Rejected My Alpha Mate novel Chapter 17

Tyler POV

Camelot Records Auditorium

"No wonder you've kept her hidden all these years! I wouldn't want the world trying to steal my woman all the time either."

Dylan Roberts had been my best friend since we were boys. He was the youngest son of House Roberts who were the Alpha House of New Moon Pack. My father had wanted me to have strong friends; all the boys put into my orbit growing up had been potential new Alpha leaders or betas at least.

The merit of a friendship was judged based on how useful the friendship could prove to be in the future as far as Alpha John Wright was concerned.

I doubted my father had ever had a conversation without first weighing whether or not he could benefit from the exchange of words.

"Thanks for letting me sign her. I gotta admit I was surprised you agreed to it with the travel involved in her tour package, but it's a very generous---"

"Travel?"

Dylan looked at me with a short bark of laughter, "Tyler, have you heard anything I've said? We signed your wife last week with one of the most ambitious tour schedules in years. People are hungry for exactly the intimate performance experience Rachel delivers and she does deliver every single time, man! She's a natural!"

'Silence!'

I closed my eyes in frustration as I ground my teeth together. My wolf was getting away from me again. Wynd had completely taken over to snap at Dylan.

"I apologize, Dylan. Wynd is not keen on the attention Rachel is getting. He'd also like it noted she is our mate, not our wife."

"Understandable," Dylan agreed cautiously, edging back toward the stage as he eyed me, "I'm going to go check in with the team. Make sure everything is ready to go."

I let him run while he could. Wynd radiated a smug aura in my mind which I couldn't fault him for as he was a strong Alpha. Wynd had not been the one to lose our mate: I shouldered the blame alone for Rachel's absence.

'Damn right you do. It's your place to get her back, too!'

'Do you have any suggestions for returning her?' I asked my wolf, feeling a fool for having a conversation with myself in public even if it were entirely confined to my mind.

'Why would I have any idea how to get your mate back? My mate didn't leave me. Your mate left you!'

Wynd had a point.

Rayne had gone with Rachel the way Wynd would always have to go with me. Our wolves were trapped inside us as much as we were trapped with our wolves. I sometimes envied the silence humans must enjoy inside the sanctity of their private minds. I knew the quiet wouldn't be worth the tradeoff though.

Humans were an overall weak race and I had not been bred to tolerate weakness.

Dylan had not returned in some time and the stage remained empty. I was growing more restless than the reporters. Unsurprising, I supposed, as reporters were regularly expected to wait while I waited for no one.

Moonrise Entertainment handled many press conferences every single week. I was annoyed over the extensive delay in presenting the talent.

I told myself I was frustrated by the lack of professionalism, but Wynd gave a snort inside my mind to prove he knew my irritation was fueled solely by my impatience to lay eyes on my mate again.

Dylan was shaking hands with an older man by the wings. I couldn't see Rachel. My view was obstructed as my stepsister Charlotte made her way in front of me.

"Tyler! You have to meet Nathan Lewis. He's Alpha heir to Full Moon Pack. He says he knows Rachel!"

I didn't care if Nathan Lewis knew the location of the Holy Grail, the Fountain of Youth, and Osama Bin Laden's weapons cache. If he kept blocking my view of my mate, I was going to kill him.

Holding his hands up jokingly, Nathan offered, "Easy, big fella. I'm only here as a friend. I promise I will leave your little sister in the same piece I found her in."

"I don't give a damn how you leave Charlotte. She's capable of handling her own affairs."

Charlotte had never needed a male to take care of her. She wasn't delicate the way Rachel had always been. I suppose my father was lucky in his daughter because I'd never been responsible for protecting my sister.

"Ouch. Char, you sure big brother has your best interests at heart?"

"Don't worry about Tyler. He's all bark and no bite."

I had plenty to say about her description, but, right then, Rachel appeared on the stage and the world fell away.

A slip of blue silk whispered over her body, molding itself to her curves and moving as smooth as water being poured into a glass. Her skin glowed with health. She'd paired a set of red stilettos with the dress for a pop of color; I couldn't stop staring at how long and strong her legs looked.

Applause sounded throughout the audience as she settled on the piano bench.