Once Rejected, Twice Desired (Book 1 of Blue Moon Series)
Once Rejected, Twice Desired Chapter 51

Xander

POV

After two hours of training, Henry finally released us from his clutches. I could tell that he was testing when he was knocked on his a*s, he got right back up. He breezed through hundreds of push-ups and pack that much easier.

On my way back to the house, I pulled the guys aside. "After breakfast, I wanted to talk to you three in They all agreed as we made our way back to the house to shower and get cleaned up. After my shower, I went to my closet and pulled out a charcoal gray suit, a crisp white shirt, and shiny I much preferred sweat pants or jeans, but I had important business today. These meetings would de When I was dressed, I headed down to breakfast and found Alaia and the guys already seated at the t right then. "Xander, you look incredible. You should really wear suits more often. Not that you don't al "As much as I appreciate the compliment, not a chance. Suits are just not my style." I sat down beside It felt good to connect with them. The craziness of the past couple of months drew so much of my foc Toward the end of the meal, my mother and Kimmy came in and headed straight toward me. I could te take too much extra excitement right now."

Kimmy pouted but then nodded her head in agreement.

"Good morning, you two," Mom said to us.

"Morning, Mom. Mornin,g Kimmy."

She smiled before she addressed Alaia directly. "Alaia, sweetheart. I'd like to talk with you about the b

I have come up with, I promise to set you free within the hour."

I looked over at Alaia, who looked relieved beyond reason.

"Sure, Katherine. I can do that. Can we meet in ten minutes?"

"Of course, dear. I'll be waiting up in your office."

She then turned and grabbed Kimmy's arm, pulling her down the hall and out of sight.

When they had left the room, Alaia looked up at me and raised an eyebrow. "Xander, what was that?"

"What do you mean, baby? I told you she wanted to plan a baby shower."

trying to push his limits, but he never once broke. Alexi ran at the front of the group, never in the middle or back. He sparred with our biggest and best, and

s without complaints, and when he was finished, he asked for more. Alexi had proved himself right off the bat, and this would make his acclimation into our ice. It won't take long, maybe fifteen minutes or so. Then I've got to head into the office for a few meetings."

dress shoes.

we could expand into the European market, and I needed to look the part.

he look on her face when she saw me instantly filled me with need, and I wanted to bend her over the table and take her hard and fast and rough right there, ook delicious, but, wow," she said breathlessly.

d began to fill my plate while talking and laughing with everyone.

I didn't want my pack to suffer because of it.

my sister was about to start her usual over-excited ball of energy thing before Mom stopped her in her tracks. "Kimmy, I told you. Tone it down. Alaia can't

ower for the twins. I don't want to do anything that will overwhelm you, so if I could just have a bit of your time to see if you have any input or like any ideas

"You know exactly what I mean. Why were they both so calm? Kimmy didn't pounce on me or even scream. She always screams; that's how she communicates. And Katherine was the opposite of intense. Whatever that is. So, tell me, why was that?"

I may or may not have told them that if they couldn't tone it down and let Alaia breathe, they wouldn't see the twins until they were off to kindergarten. It was a bit extreme, but it was all I could think of to get them to cool it. "I don't have any idea what you mean, beautiful. Are you enjoying your breakfast?" I asked, quickly changing the subject.

She flashed a knowing smile up at me and nodded her head, then went back to finishing her meal. When she was done, she leaned over and pecked my cheek before standing to head up.

"Wait! Which one of you guys will be escorting little one up to her office?"

I then looked over at the guys.

"Oh, come on! You weren't really serious about that, were you?" Alaia protested.

I just looked at her, and she knew I was dead serious.

"I'll take her up," Alexi offered. He downed his glass of juice before walking over and taking Alaia's arm.

"This is ridiculous," I heard her say as she rounded the corner.

***

Alaia POV

As he walked me up the stairs to my office, Alexi's hand lightly grazed against mine, sending sparks shooting up my arm. It was exciting to experience that connection again that was broken such a short time ago. "Do you feel that, too, Angel?"

"Yes, I feel it. I've always felt it, it just took you a little bit longer," I teased.

He laughed and smiled down at me. "I was an i***t, I know. But I'll spend the rest of our lives showing you how grateful I am for this second chance."

"I'll hold you to that. After I'm done with Katherine, I'll head to the library to see what I can replace out about Max. We'll get you taken care of, okay?"

"Don't worry so much about me. And don't stress yourself looking for the answer. We'll replace it when we are meant to."

We stopped at the front door to my office before he raised his hand and gently rubbed my cheek.

"Have a good day, angel." He leaned down and pressed his lips to my forehead, covering me in warmth.

