Rejecting, Your Broken Promises
Chapter 56

Dawson’s POV

Ever Green

I reached out for Sloan and the bed is cold, she is not there. I can still smell her Gardenia body wash in the air, but she is no longer in our room. I usually don’t sleep much longer than she does, but I was really wiped from being transported yesterday. I have never experienced that before, and Vincent did warn both me and Hudson that it was going to drain us later on, but that we should be good for an hour after we got there, to help with the fight. I have to say that it was a really efficient way to travel, especially in a case of emergency, I would do it again in a heartbeat.

I showered and headed down to the dining room, as I just assumed that Sloan had just gone down without me to let me sleep. She has never done it before, she always comes down to eat with me. Sloan is a sweetheart though and she loves me, it is clear in all of her actions. I already know that she was just letting me get some extra sleep. I ran into Vincent on the way down and asked him if he knew where Sloan was. He looked at me funny and waited a moment before he said, “She is on her way to the dining room”. I guess she is with Beth, and he had to ask where they were.

I head into the dining room to head to our table, but she is not there. I went and got my breakfast, and came back to the table, but she still wasn’t there. I glanced over to look at Vincent and see him pick up his cup of coffee and blow on it, and I knew something was up. He never blows on his coffee, he is stalling, and I already know that he will take a drink if I ask him a question. I have had no problems or issues with him or Beth, so what is going on? Where is Sloan? Is she OK? I try to remember speaking to her this morning, but it seemed normal, she was a little upset, and then she wasn’t. Wait, is she upset with me? I think back trying to think of what I could have possibly done, and I can think of nothing that I have done. I go to speak to Vincent, and he takes a sip of his coffee. I see him frown at me when he sees the hurt cross my face. I am not an i***t, I am pretty good at figuring things out, I just don’t know what in the hell happened in this case. I get up and leave my plate on the table as I see my parents crossing the lobby from the elevator coming down for breakfast.

I approach dad and say, “Can I speak with you for a minute?” Dad and mom look at each other, mom nods, before dad k****s mom, and takes me back to the elevator. We head up to the Beta floor that I am staying on.

“Is there a problem, Dawson?” Dad asks.

“I believe there is dad. I just don’t know what it is yet” I told him and the look of surprise on his face would have been priceless, but this isn’t funny to me at all.

“I don’t understand,” Dad said.

“I don’t either, I was snuggled up to Sloan this morning. I woke up because she seemed really upset. But she calmed back down, and I was tired from the way we had to transport to the fight yesterday. Vincent said that I would be tired, and he was correct. When my alarm went off, Sloan was not there, and she is not in the dining room. I can’t find her anywhere. I asked Vincent where she was and he said that she was coming to the dining room, but she hasn’t come there yet. I have been nothing but patient for her dad, it is why I can’t mindlink her because we haven’t marked each other. I am freaking out as to why she is avoiding me. He is acting odd, and I don’t know what to do. I am worried about her, dad. I don’t know what I did, but I don’t want to lose her” I told him.

“She was fine last night?” dad asked me.

“Yes, we both showered, and then went to be like normal. I was a little more tired than usual, but we haven’t fought or argued about anything. This whole time. I don’t know what happened” I told him, and I feel like punching something.

“Women feel more emotions than we do Dawson. They don’t always tell us what they are feeling until they get upset. They want us to understand them, but that is a hard thing to do. You need to just ask her son, speak to her privately, and just ask her. Don’t get upset with what she tells you. The thing about relationships is that each of our feelings is real to us. It might just be how we perceive them to be, and not what things actually are. But that makes it dangerous. Especially if she didn’t want to tell you what the problem was. She may have been thinking of this for a week, or two, and just didn’t want to fight with you about it as new mates. But their feelings are valid and important to them. Just like yours are valid and important to you. This could be something small or insignificant to you but feel massive to her. So, when you find her, make sure that you tell her you love her, and that whatever is bothering her, you can fix it. She seemed to be fine yesterday, I believe that you can get this straightened out quickly, son. All you need to do is speak to her, and if you need to talk to both me and your mom, we are here for you. If you need any help or need more advice, we would be glad to sit down and speak to you both” dad told me. That seems correct, everything was fine last night, and I feel like I have been blindsided this morning.

I hugged dad and thanked him, and we headed back down to the dining room. I am anxious, and I am no longer hungry anymore, even after me just eating a few bites of food. I am still trying to figure out what the hell is going on. I took my plate and dumped it out and put my plate and silverware in the bin to be cleaned. I feel like the weight of the world is now on me, and it isn’t a good feeling. I look at Vincent, and he looks like he feels bad for me, but doesn’t say anything. I see Beth enter the dining room, but Sloan isn’t with her.

If she isn’t with Beth, is she with Moira? Or Elena? I look back at Vincent and ask, “Do you know where Sloan is?”

“Beth was with her, but after they spoke Sloan decided that since the therapist had time this morning, she wanted to get his 7 am. He is on his way here now. As it wasn’t an actual scheduled appointment. She will be done by 8. It will be OK, Dawson. She loves you, she is just struggling with some issues this morning. Just give her a little bit of time” Vincent tells me.

