REJECTED: PREGNANT WITH TRIPLETS AND A SECOND MATE

"What time is Daddy coming?" Jared asked, running down the hallway of the house with a light blue party balloon. Jimmy was running right behind him but with a green balloon. Jody was not with them Jody was nowhere to be seen.

"Daddy's late, but he's coming," I lied, as I had been doing on that date for the past six years. "Where's Jody?" I asked them. "Where is your sister?" I questioned once again, distressed.

"In the backyard, Momma. She smelled blackberry," they replied in unison. I smiled falsely at them and discreetly ran to the backyard. We didn't live in a very safe place.

"Jody!" I yelled, reaching the backyard. She was not there. My racing heart alerted me to the danger. They were too young to change, too young to protect themselves. No, they were not going to be in danger with me. I couldn't fail, I had to prove that even with rejection, I could move on. It was only three lies. Casper would never find out.

I took a deep breath and looked around, finding Jody's bear, all dirty, and slightly torn. Jody wouldn't do that. I remembered what the children had said. Blackberry smell. The scent appeared, and my inner wolf could see the trail of the blackberry and Jody simultaneously. I sensed danger and prepared to run, but a loud noise in the house caught my attention.

They didn't.

Chapter 01 A Painful Encounter

The first week had been very complicated. It was seven days without news of my triplets. I missed their hair, their smell, and their mess. The police had done nothing useful. The few wolves I knew in the area knew nothing. I was alone.

I built up the courage. I needed to call Casper.

Despite Casper's rejection in the past, I still loved him. I knew that he was now an Alpha, and that meant that he had even more power than before. The corporate company he was part of had the public number, but I still knew the old one.

First ring… second ring… third ring…

"Bishop Corporation, how can I help you?". It was his voice. My heartbeat quickened. It had been six years since I had heard that voice so clearly. Sweet and heavy at the same time.

"Hello, Casper," I spoke, trying not to show the tremor in my voice, "Just think of your children.

"Naomi? Naomi Stanley?" he said, apparently confused. He had recognized me. After all this time, he recognized me.

"Can you meet me? It's urgent," I informed him. I hoped his power would be enough.

"I'd love to, Naomi," I heard him say, and then he paused dramatically. "But I'm committed now." Those words gave me a great shiver and an even greater squeeze in my heart. He had rejected me. I needed to hold my head up and focus on the children, my feelings didn't matter.

"Casper, we need to talk," I spoke, already showing the pain in my voice. "Tell me, Casper, tell me you will come to see me." The line went dead. I could hear his breathing through the line. The smell and the memories of Casper came flooding back. I remembered that night, the possible night he had given me the triplets.

"Naomi, I'm sorry, but I can't," he repeated. Even more pain. Casper didn't love me. What did I mean to him? In a desperate, helpless gesture, I was forced to confront him. I gathered what strength and tears I had.

"They kidnapped my children," I cried. A cup of hot tea accompanied me. "It's been a week and no one has found them, Casper. I can't trace them…," I blurted out, still crying. Saying all that out loud made my stomach clench. I would rather not think of the worst. Whoever it was, it was certain to be one of us.

"Children? I didn't know you…got married," I heard him say. The lower tone of his voice brought back even more memories, warm, sweet memories. Life was so much easier.

"I didn't get married, Casper," I spoke, firmly. Did he think that what, I felt, wasn't real? That I would move on like this? No, never. "They are six years old," I informed him. The shock of reality hit him. The connection was silent for a few seconds, but I heard his breathing.

"Six years? That means…". I didn't let him finish.

"Can we meet, Casper?" I asked again. I heard him say a resounding 'yes', without my needing to question him again.

The next day, I gathered my bag with what little I had of the police cases. I took a small toy from each of them and a photo album. I knew that at some point, Casper would find out about them, and I wanted to at least be able to make up the time with some memories. There was content from six years on that album.

A discreet coffee shop in Jenjen Village. The place was frequented by wolves, all the wolves in town. Of course, everyone was welcome, including humans.

I arrived first, sat down, and asked for nothing. I barely had enough money to maintain the house. I spent too much on the three of them. My debit balance was already in a worrying situation.

