Rejected, Then Reborn
Chapter 90

“f*****g answer me, man! How long have you been in love with Anaya?” Reed banged his hands on his desk, standing up in rage. He seemed too pissed off to listen to reason, but Xavier still seemed surprisingly calm.

What was the point in panicking anyway?

The day he had been dreading for ages was finally here after all, he might as well just come clean.

He had been asked a question, right?

Well, he needed to answer.

And so, with that thought in mind, the Healer Supreme sighed, finally relenting. He stood up too. “It started when you sent Lacy back to the human world.”

The Alpha King could not believe his ears.

Almost four years ago.

“f**k, Xavier. Did you touch her?”

Reed looked as though the words and the mental picture it painted thoroughly disgusted him, and had it been any other day, the good Doctor was pretty sure he would have burst into laughter, but today was no ordinary day.

“What do you think of me, man?”

“Answer me, did you f*****g touch her?”

“No, Reed. f**k, no.” At this point he was fuming as well, being equal parts pissed off at himself and at his best friend too.

It was sad that his integrity was being questioned like this, but he took it all in good faith. He was the one who set his sights on the wrong girl after all in the first place.

But that didn’t mean that he was going to allow his best friend and Alpha King disrespect him over it.

“Look, man.” The Supreme Healer took a deep breath to calm himself down, “It was a mistake. All of it. One that thankfully didn’t go anywhere, and in as much as it f*****g hurts, I’m grateful to your little sister for making me realise this.” He spat the words out bitterly. “Anaya’s not some f*****g dainty girl who needs your f*****g protection, and she made it very clear that she does not want what I was ready to offer, so I’m cool. It’s all good… all water under the bridge, and certainly one that I will not have you disrespect me over.” His hazel eyes flickered between their normal color and that of his Lyken half, but he ignored it, he had already gotten what he had wanted to say off his chest, it was time to leave.

Xavier turned his back on his friend and headed for the door without another word, but the Alpha King’s next words stopped him in his tracks, “So you’re just going to let her go?”

Xavier turned so fast that he almost gave himself whiplash, “What the f**k do you want from me Reed, huh?” He yelled angrily, “First you’re mad that I set my sights on her, then you’re mad I’m letting her go, f*****g make up your mind already, man. I am done with her. Done. Ready to move on with my life, and why shouldn’t I, especially when I’m pretty sure she has found someone she can see herself with?” He turned to leave once more, but it seemed he hadn’t gotten everything off his chest like he wanted to.

“Just leave me the f**k alone, Reed, and stop acting like this doesn’t f*****g make you happy. We all knew you’d never let me get with her in the first place. Hell, she had been saying it all this while, but stupid me wanted to give you the benefit of the doubt.” He breathed heavily, trying to calm himself down, “I see how foolish I have been now.”

There’s no need crying over spilt milk.”

The powerful Alpha King’s expression softened slightly as he realized the depth of his friend’s emotions. “Xavier, I’m—” He really didn’t know what to say.

All this while he had thought it wasn’t anything serious, but clearly, he had been wrong. “I’m really sorry man.” He apologized, “I never meant to lash out at you like this. I just…it’s just that I can’t help how I feel about my little sister. I just want to protect her. And after everything that happened with Lacy, I just want to make sure that Anaya is safe and happy too… that she makes the right choice in picking the right person to settle down with.

Xavier shook his head in frustration. “I know that, Reed. And I respect your feelings for your sister. But you can’t control who she falls in love with, man. It doesn’t even have to be me, it could literally be anyone else, and you wouldn’t be able to do a f*****g thing about it.”

Reed sighed heavily, looking defeated as he collapsed into his seat. “I know, man. I know. I just…I can’t help but worry about her. She’s my sister, you know? And she’s been through so much already.”

“I get it, Reed. I really do. But you have to trust her to make her own decisions. And you have to trust me to do what’s right by her, even if that means letting her go.” Xavier’s tone was firm but gentle, and Reed felt his cold heavy heart start to thaw for his friend.

After a moment of tense silence, Reed spoke up again after taking a deep breath. “I’m really sorry, Xav. I really am.” He apologized once more, “I know I’ve been a shitty friend lately. So caught up in my own s**t to see what was going on in yours, or anyone else’s.” He sighed, “And I can understand why you didn’t tell me about it, though I’m hurt that you didn’t. Can we…can we start over? Try to make things right?” He tried to hand out a peace flag. “How about you tell me everything from the start, and I try to act the way a good friend would?”

Xavier scoffed.

To be honest, he had really not been expecting this, it had all ended fast… a little too fast if you ask him. He was not sporting any bruise, and Reed’s anger seemed to have dissipated.

Wow.

Perhaps the Moon Goddess was on his side after all, because he had honestly not thought it would be this easy.

If he had had the faintest idea that this is how it could have all gone, perhaps he would have chased after the beautiful redhead a little harder.

But it was still too late.

He had let her go.

And he needed to allow her to move on with her life. The same way he was also going to move on with his.

“Nah, I’m good man,” He told his best friend with a small smirk, standing up, “It’s all in the past now. There’s no need crying over spilt milk.”

“Really?” The Alpha King leaned in his chair, a mischievous look on his face as he played spin with a pen.

He really couldn’t believe that Xavier was just giving up so easily, it seemed so unlike him. “Well, I think it’s good of you to say that… very gallant and honorable of you actually, because Anaya seems kind of fixated on Blue Valley’s Alpha, Jackson.”

Xavier tried his best not to give any emotion away, and Reed actually took that as a green light to continue talking. “You know, she hasn’t told me anything yet, but man,” He shook his head in exasperation, “I counted the number of times she mentioned his name just this morning alone… and suffice to say, it’s just a matter of time before she realizes that it’s not hatred like she thinks it is, but something more. I really think she likes him.”

Xavier clenched his fists tightly, his jaw moving along with the motion even as he forced himself to stay silent and not rise to the huge bait his irritating best friend was throwing his way.

“And that Jackson lad’s really got a good head on his shoulders.” Reed continued sadistically, taking great delight in riling up his friend.

He wanted to see how long it’d take before the stupid i***t finally snapped, and so far, he was actually impressed with how far he had held out. “You know, he reminds me of a younger us actually. Remember how we used to take no s**t from anyone? If she decides to go for him, she will certainly have my approval for sure. It’s nice to know that she will have yours too, Xav—”

“I’M f*****g GOING TO BLUE VALLEY, REED! I’M GOING TO CLAIM MY WOMAN. HAPPY NOW?”

Finally!

“But I thought you wanted to move on?” The Alpha King asked innocently.

“f**k moving on man, I still love her dammit, and if it takes going over and getting her to see that I’m the one for her and the only one, then you can rest assured that I’d f*****g do it, Reed.” Came the answer.

Reed looked at his best friend, pride shining bright in his eyes at the passion he had for his sister.

There was no denying it, Xavier was utterly and completely in love with Anaya.

The Alpha King couldn’t believe that he had been so blind to miss the blatant observation.

As to whether they were blessed by the Moon Goddess like he and Lacy, he had no idea… but that wasn’t really his story to tell.

He figured if it was meant to be, it would be… no matter how unending the road seemed for the two people he considered family aside his wife and mate.

Reed stood up, making his way over to the Lyken that had stuck closer to him than a brother.

He clasped Xavier’s hand tightly, pulling him in for a bro hug. “I wish you all the best, man,” He murmured, pulling away, his stormy blues shining with so much pride, “And for the record, it’ll be an honor to have you as a brother-in-law, Xav… so you better go out there and make sure you don’t come back until Anaya is ready to return with you as your wife.”