So now I know that they both know that there is a problem before I did. Why? What could it be that is so bad that she couldn’t tell me? I have a really bad feeling about this, and I do not want to lose my mate. I just got her, I have been nothing but thoughtful and considerate towards her. Waiting for her to give me the go-ahead for us to progress in our relationship. It is almost 7 now, so I will be leaving it alone. I guess she will tell me when she wants to, but now I need to work my frustration out. I leave the dining room and head to the elite training building. I need to spar, and not with one of the warriors here. I am really upset, and in my current state, I could hurt one of them. I was going to get Percy to spar with me, but he hasn’t come down yet. Maybe Heath is there? He can help me out.

I mindlinked dad for him to come out and spar with me later on. He linked back that both he and mom would be out to the training area after breakfast. I entered and headed straight to the exercise room to see who was there. I see that Beta Gardner is there, as well as his son, Reese, who will be taking over the Beta duties when Percy takes over. Reese is 19, but he is a strong fighter, just like his dad. He will do well as the next Beta. They were not on the elite team, neither of them tried out for it, but they are both strong fighters and trained with the elite team. Heath approves of it, as it can only make them all stronger for training with each other.

“You OK, Dawson?” Beta Gardner asked me.

“I guess so, I just need to work some extra energy out. I am looking for a sparring partner” I told him, and he nodded. If you know me, you can tell when I am worked up. It is actually pretty rare for me to ever get worked up. I am known as the cool head, to Percy’s more hothead tendencies. That does not mean that Percy always wins. He does not, I am just as good of a fighter as he is, he is just more reactive than I am. I like to think my way out of a problem and skip the fight. Percy actually likes to fight, in all situations.

“I can spar with you, I am sure Reese will too. We wanted a good workout this morning. I don’t believe that either of us has sparred with you before. This is a good opportunity for us to potentially learn some new moves”. Beta Gardner said to me, and I nod in agreement.

Beta Gardner got in the ring with me, and Reese moved to watch over the match as the referee. I am literally spoiling for a fight, so I am ready to go when the fight started. I move swiftly to Beta Gardner and give him a quick front kick right off the bat and when he flew back, I was there right after he landed, and immediately put him into an arm bar. Beta Gardner tapped the mat, and I immediately released him. I heard the door open and Easton Hayes, the leader of the elite team, and Jameson Ledger, another elite member walk up to the mat and see Beta Gardner still laying there. They both seem surprised. It is probably because I usually don’t spar.

“I think you need to spar with them today, Dawson. I don’t want my son getting hurt this morning. He isn’t as well trained as I am, and you took me down in 30 seconds. Maybe you should just stick with the elite” Beta Gardner said as he slowly got up.

“Are you hurt, Beta Gardner?” I asked, suddenly guilty for acting in anger. That is not what I do, and I was embarrassed that I was picking on the Beta when I am about to become the Alpha of my own pack soon.

“I am not hurt, Dawson. Well, maybe my pride is. I know you need a workout to ease whatever you are going through. That should fall to them, as they are actually more experienced than I am at this type of fighting. I should have naturally assumed that both of Heath’s grandchildren would be strong fighters, as that is how he trained you to be. Plus, with Gabi and Tanner as your parents, you would naturally be strong fighters. I always just guessed you were not as good at it, that was my mistake. I won’t make it again young Alpha. This was a good fight, and I did learn something from it. Not to assume” Beta Gardner said and then laughed as he came over to shake my hand.

“Dawson, I can spar with you,” Jameson said, and I nodded at him. Thankful that he would help me out. I would be glad to do it. Jameson is a strong fighter and helped mom a lot in her training before she made the elite team. Easton took over the referee duties and started the match. Beta Gardner and Reese both sat down to watch, interested in watching me spar with Jameson. I am still worked up and I need this. I need to not think, and just let my emotions run their way out. I am still very upset and frustrated, I have done nothing but love and care for my mate. I don’t know what is going on and I feel like she should have spoken to me first, whatever it was. I am her mate, and it is my job to take care of her. I want nothing for her but her happiness, with me, at B***d Rose. Jameson doesn’t wait for a second and comes at me fast. I am in immediately in defense mode and just protecting myself. I can’t land a blow, and this is exactly what I needed.

Jameson eases up and allows me to get a few shots in. We go back and forth for about 20 minutes, and I am wiped. This level of fighting is a draining thing, and I feel much better from the workout. Jameson makes a small mistake and telegraphs his next move, and I sidestepped it and got him down with a sidekick to his ribs. I immediately leap onto him to get him into an overhook, pulling his arm up, and as I was placing my knee on his shoulder so I can pin him to the mat to be able to control him, he managed to get loose from me. I got up at the same time as Jameson and he gives me a quick grin before he spears me, with his head lowered and hitting me center-mass in my stomach, and I never saw it coming. I am laying on my back and I am hurting as Jameson is lightning quick as he puts me in an armbar. I can’t catch my breath because he knocked the wind out of me. He has me beaten and I can’t get out of it. I stop fighting, I am wiped, I just want a shower and a quick nap now. I am completely exhausted. I go to tap and then hear, “Get off of him” before Jameson is lifted off of me and tossed about 6 feet away, landing on the mat with a surprised look on his face.