While I waited, I looked around, noticing who was a wolf and who was not. All the employees were. I turned down the waiter three times, saying I was expecting someone else, but he kept appearing. Suspicious, very suspicious.

"Excuse me, miss," I heard someone approach and say. I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn't notice the smell of who was coming. I didn't notice that it was different from before.

"I don't…," I tried to say, but the smell stopped me. Casper had passed through the door and was coming to meet me. Lancelot sensed the presence of an alpha entering and immediately directed his gaze to Casper.

"I brought you an album to look at," I mentioned, already removing it from the bag, but with a little difficulty, due to its size. "Just a moment," I asked, clumsily, still trying to take the album out, now harder. Casper touched my hand; I didn't take it.

"Naomi, why didn't you say anything before? I would have…" he started to tell me. His touch was cozy, but it didn't get me past the trauma.

"Helped me? Helped the children? Would I have promised that, even though I lied about other things?" I questioned him, fighting the emotions again

"I didn't lie about anything, Naomi," Casper told me. An asshole, indeed. Sometimes you only know someone when you are on the other side. The pain was only coming from my side.

"You said you wanted me, that you loved me, Casper. Why did that change when I was meant for you?" I asked, swallowing the tears with hatred.

"Naomi…you were important to me, indeed, but you were not my mate, although you were meant for me, nothing had happened," he told me. A son of a bitch.

"Right, that's your excuse? And your mate, did he just happen to show up?" I confronted him. Tears began to flow, however, hatred. "Where is she?".

"Let's not talk about that. Let's talk about our children," he ordered me. A brazen man. Casper was unbelievably handsome and an imbecile.

"My children, Casper. You didn't raise them," I said angrily, "They're not ours."

"Maybe if you had told me of their existence, I would have raised them," he confronted me back. That would have been a good point if I didn't have a better one.

"And do you think that rejecting a woman, would make her come back to you for children? Do you think I would go after you for that? I loved you, you idiot. I went after you out of love, not interest," I almost screamed. Out of respect for those around me, I did not. Wolves had a very acute hearing, so ethics demanded that this be controlled. No decent wolf listened to other people's conversations and most respected that.

"You don't understand, Naomi. Anyway, I am entitled to see them, please give me the album," he ordered. This time I took the album out and handed it over. Maybe everything that was stuck in my throat was preventing me from taking it earlier.

He started to leaf through it slowly. The introduction was just some standard and cute text that came with the album itself. Finally, in the first picture, he stopped. The expression he made was reassuring. He smiled, and Casper smiled.

"Jimmy, Jared, and Jody," he said. "Two boys and a girl," he mentioned. "Beautiful." It was sincere, that expression was so sincere that it squeezed my heart once again. Possibly, I was wrong about not telling. Maybe it was my fault that they were missing.

"They are six years old now. They did a week ago when they disappeared," I commented. Casper's eyes widened. For fractions of a second, I saw the color change. He was an alpha, the least he should have, was control.

"You waited a week to let me know?" he asked, raising his voice, already angry.

"I was hoping it wouldn't be so serious. I only called you because I thought the police would sort it out," I replied, raising my tone. I wouldn't lower my head to him. When he rejected me, being submissive was never in the plans again.

He was angry, I could feel it. If I could feel it, surely other people were feeling it, but I didn't care. A mother protects her young.

"Let's find them. After that, I'll take care of them too," he said, lowering his tone quietly, returning to the album, flipping through it more quickly, but attentively. I watched him. He seemed happy to see the pictures. It had been six years and he had not had any children. I thought that if he had gotten me pregnant, maybe he had done it with others.

While he was leafing through the album, his cell phone rang. I could read the name on the screen: Willow Morrison. He left the album without closing it. He answered the call. I just watched, pretending not to care. Finally, he called her sweetheart, and eventually, love. They weren't such harsh words, and it made me face him more than usual. My heart ached and I felt like screaming.

"Here's your order, Naomi," I heard. It was Lancelot again. Why was the manager waiting tables? I thanked him, smiling. He kept smiling back, even though he had already left Casper's cup. The call ended a few seconds after the orders arrived. Casper thanked me rudely. The manager walked away, and my gaze followed him once again.