"You're smooth, Alexi. Now I see why all the girls were falling at your feet in school."

He laughed hearing that, then leaned in close, so close I could feel his breath fan across my face. His voice dropped to just above a whisper and became obscenely deep and sexy. "It was all a show, the only girl I ever really wanted was this tiny, curvy, incredibly sexy goddess with the most amazing golden eyes. I never told her because I didn't want her big brother to kick my a*s-he's an alpha and crazy protective. But she smelled like the sweetest honey, and I had so many fantasies about dripping it all over that delicious little body of hers and slowly licking it off. She was all I ever thought about; what I'd like to do to her and what I'd like her to do to me. Every single moment of every single day."

He traced the outline of my lips with his fingertips, and just like that, my flower was awake and dripping.

Then he straightened up and took a step back. "I hear the guys coming, so I'll talk to you later, beautiful." He was such a f*****g tease; he'd pay for that one for sure.

***

Xander POV

"You fellas ready? I've got to be out of here in thirty if I'm going to make it to the office on time."

"We're ready," Matt said.

We left the table and made our way up. When we arrived, I found that Alexi was already waiting at the door for us.

We went in, and once we were all seated, I addressed Kade and Matt while Alexi looked on.

"So I'm going to make this quick. Alexi is going to become a member of our pack soon. You already know that he's been moved from the cells and now has the room across the hall from Alaia and me. The reason he has that particular room is, he is now Alaia's mate as well. Or will be."

I paused and looked at the guy's faces. The just stared blankly back at me. "Did you hear what I just said?"

"Yeah, but we're waiting on the big 'announcement," Kade stated.

"What are you talking about? I just told you. Alexi will be Alaia's mate. She'll have two, the both of us. You're telling me that none of this surprises you?"

"Honestly, no. Not at all," Matt said.

"It was clear that Alaia had feelings for Alexi that she was trying to hold in. And Alexi did a piss poor job of hiding his feelings. I thought I was going to have to kick his a*s more than a few times. And we know you'd give her anything she ever wanted, so yeah, this all just makes sense," Kade reasoned.

"I said it way back when you first found her. The Luna turned our big bad Alpha into a love-sick puppy. This arrangement just proves my point."

"f**k off, Kade," I grumbled.

"Anyway, since that is out of the way, Matt, could you help Alaia replace a way to get rid of Max? Nothing will be official with all of this until he's gone. We aren't taking any chances."

"Sure thing, I'll go replace her after we're done here. I'm pretty sure I know a few places we can look for the info we need."

"Thanks. And Alexi, I can take you into the office with me if you like. We can see if anything stands out that you'd be interested in doing."

"That sounds cool, but I don't have any business clothes yet."

"Just some jeans and a button-up will work. Go and change, then be down at the garage in ten."

Alexi nodded, then made his way out of the room.

When he was out of earshot, I again looked at Kade and Matt.

"Alright guys, now is your chance. Tell me what you think, don't hold anything back."

They looked at each other then back to me.

"We just told you. You know that Alaia's happiness and safety are our priority, just like they are yours. She's not just our Luna, she's like a little sister to us, and we know this is a good thing for her," Matt said.

I heaved a sigh of relief.

I didn't care what the rest of the pack thought, they would fall in line whether they liked it or not, but these two were my closest friends. They were my brothers, and their opinions mattered. More than most. "Okay. Then I guess that's it for now. I'll see you guys later this afternoon. And make sure Alaia doesn't sneak up or down the stairs alone."

I went down to the garage and hopped into my truck then waited for Alexi.

He came out a few minutes later and climbed into the passenger seat then looked over at me. "Okay, I'm all for a job, but, just an FYI, I refuse to be your sexy personal assistant. These abs and this a*s are for Alaia only."

I pulled out and down the driveway, and I couldn't help but laugh. "I guess I'll just have to restrain myself. I don't know how I'll manage."

***

Alaia POV

After Alexi's stunt, I needed to take a moment to get myself together before I turned and walked into the office.

Katherine had four different idea boards set up and tons of samples and favors on the table.

She could make a killing as an event planner for sure.

"Hi, sweetie! I thought this would be the easiest way to make a decision. You can see what you like and just pick, rather than trying to visualize."

"This is amazing, Katherine, really."

"I'm glad you like it. Come on over and take a look at the boards. Once you choose one, we can decide on favors, games, etc."

As I walked over, one board stood out over the others instantly. It was a gender reveal, "What Will It Bee?" themed party. It was adorable with the little bumblebees all over. And I loved the yellow, black, and white color scheme; it worked for a boy or a girl. "This one," I said, pointing at the board.

