Reaching You

Chapter 6: Ryder

Another week had passed since my mate went to the packhouse. My wolf was going crazy. I kept smelling her all around. I missed her. Even though, I told myself that I had no right to. I had rejected her and that I broke her heart. Ashley knew something was up but she didn't say anything. I was sitting in my office but I couldn't focus at all. I kept wondering what my mate was doing.

I put my pen down. "I'm going for a run," I say to Chase who looks dumbfounded. I never went for runs during the day. But I was itching to see her. I followed her faint scent and saw her walking down the road. She had a box of cupcakes in her arms. I wanted to help her but I knew that I couldn't resist the pull if I got too close to her.

She knocked on the door of a fellow pack member and the kids came out, giggling. "AGE!!!" They shrieked and she handed them the box which they hurried inside with. I watched as her lips curled into a smile and she continued walking down the path.

Seeing her smile managed to satisfy my wolf and I. We returned to the office. I returned to see Chase's father, Elder John. He looked at me with fatherly eyes. He had helped me through hard times. He smiled like he knew something that I didn't. "Paige Smith is a nice girl, isn't she?" He asks, I gulped. I turned to my desk and started organizing the papers to look disinterested. "She's a nice girl." I agreed. He laughs loudly as I drop the stapler onto my foot.

"Let's stop the chit chat and really talk." He says, his eyes twinkling. I sighed loudly. Nothing gets past him. "She's... Paige is my mate." I confessed he gives me a knowing look. He picks up the stapler off the ground and places it on the table. "Yep, I noticed. You couldn't keep your eyes off of her at the pack barbecue. Reminds me of the look I had when I was newly mated with Chase's mother. " He replies, a smile playing on his lips. I shook my head. I turned to face him.

"I rejected her," I say, calmly. I keep my face expressionless. He looks at me and picks up the picture that I kept of my mother off of my desk. "Ryder, you are not your father. And Paige is not your mother." He says, gently. He did not understand the risk of my mate getting hurt. I take the picture from his hands. "She wasn't what I wanted," I state, trying to sound bored. My wolf pounds against my mind to protest. "Hmmm. Why is it then that whenever she leaves, you look at her like she is the last cookie in the jar?" He asks, crossing his arms. He looks annoyingly like Chase.

"You know I can't," I muttered, frustrated. I take a seat and my wolf whimpers at my words. Elder John sits down and gives me a sympathetic look. "I guess it is time you heard the whole story." He says, his voice soft. I give him a look of confusion. "Your mother and father had an unusual relationship. They met when they were eighteen. Your father and mother had the strongest mate bond known in the pack's history. Soon you were born but your father got lost in greed. A thirst for more power." He explains.

"He traded a piece of his soul to the devil for power. The devil told him that he would pay a price for this exchange. The devil said that his mate bond would weaken. Your father laughed and said nothing would break his love for your mother. But he was wrong." He says, his voice full of sadness.

"Your father and mother was a rare case. You are not your father. You take after your mother than you think." He says I couldn't believe what I had heard. My father chose power over my mother and for his choice, my mother suffered. "I rejected my mate for nothing?" I said, pain washing over me. I had hurt my mate and denied my wolf, his mate for nothing.

"It's not too late. Treat her well." He says, giving me hope. I grinned for the first time. I felt truly happy. I put on my jacket. "I've got to go," I said, he laughs as I dash out of the office. I grinned as my wolf projected images of my mate. I didn't stop him. But first, I had to talk to Ashley. I stopped by her house and I knock on the door.

She comes out, yawning. She puts her hair up into a ponytail. She looks at me and sighs. "What's up?" She asks, struggling to stay awake. I chuckled at my friend. She looks at me as I gather my wits. She taps her foot impatiently and thoughts of my mate overwhelm my mind.

"Ashley, I can't- My- I. Mate." I spluttered. She bursts out laughing at my effort. She rolled her eyes. I sighed and before I could say another word, she says, "You found your mate, didn't you?" I nodded. She jumps up and down. She gives me a hug. "I am so happy for you. I was afraid that you'll be stupid and reject her because of your past!" She says, with a smile. I give her a sheepish look. She gasps as it hits her.

"YOU IDIOT! WHAT THE FUCK WERE YOU THINKING?!" She yells at me and she drags me into the house. She drags me into the living room where she makes me sit on the floor. "Who is the poor girl that you rejected?" She asks, clearly done with me. That's when I feel something pass the borders. My wolf takes over and I growl one word. Rogues.

"This talk isn't over!" Ashley screams as I leave the house.