"Naomi. Meet me tomorrow at this address. We'll find them," he told me, handing me a card. Returning to the album, I saw him pull out three different photos, one of each son. "It's only fair that I at least get to see them now," he said. Walking away, he left the coffee shop, after drinking his coffee at an absurd speed.

I sighed, picking up the album again. Lancelot appeared once again.

"Your children?" he asked me. "I saw them," he said. My heart froze. "I heard the conversation and everything. They were here a few days ago with some people."

"Please tell me more. I need to know," I asked, without thinking. I had barely noticed that the cafeteria was almost empty.

"Of course, but I need to take your order first. Rules," he said, smiling again. Irresistible. I handed him my cup, and our fingers touched for a few seconds. His scent changed, became stronger, and his eyes turned yellow. I heard his breathing become thick and his expression changes a little.

"Lancelot, you…". I recognized those signs. I felt the color of my eyes changes to yellow.

"Yes," he said, still feeling some spasms.

Lancelot had had a Mate with me. And I felt a different sensation, it wasn't like Casper, but it was just as strong.

"You need to get out of here. You will change," I warned. I knew the feeling, I knew what was coming, I had had a Mate before.

He couldn't answer, he was already lying in front of me.

I got up from the chair and faced Lancelot's body on the floor. He tried to stand, but he had no balance. Nothing was worse for a wolf than to transform against his will. I lowered myself to the floor, making eye contact with him. I wanted to tell him that everything would be all right, but I didn't know that. At that moment, nothing was okay.

"The back…," he told me, with difficulty. His gaze was strong, not even Casper when he was a beta, had a gaze as penetrating as his. "Take me to the back," he ordered. The coffee shop was not empty, but we were in a spot that overlooked the other location. The counter was empty.

I turned my back on Lancelot and began to undress calmly. There were many pheromones in the air, wild ones. I undressed and began the change. The pain was very less when we forced it. I changed. My fur was gray too, but he had more dark hues. He was, in fact, a bigger wolf.

The scent changed, and I felt Lancelot's hair shedding. He was regressing, finally. The regression hardly hurt. Shortly, he was naked in front of me. His body had several scars. There were more scars than Casper's.

"I'm sorry about that," he said, embarrassed. "It wasn't supposed to be like this." He headed to a nearby closet, picking up new uniform pieces. I regrew my change and began to dress. Lancelot, in the background, was looking at me out of the corner of his eyes. Of course, he wanted something. Wolves were very sexual. I felt bad that I wanted it too.

Already dressed, Lancelot approached me, while I was still finishing dressing. I looked at a nearby trashcan, noticing many scraps of clothing. Perhaps he was in trouble.

"I didn't know that happened, I mean, the change," he said, already close to me.

"Didn't you know that a Mate causes a whirlwind of emotions capable of generating change? It's almost a rule, we're practically born knowing that," I said, confused. It was common on some occasions, especially wolf parties, for there to be unexpected transformations, precisely because a Mate happened.

Lancelot did not know the term 'calm'. Our kiss was too fast, too intense, and the strong scent of wolf was present. Possibly, the best kissing experience I had ever had on a first time with someone. His eyes sparkled and I heard his heartbeat.

"I think we'd better go," he said, pulling away. It was the best decision anyway, because if this continued, it might end in unplanned ways.

As we left the chamber, he said goodbye to the staff. None of them seemed bothered, maybe this was all commonplace. Anyway, they were all wolves, so it would be one less problem, not having to hide your identity. Some wolves had to mate with humans, and that was a punishment. It almost always ended in rejection, and not everyone was given a second chance. Again I felt guilty for getting one, I didn't think I deserved it.

We left Jenjen Village on foot. It was a quiet neighborhood, and when you were a wolf, you felt even less fear of life. We were not afraid of humans.

Lancelot avoided looking me in the eye. "When your children came to the café, they were with four other wolves," he said, looking ahead. "They had no scent."

"That, exactly," I mentioned. I told him about the day of the disappearance and how I hadn't smelled anything. "I had never heard about that," I mentioned. In fact, masking the smell completely was unreal. We could disguise it with other smells and types of camouflage, but not eliminate it.

