Chapter 355

Brandon stared down at me for a few moments before a soft smile broke out on his face. If I knew him less, or was a little stupider, I might have fallen for that face. I might have given up everything in my last life to see him smile at me like this. But this time, this time, I wanted to punch him in his stupid, smirking mouth.

“Have you considered it?” His voice sounding hopeful. Too hopeful.

I smiled softly and looked away. “I have. I still want to meet my mate.” I watched his face fall. “But…” I looked back and leaned in. “I would be open to spending more time with you to see if we are compatible.”

“But if you are waiting for your mate…” He pouted.

I shrugged. “I’m open to possibilities. I don’t know how long mates will take. Never mind second chance mates.”

His eyes snapped to mine. “A second chance mate?”

I nodded and looked away. “I haven’t told anyone. But when I turned eighteen, I met my mate.” I looked away and allowed my face to fall. I remembered my first life. I remembered the pain, and I allowed my tears to spring to my eyes.

“He rejected you?”

I nodded. Let him believe that the man rejected me. “I don’t even know why. I didn’t even get to speak with him.” I looked down at my hands. “He was passing by my father’s pack and he rejected me and moved on.”

Brandon slid his hand into mine. “Why didn’t you tell anyone?”

I cut him a look. “Do you know how embarrassing it is to admit your mate just rejected you, didn’t even speak to you about it, just cut you free and ran?”

He leveled me with a look. “Yes. Yes, I do.”

I let my face fall, and then I nodded. “I guess you do.” There were footsteps behind us and then a voice cleared. We both startled. I turned to face Vince and I smiled. “Alpha Vince. We were just about to come meet you.”

Vince looked between Brandon and me. “It’s okay. I thought there was something holding you up.” I shook my head and stepped away from Brandon.

He followed. “Amy was just explaining the issue she had with Shannon yesterday.” His voice was warm, but I could hear the edge.

“Issue?” Vince turned and started down the hallway. He looked back. “I’ll show you to your office and your supervisor. Hopefully, you two will get along and you can bring some fresh blood into our security.” I just smiled and nodded. But Vince was already focused back on Brandon. “Issue?”

Brandon stepped up next to me and nodded to his dad. “Shannon was upset about the job offer you gave to Amy, and demanded she stay away from me.” I nodded.

“I understand she is the daughter of your beta, but she has grown really attached to Brandon. She was screaming about how he was supposed to be hers, and that I needed to stay away from him. She demanded I turn down the job.” I looked down at my hands. “If this is too much, then I will. I don’t want there to be any more fighting at my house. My mom and Morgan already have issues, and I don’t want them to divorce.”

Vince stumbled over his feet. “Divorce?” He looked back at me, and I nodded. “There’s no way your mom is actually considering a divorce.”

I sighed. “I know. It’s hard to believe. Her and Morgan have been so strong for so long, but he really messed up the night of my first run. She said it shattered all the trust she had in him.” I looked up at Brandon. “After what my father did to her, you can understand why trust would be so important to her. To me.” I looked back at Vince. “She said now that I’m old enough, if things don’t change, and Morgan can’t earn her trust back, she is done. She is already thinking about what pack she would transfer to.” Vince, who was walking in front of me, came to a dead stop and I slammed into his back. “I’m sorry.” I blushed. I knew Vince had stopped, but I was staring at Brandon and I walked into his back on purpose.

Brandon bit his lip to stop the smirk that was twitching on his lips. I could see the pride in his eyes. “What did you just say?” Vince’s voice was dark.

“I said I was sorry.” I looked back at Brandon and then away. “I wasn’t paying attention to where I was walking.”

“No.” Vince turned and I could see barely contained fury. “About your mother.”

“Oh.” I smiled, ignoring the anger in his eyes. “That she was looking at transfer options. She gave Morgan the timeline of me getting out of school to win her back and he hasn’t done it.” I shrugged. “I expected her to leave, but she told me she was giving him another shot.” I smiled. “She doesn’t want to leave, but she will.”