Page 44 of Reject Him

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

The next morning, Eme can feel Logan watching her get dressed. Ignoring his stare, because she knows what he wants, she pulls on a long-sleeve gray dress then heads to the bathroom to check herself in the mirror.

He wants sex. They barely slept last night because of how much they coupled, and today she is sore in places she didn’t know could be sore. She had wanted it as much as he did, as much as he does, but they can’t stay in bed all day. She knows they have to face the music eventually, and as tempting as it is to cuddle and couple, she knows that they shouldn’t.

The bathroom floor is still wet from last night, and she silently prays that Val won’t eat them alive for the mess. She almost passes it by but then spies it with a squint.

Opening the cabinet on the left side of the tub, she pulls out a couple of towels, bends, and tries to mop some of it up. Val shouldn’t have to clean up their mess, not when Eme can do something about it to make the woman’s life a little easier.

When the floor is completely dry, she throws the wet towels into the hamper. Job done, she turns to the mirror and sighs softly at the state of the black circles under her eyes. She rubs at them.

Her cheeks, on the other hand, are glowing. Her hair is a mess, however. She runs her fingers through it to try to tame it, eventually giving up, and throws it into a bun.

“There’s an extra toothbrush in the vanity drawer,” Logan calls from the bed.

She thanks him and digs inside the cabinet. She finds the toothbrush right away and eagerly brushes her teeth. When she’s done, she straightens her dress and looks at herself once more. Her eyes zoom to the bite mark on her neck. Soon, it’ll scar, but today it’s sore. She touches it gingerly and rubs away the dried blood still left there.

This mark . . . it’ll tell everyone that she is his. His mark will tell everyone that he is hers. The thought thrills her, though she does have some butterflies about it, mostly because of how awkward it’ll be in front of her father.

Her father. She touches the mark one more time. Will he leave now that the alliance is solidified? She’s just glad it was on her terms, glad that she was given a choice in the matter. Would she have resented Logan otherwise? Perhaps, but now she has a mate. A mate! She giggles at the hilarity of it all. Her! Mated!

“What are you laughing about?” Logan asks as he leans against the bathroom door frame.

“I have a mate,” she says, tearing her eyes away from the mark to look at him and his own scar.

He grins and comes to stand behind her. At some point, while she was in the bathroom, he had gotten ready. He’s dressed in blue jeans and a gray, flannel button-down shirt. Stubble is visible along his jaw, and he rubs it against her head. “Are you ready to tell everyone else?”

She exhales loudly, the nervous butterflies coming back full force. “As ready as I’ll ever be.” She just hopes they don’t make a big deal about it.

They head downstairs to find Wayne and Draven eating their breakfast. They waited for them just like Eme thought they would.

Flirting with Wayne while leaning against the island on the opposite side is Val, eating her own breakfast. She eyes them suspiciously as they make their way into the kitchen, but when she eyeballs Eme’s mark and then Logan’s mark, she drops her spoon. Eggs go flying across the counter, and she claps her hands delightedly.

“I told you it would work!” Val exclaims to the boys.

Wayne rises from his chair and slaps Logan on the back. Draven just grins, and Val runs around the island and wraps Eme into a hug. “Congratulations!”

Eme pats her back. “Thank you.”

Val releases her only to grab her cheeks. “How’s it feel to be officially alpha? To be one of us?”

Grasping her hands and removing them from her face, Eme leans forward and pecks Val on the cheek. “Wonderful.” In truth, she can’t believe she waited so long. And, in truth, she does feel like one of them. “Now I just have to tell my father.”

“Oh,” Wayne says, scrunching his face. “How awkward. I’ll do it.”

Eme raises a brow. “You will?”

He shrugs and pockets his hands. “Call it part of my duty.”

“Oh!” Val slaps her thigh. “There’s so much planning to do!”

Eme spares Logan a glance. Then she looks back at Val. “Planning?”

“The mating ceremony!” Val goes on and on, explaining how lights will be hung here and there and good food will be on tables for everyone to enjoy. Eme lets it all fall on deaf ears. She had forgotten about mating ceremonies, and right now, it doesn’t feel like the right thing to do. So much is happening within the pack that she isn’t sure a distraction will be a good idea. She voices this aloud.

“Eme,” Logan starts, but Val cuts him off with a swipe of her hand.

“Nonsense. It’s exactly what this pack needs.”