"Naomi, what do you know about wolves like me? What do you know about average wolves?" he asked me, seriously. The street was almost empty, but there were a few humans chatting around the village. Several businesses were operating as well.

"Not much, actually," I commented. In fact, I didn't know much about them. In fact, it had been a while since I had seen any.

Looking at me, Lancelot said something interesting. "Smell me," he ordered. I looked at him intently, trying not to focus on the image of his naked body minutes before. I had no smell at all. Lancelot had no smell at all. "You're not getting it, are you? We can do this," he said.

"They are like you," I asked. He agreed, and then I smelled him again. "That's why I didn't smell anything. But why didn't my children smell too?". He looked at me and stopped. Curious, I stopped too, looking at him. Then Lancelot took my right hand and squeezed it gently.

"Feel, it is shareable. By touching me, if I want, I can remove your scent. When you are in the majority, you don't need the touch. That's the reason your children don't smell at the time. It was probably the four who kidnapped them. I thought it was strange that they didn't smell, but I had no idea about the kidnapping. I'm sorry," he said. My heart was beating faster.

"You had no way of knowing. Anyway, that was very helpful information, thank you for that," I thanked him. That would be a great help. I had no idea why a rare wolf species would be interested in children. "Well, I have to go. I need to rest for tomorrow…you know," I said goodbye, moving on, having a lot to take in.

"Naomi," he called out to me. I looked back, watching him, standing still. "You saw it, didn't you?" he asked me. We shared the images. Wolves could communicate in different ways. The dumpster. He showed me the dumpster. I turned completely around and walked back to him.

"You're a wolf with transformation issues. Yes, I saw it," I commented. There was no reason to lie, he wasn't trying to hide it himself.

"You had a Mate with Casper, didn't you? I had never had a Mate, in fact, I didn't know it was possible to have one being who I am," he blurted out. "Thank you for being my Luna." He sounded different from before. He was being too sincere, too nice. "Anyway, can I walk with you?" he asked. I nodded.

We walked in silence for most of the way. It was comfortable to be relaxing with him. His pleasant smell was too comforting. The smell of the wolf was surreal.

We arrived at my house. It was ordinary, large, with a second floor. There was a path to the door and a backyard at the end. At the end was a forest, where I had run to look for Jody.

"Naomi," he called to me, as soon as we stopped. "I know this isn't the best time for this, but when you're free, would you like to run with me?" he gave me the invitation. It was common for wolves to run together. The town was big enough to hold forests, and there were many of us. There were many wolves in the city.

"Sure, it would be my pleasure," I accepted, smiling. He smiled too, the same way he had done in the coffee shop. "Would you like to come in?" I asked, but he denied it, said he had something to do. I would like him to come in. Being alone, without the children, was distressing.

"See you later Naomi, it's been a pleasure," he smiled again. I wanted to run up to him and ask him to stay, but I didn't. I watched him walk and went his way; I entered the house.

Finally, I heard a growl behind me, and I was attacked by a black wolf. There was no scent, and it was a medium wolf. Fearless, I fought back, using some of my human strength. Not belonging to a pack didn't make me so weak. The wolf came up again, and I ran, trying to limit the available rooms between us. It was risky to turn in the middle of a confrontation, any move could be fatal. Unfortunately, I was already disadvantaged.

Worried about the advancing attacks and lacking the time and space to transform, I tried to create an advantage. At least on the defensive, I could protect myself. Although I was not that weak, our size differences were large and my human form was fairly fragile, so I needed to think smart.

The wolf was a female and was still attacking me, still without scent. I didn't know its objectives for sure. Suddenly, I heard a notsodistant howl and within moments, there was another massive wolf in my living room.

"Lancelot," I said, recognizing him. His wolf was already digging its claws into the intruder, making her bleed.

The strength of the average wolf seemed greater than that of the female. It was common for males to be stronger. I wondered what the difference in strength might be between me and Lancelot since we were of different species.

The shewolf growled and tried to bite the wolf, but Lancelot seemed to have the situation under control. My heart calmed down, for I didn't know what to do if this continued. Survival for my children was what I needed.

Suddenly, a noise was heard, distracting us, causing the shewolf to manage to break free of Lancelot, bruising him lightly with her claws. Just as she ran through the back door, sirens began to sound. The wolf signaled to follow her, but I asked him not to.