"Well, that was easy. Now, if we can pick a few more items, I can let you get back to your day sooner than I thought."

Fifteen minutes later, Katherine was off to do what she did best, and I was sitting in the library surrounded by tons of dusty old books.

Matt walked in shortly after to give me a hand. "Stop lifting all these books, bean. Go sit down, and I'll bring you whatever you need. I told you to wait for me, anyway."

"Sorry, Matt. I'm just anxious to get this all figured out."

"I'm sure you are. Xander told Kade and me what's going on."

I held my breath. I didn't know what his reaction would be, and I would hate for Matt to be disappointed in me.

He looked at my face and laughed. "Breathe, bean. I'm happy for you. For all of you."

"Really? That's such a relief. I couldn't handle it if my Matty were upset with me."

"You're the only person I'll ever let refer to me as 'Matty, just remember that." "Fine by me. So, what have you got?"

He brought over about five or six ancient-looking leather-bound books and sat them down. "I'd say we start here. These books date back centuries and are full of information regarding the man and wolf connection. I would guess that if they know about that connection, then maybe somewhere someone found how to break it."

I grabbed the top book on the stack and passed it over to Matt before I took the second one down. "Okay, let's see what we can replace."

Two hours later, I was starving, my body was stiff from sitting for so long, and I was pretty sure my eyes had permanently crossed. "This is grueling! Why are the words so tiny and so many?"

I looked over at Matt to see that he was quickly scanning a page with an extreme look of concentration on his face.

"Matt? Did you replace anything?"

"Just a minute, bean..." He continued to scan the page, then pulled out his phone and started furiously typing in Google. Google and ancient tomes working hand and hand-super weird. He finally set his phone down and leaned back in his chair. "Matt, you're killing me here. What did you replace? What did Google have to add? Give me something!"

"I think I found it. But it's not good."

I waved my hands around impatiently. The anticipation was driving me insane.

"On the next full Lunar Eclipse, he has to shift into his wolf, then be drained of his blood. All of it. With the absence of the moon, his wolf cannot heal and will slowly die."

"But... but that will kill Alexi, too. If he dies in his wolf form, the man dies, too."

"Only two wolves have ever survived it. I don't know how many have tried, but I'm sure it was more than two."

"There has to be something else we can try. Maybe a potion or a spell? Or maybe I can just keep suppressing Max forever."

"Alaia, you can't do that. Max is a danger, and you know it. And Alexi wouldn't go for it; he'd die before he let Max have a chance to hurt you again. Having him lay dormant isn't doing anything to solve the problem. And Alexi is suffering at the same time. He is a werewolf who can't exist in his animal form. A part of him is locked in a cage. Even if he doesn't show it, he still feels it.

"So to save him, we have to kill him..."

***

Alexi POV

Riding into the city with Xander was surprisingly more comfortable than I thought it would be. The more we spent time together, the more I began to like him. And we had a lot more in common than I initially thought.

"So, I always had a way with numbers when I was in school. I didn't so much care for other subjects, but math always clicked for me. You think you have anything in accounting I could try out?"

"Uhh, yeah, actually. We have a junior management position open in the accounting department at my construction firm. I think you'd have to take an aptitude test and interview with the senior manager, but that could be a good fit. I believe there would be ten or fifteen associates who would report directly to you as well, but you're a Beta, so you're a born leader."

"That sounds perfect. Just let me know who I need to speak to, and I'll take it from there. If I get the job, I want to know that it's because I deserve it and nothing else."

"That's admirable. I'll ask my HR director to get the information over before I leave for the day."

When we arrived at his office, I was surprised by it, to say the least. It was a large glass building, at least twenty stories, with "Black Enterprises" covering the entire top floor.

As we pulled into the underground garage, I turned to him and asked, "Why have I never noticed this place? It's huge... and flashy."

"We just finished construction a few months ago. We had offices spread across the city, but felt it was better to have everyone housed in the same place." He parked the car, and we made our way up the elevator to the main lobby.

As we were crossing the floor, I saw someone at the reception desk who caught my eye, but not in a good way.

Xander saw me looking and offered a bit of background.

"We usually have six receptionists working at the front desk. But please, watch out for Elizabeth. She's only been with us for a few weeks, but I can already tell that she is trouble. She has already hit on Kade, Matt, and me multiple times. She is one misstep from being fired, honestly."

"Uhh, which one is Elizabeth?"

"The blonde in the red, second from the right."

When I looked at her, my heart skipped. I knew this girl.

We walked into Xander's private elevator and pushed the button for the top floor.

"Xander. That girl at reception? Her name is not Elizabeth. It's Victoria, and she's Francesca's sister."