Page 53 of Rejected Alpha Mate

A pathetic habit that I’ve picked up every time I go into my study, but I keep thinking that one day, the moment will feel right. One day, she’ll look at me the way she used to, even for a second.

One day, I’ll stop being such a coward.

The trees part, opening into the small clearing near the lake. The water gleams in the afternoon light, still and silver, reflecting the sky. The rock sits at the edge of the water—the same rock that held more of our memories than either of us will ever admit aloud.

She’s there, and my heart stops.

Donna sits on the rock with her knees pulled to her chest, hair whispering in the breeze, gaze fixed on the water like she’s looking for answers inside it, or staring at her own reflection. But the latter is too vain for someone like Donna, though I wish she saw her beauty through my eyes for once.

The air leaves my lungs, unsteady and raw. The meeting wasn’t planned, but it feels inevitable. Like the universe patiently waited for us to stop running circles around each other. Shrill, my heart hammers in my chest as I search for courage over cowardice.

I take a step closer, careful not to startle her. “Didn’t think I’d find you out here.”

Her shoulders tense for a moment, then soften as she glances back at me, surprise flickering across her face, but not annoyance. Her eyes actually sparkle with warmth and invitation.

“Nicholas,” she says softly. “I just…needed a moment.”

“I know the feeling,” I chuckle lightly, watching as she turns her eyes back toward the lake, the wind catching the loose strands of her hair. The scene is so painfully familiar that my heart squeezes.

I step beside her, letting the silence settle between us. It’s not uncomfortable now. It’s…easy.

Then I reach into my pocket and brush my thumb over the velvet box.

It’s time.

Time for honesty, time for something sincere.

For something that’s hers.

“Donna…” I murmur, moving closer to her. “I have something for you.”

Her breath catches when she looks up at my hand, at the small velvet box resting in my palm. I crouch down beside her, and her brows pull together, surprise softening into something warmer. “What…is that?”

“It’s your…” I gulp on my hesitation. “It’s your graduation gift,” I admit, voice low. “I should’ve given it to you back then, at Terramor. But things got…complicated, as you know.”

“Y-you got me a graduation gift?” Her frown deepens, and I nod nervously, keeping my head down as I open the box to reveal the thin silver chain with the teardrop moonstone on the pendant.

I pick up the chain, holding the piece of custom-made jewelry so the light catches it and highlights its shine.

“Of course, I got you a graduation gift,” I admit earnestly. “I wasn’t gonna show up that night empty-handed. Not when it’s you.”

Donna’s gaze flickers to mine, and for once, there’s no wall between us. No sharp edge of resentment. Just curiosity. Quiet intimacy. The possibility of something real.

“It’s beautiful,” she whispers in awe as she reaches out tentatively, brushing her fingertips lightly over the pendant. “Thank you.”

“May I?” I ask, pointing to her neck. She nods and turns her back to me, then sweeps her hair over one shoulder.

Gulping hard when she can’t see me, I shuffle closer to her on the rock, then place the necklace over her neck. My fingers and knuckles brush the warm skin of her nape, igniting the awareness that has always been there every time I touched Donna.

The sun dips lower, painting her skin in gold as I secure the clasp, and with my breath lodged in my throat, I spare a moment to stare at her scent gland. My inner wolf stirs, fantasizing about claiming her for good.

That liberty, that honor would have been mine if I hadn’t made the biggest mistake of my life last summer. But somehow, when Donna turns and meets my eyes, that mistake I made doesn’t feel like the end of the world.

And that’s where everything shifts, where the past meets the present.

Where the truth finally demands space, and I decide that now is not the time to be a coward.

“It looks beautiful on you, Donna,” I compliment, eyes flicking to where she’s toying with the pendant between her thumb and index finger, and my lips curl to a smile.