"It's the police," I said, hearing the sound of doors closing. More cars than usual. When I looked at Lancelot to alert him, he was already human, naked. "Oh my God, Lancelot," I yelled, embarrassed.

"I didn't mean to," he said, concerned, walking over to me, but remembering the situation, then walking away.

"Hide, go upstairs. I'll see what they want," I ordered, as I walked through the front door. A lot was happening at that moment. When I saw him coming up the stairs, I opened the front door and walked up to meet what I expected to be a policeman. It was not.

Casper was standing in front of me. "Are you okay, Naomi?" he asked me, apparently concerned. My heart was racing, and I didn't know if it was because of the Lancelot scene earlier or if there was a chance that Casper was paying attention to me again.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, without answering his question.

"She's fine," I heard a familiar voice say. Then Lancelot was coming out of my house, now dressed. He was dressed in Casper's clothes that I had. Casper did not like what he had seen.

"What is he doing here, Naomi?" Casper asked, without taking his gaze from him.

"He walked me home," I said.

"And then you take him to your house, don't you?" he questions me. His eyes begin to take on the slightly red tint, he is irritated. I tell him it's nothing he's thinking. "And why is he wearing my clothes? Why do you have my clothes, Naomi?" he now asked, looking at me.

"It's for the children. Having clothes of your own would help them with the smell and affection, and it would also help to lie about your presence," I replied. It was a lie. The clothes were there for my benefit. Whenever I missed him, I found myself smelling his clothes. A wolf's scent was strong and wouldn't come off, even if I took it a hundred times, the smell wouldn't come off, at least not from ordinary wolves.

"If you weren't with her, what are you doing here?" Casper asks Lancelot, confronting him directly, and giving him a shove. Before he could strike back, I stepped in front.

"I came to help. I transformed and had no clothes, I just took these," he replied, in an almost hostile manner.

"So you're more than just a coffee shop attendant, are you?" Casper confronted him. He had always had a sense of leadership and power, I was not surprised that now, having indeed such things, he would flaunt them.

"You knew I was a wolf. And I'm the manager," Lancelot said, pulling me out of the way, making facetoface contact with Casper. My first and second Mate together, hated each other. That was all I needed.

"I don't remember smelling you before," Casper says. I feel Lancelot's authority waver and he feels insecure. His gaze crosses mine. Fear. Maybe in the cafeteria, Lancelot was unintentionally masking his scent. Casper didn't like humans much, perhaps his hostility in the place was because he thought he was one. The fact was that I now knew that he didn't want them to know that he was an average wolf, and I couldn't blame him for that.

"I'm fine, Casper," I finally replied, trying to take the focus off Lancelot. "And I asked him to stay home for fear of the humans seeing him," I said. Casper understood that kind of situation. Like any wolf, he knew the difficulties of moving around humans who didn't know of the wolves' existence.

"My team is after some wolves, Naomi. They may be connected with the disappearance of our children. We need to stay alert," he informed me. I nod my head, positively. "Anyway, it's not safe here, I'll take you somewhere else," he says, taking my hand. My body vibrates with happiness, but my mind still doesn't keep up with the feeling and the situation.

"You won't have to," Lancelot says, taking my hand, causing it to release Casper's. His warm touch wakes me up and my mind follows the gesture. "I don't live very far away, and it would be more comfortable. It's been a long day, and she needs to rest," he says, resuming all the authority he had before, staring at Casper. I didn't know if middle wolves didn't respect hierarchies very well, as I wouldn't see a normal beta confronting a powerful alpha like he was doing.

"It's okay with me," I reply. Both boys looked surprised at my response, even though I looked surprised. Snorting, Casper agrees and signals for the others to get into their cars.

"Let's drive around the area and continue the patrol," Casper says. "Tomorrow, at the address on the card," he says. Then they drive off the street, finally.

As they all leave, I sigh. The fright of the attack had already dissipated, and now what I was left with was an empty, messy house and a wolf I had just met, wearing my ex's clothes.

"Thanks for everything," I say to Lancelot.

"There's just one problem, Naomi," he says nonchalantly. "I don't live nearby."