Tasting 155

155–I Will Reject My Mate

Nora:

“I actually…” I paused when Ryker coughed and straightened up in his seat. “Dad! Give her some

time. She must have been through so much horror at school. If all that happened on the school

grounds, I can’t imagine how they have treated her,” his intervention prompted Lord Artwood to lean

back in his seat and give me a apologetic smile.

“Oh, I’m so sorry. I didn’t think about it. Why don’t you go rest and then, when you wake up, talk to

Brody and then tell me. This relationship will be a good save,” he continued, and Ryker gently

patted his back.

“Dad! Let it be for now,” his insistence was not only noticed by me but by his brothers too. However,

everyone kept their silence and let Ryker deal with it.

“Okay, go back to your room,” Lord Atwood spoke softly to me. Even when I was being accused of

something so terrible, he was being nice to me and considering my feelings. It made my guilt bigger

in my eyes.

I got up and walked away from them. It was the hardest walk I had taken because all eyes were on

me. Once in my bedroom, I sat down on my bed and started sobbing into my palms. I hated how

Natalya betrayed me and April just went along with it. I wondered if I had made the right decision,

especially when it came to befriending

someone.

After a few minutes of sobbing alone, I heard a knock on the window and instantly knew who it was.

There was only one person who used the window to climb into my bedroom. I rushed to the window

and let

155-1 Wall Reject My Mate

him in.

The moment Ryker entered the bedroom, I rushed into his arms. All anger and arguments aside,

this situation had me messed up. I badly needed someone to hug me, especially my mate.

“Hey! Everything is fine. I got you,” he didn’t waste a single minute before hugging me back tightly

and holding me close to his chest.

“I was so humiliated on the battlefield today, Ryker. They shoved me around and hit my head. They

even called me names and… I felt horrible,” I sobbed against his muscular chest, his scent softly

comforting me.

“I will take care of everyone who misbehaved with you,” he broke the hug and cupped my face in his

hands, planting a gentle kiss on my lips. The fact that we both forgot about our earlier arguments

told me that our mate bond was far more sacred than some petty disagreements.

“Now what? Dad wants to know if I’m dating Brody or not. And I’m not,” I uttered in frustration.

“Then why did you tell Natalya that you were dating him?” he asked, guiding me slowly to my bed

and helping me sit down.

“Because she was threatening me,” I explained, pulling out my phone and handing it to him. He

read the conversation and finally understood why I had to tell her that I was dating Brody.

“Nora! If you had told me that before, all this could have been avoided. I would have dealt with it

before it even got out,” Ryker sighed. As he put my phone away, he held my hand and kissed the

back of it.

“But I will fix it all. You don’t need to do anything before Dad or lie about dating Brody,” he began,

but I didn’t wait for him to finish before

sighing in relief.

“Really?” I smiled widely, but then I noticed he wasn’t done yet.

“All you need to do is reject Cain,” he added, and my body flinched as

freed my hands from his grip.

“Nora! What’s wrong with that request? If I had a mate, a second mate, wouldn’t you ask me to

reject her before you accepted me?” he asked, narrowing his eyes as he waited for my response.

“Sure. But are you willing to tell everyone I’m your fated mate?” I inquired. He pulled back, rolling

his eyes as if tired of me bringing up the same conversation over and over again.

“What’s wrong with being called a second chance mate? In fact, you will tell Cain that I’m your

second chance mate and that you felt the mate bond with me after his rejection,” he made things so

complicated. It was as if he truly wasn’t ready to accept me for who I was.

“Why? Because those who had multiple mates were frowned upon in the past?” I scoffed and shook

my head in disbelief.

“Just do as I’m telling you,” he grunted at me.

“No! If you’re going to accept me, you’ll accept me for who I am. I’m not going to lie about anything.

And you’ll accept me before I reject Cain,” I stomped my foot and got up from the bed, watching him

stare at me as his face started to tense up.

“Why? Let me ask you something. If Cain accepts you first, would you reject me?” That question

from him came out of the blue.

I hadn’t thought about it myself either. I mean, I was attracted to both of them, but picking one over

the other had never been an option. No wonder the Moon Goddess made them both my fated

mates.

1551 Will Reject My Mate

“Your silence really upsets me,” he commented.

He slowly got up and adjusted his coat. “Reject Cain, Nora. I’m telling you to reject him and do as I

say,” he repeated before walking towards the window.

I felt like I needed to take a stand for myself. I cannot let him make all these decisions for me when

he cannot even accept me for who I am.

“No! If you ask me again, I will reject you,” the moment those words. slipped from my lips, he

stopped dead in his tracks. I saw his fists clenched, but he never turned around to face me.

After pausing for a few seconds, he left through the window in a hurry, and I regretted saying that

last phrase. It’s just that his controlling behavior was getting on my nerves now.