Page 55 of His Rejected Fated Mate

I shook my head. “I just… for years I tried to figure out what could have happened. And he just told me. But I just… I don’t understand.” I chewed on my cheek. “Martin was the only family member who I felt understood me. My parents always wanted to suppress my magic. They were always worried about what I could do. But Martin never seemed to care. He just accepted me. Or at least I thought.”

“Well, if it makes you feel better, I think Troy cares about you a lot.”

I glanced at her. “What makes you think that?”

“I can see it in the way he holds himself. I see it in the way he looks at you and how he talks to you. His actions.”

“I shouldn’t have complained to you. It’s inappropriate.”

She snorted. “Oh, please. If anyone is going to understand, it’s going to be me. My brother is sweet, but he’s kind of a twit at the same time.”

I couldn’t help but smile. I wondered why we’d never met, how I’d spent so many hours with Troy and never knew his sister. But then again, I tried hard to be invisible in school.

I looked across the park, taking in the silence. “Do you ever wish you could go back and change things?”

“All the time, but then we wouldn’t be here.” She gave me a smile. “And I’m grateful for you. I’m glad my brother hassomeone who cares about him. And I think you should trust him and your gut.”

“About?”

“Your uncle. I could see it on your face. You were thinking about something.”

I could feel the twist in my gut telling me. “I just…” I frowned. “If what he says is true… how will I be able to trust people?”

She offered a sympathetic smile. “You will. You just have to find the right people. And you’re not a kid anymore. It gets easier.”

We sat in silence for a moment longer. “Thank you, Janella. It means a lot.”

She tapped her shoulder against mine. “Anytime. We’re family after all, now. We witches, have to stick together.”

I couldn’t help the giggle that burst free.

I headed home a little later. I was determined to get to the bottom of whatever happened. I wasn’t going to bed until I knew the full story of what happened between Martin and Troy.

I marched inside and found Troy in the kitchen. I was pretty sure that he was waiting for me to get back home. He sat up straighter as I walked in. I threw my shoes off and marched over, standing across from him.

“You let your phone in the car,” he stated, sliding the phone toward me. I looked down and saw messages from Martin on it.

I grabbed the phone and slid it away from me. I looked back at Troy. “You’re going to tell me everything, and I meaneverything, Troy. I don’t want anything let out. Put everyone on the table.”

He looked a little surprised at this. “Are you sure?”

I thought of my relationship with Troy in the past. I remembered how much he cared and how he’d always been there. And for the life of me, I could never figure out why he suddenly ended things. It wasn’t like Troy. And told myself for years that he was just an ass that didn’t know what he wanted. But that wasn’t true.

Troy knew what he wanted in life. The only time I ever saw him waver was when he spoke about being Alpha, and it wasn’t because he didn’t want it, but because he did. But he worried he would never get it. He didn’t have anyone in his family who could get him in. He had to do it himself.

Troy was strong-headed but kind. He was there for people and always offered a hand if needed. Even in school, I knew that Troy was going to do great things and people would flock to him. I knew that he would be a great Alpha.

I pushed my anger aside and felt my shoulders drop. Because for the first time in a long time, I just wanted to set my mind aside.

“Tell me.”

Troy explained that Martin expressed his dislike of our relationship from day one. He told Troy many times that he needed to break up with me. He explained that he told Martin no and that he wasn’t going to let me go. He cared about me, and he didn’t care if it would be a hard relationship. He was willing to do whatever it took.

All words I’d heard him say so many times before. And I could see just how much he meant them, just like he had back then.

He told me how Martin tried reasoning with him. Expressing that I was a witch and that you never knew what I could do. My magic was knew and if I didn’t learn to control it, I would end up doing more harm than good. That I could harm people, and he needed to think about the pack. Martin told him that I would never amount to anything and that he needed to look for someone his equal. Someone who could give Troy what he needed.

I didn’t know what hurt more. The fact that Martin said all of this while telling me a different tune. Or the fact that he was nothing like I thought. The man that Troy was describing was nothing like the Martin I knew.