care. You could wear sweatpants for all we care.”

“This is important. I’m meeting the other Alphas, and I don’t want to look stupid.”

He gave me a soft smile. “I promise no matter what you wear, they won’t think you’re stupid. Just put something on.”

He slipped back out, and I turned to my clothes. I grumbled, wishing I’d done some shopping. I grabbed a pair of skinny jeans and a simple plum blouse. I headed out and found Troy waiting by the door.

He was wearing a simple outfit himself. He wore jeans with a t-shirt, and I relaxed a little as we headed to the car.

“Are you nervous?”

I nodded. “A little.”

“I promise they are very relaxed. You’ll see.”

As he drove, I took in the view. We were heading out of his pack and into Riley’s, where they had all the meetings.

We arrived and headed into the building. I could hear chatter as we got closer and found there were several people in the room. A couple sat close together, talking in a low voice, with two other guys sitting across from them.

“We’ve arrived,” Troy announces. All eyes snapped toward us, and my stomach dipped. I tried to smile, but I know it probably didn’t come across correctly.

I did a quick scan of the room. It was a simple room with no windows. There was a coffee maker on a small table behind us with a water jug.

“You’re late,” one of the guys added. “You know the meeting starts at ten.”

The woman looked at him and rolled her eyes. “Dustin, you got her just three minutes ago.”

The guy looked at her and made a face. “He didn’t know that.”

She smirked as she rolled her eyes again. “Don’t mind him. He’s just cranky because he didn’t have his coffee yet.”

I felt Troy’s hand land on my back, and I was grateful for the guidance. I followed him to two empty chairs, and we sat down.

“This is Dustin and Titus.” Troy pointed toward the two guys sitting next to each other.

“And this is Riley and Janella.”