Page 51 of His Rejected Fated Mate

“I can handle it. I’ve met your parents before.”

“I know that. I just… I guess I’m still angry.”

I pulled my eyes up and couldn’t help but be surprised at her words. “Angry? You’re angry at your parents?” Had she said anything before about her parents and her? I knew they had a different relationship, but I don’t recall anything that would have left her angry.

I never knew what fully happened after we parted ways. I just knew she had left.

She nodded, “I grew up always having to suppress my witch abilities. I know that my parents did it because they were trying to protect me, but it only made me feel like I didn’t belong. It’s like asking a shifter to suppress their wolf.”

I frowned. “I never got the feeling that you and your parents didn’t get along.” But then again, she never spoke much about her family life.

She shrugged. “We got along fine, but I always knew they wished I were different. It left me feeling like I didn’t belong.”

I wanted to tell her I didn’t believe that. I saw the way her folks looked at her. Her father looked at her with nothing but pride, and her mother always spoke well of her. If her parents didn’t want her, we all would have known.

“Ready?”

I nodded and let her lead the way out. We drove over to her folks’ house, which was in a cul-de-sac. Her parents own a small house with a large wrap-around porch.

I couldn’t help but smile, thinking of so many memories. We spent hours reading on the porch. We’d danced on the porch trying to learn for a school dance that we never ended up going to.

All summer, we basked in the sun, soaking up the warmth. We laughed and argued. We had a water fight and ate pies together. We lay in the grass under the stars.

“Hey?” Elize waved a hand. “You coming?”

I nodded, reminding myself that it was in the past.

I knocked on the door and glanced at Elize. I reached for her hand and squeezed it. I expected her to pull her hand back, but she squeezed my hand back. She looked at me and softly smiled.

“If you decide you don’t want to press your uncle.”

She shook her head, not letting me finish. “No, we need to know.”

The door was pulled open, and Elize’s mother, Eva, stood in the doorway. Her mother offered a smile, and I could see so much love in her eyes.

“Elize, hi honey. And Troy. Welcome. We were just pulling the chicken out of the oven. I hope chicken is okay with you guys. We didn’t have time to throw anything else together at the last minute.”

Her mother pulled the door further open, and we stepped inside. The house was warm, so we took off our jackets and hung them up.

The living room looked the same as I remembered. They had an L-shaped couch sitting in front of the big window. There were pictures hung on the wall of the family and distant relatives.

They had a built-in bookshelf that was filled with books. Books that Elize and I had read together and argued over plots. Books that we swapped and kissed behind.

“We’re so excited that you guys wanted to have dinner tonight,” Eva said as we stepped further into the living room.

In the living room, Elize’s father, Lucas, was sitting on the couch. He was reading a book and glanced up from it once we walked in.

“Lucas. Elize and Troy are here.”

Lucas smiled as he set the book down and pulled himself up. “Elize, you look well. Troy, it’s lovely to see you again.”

I gave her father a nod as he stopped just in front of us. “How is everything going?”

“Fine, I’m fine,” Elize said, rubbing her hands together.

Lucas nodded as he looked at me. “And how are you, Troy? Things have been crazy in the pack this past couple of months. Hopefully it’s not too much for you.”

I nodded. “They have, but things are going well. Nothing to worry about. Everything is under control.”