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.

"Kids!" I shouted as I hurriedly entered the house. First floor, no one. Second floor, no one. "Jimmy!" I shouted. "Jared!" I shouted. I got no response. I closed my eyes and concentrated. There was no smell, no scent of them. I ran outside, chasing Jody's tracks, but there was nothing else. The bear was also gone. I ran in the direction of before, where I still remembered part of the trail. Screaming for my children, I howled and growled loudly, trying to locate them, hoping they would run to me.

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 told you I don't want anything," I said rushing. When I turned around, I bumped into a tall, almost generously built, handsome young man, very handsome. He smelled excellent. Wolf, is not a beta, but he was as strong as one. "Oh, I'm sorry, I thought you were the other guy," I apologized, trying to show that I wasn't rude. He laughed as if that kind of situation was normal. His name tag read 'Lancelot Pearson, Manager'. "My goodness, I am sorry for the inconvenience," I said again. He noticed my look and knew I had seen his name.

"Don't worry, Miss…?" he asked me, politely and still smiling. I said my name, still embarrassed. "Okay, Miss Naomi. Unfortunately, for the time you are here, we need you to consume something to keep yourself in place. Rules," he explained to me. It was true, there was a gigantic note on the order window saying about that. I had completely forgotten about it. However, I had no money to pay for anything. Lancelot looked at me fondly, receptively, and I almost felt like asking for something, only to see him smile at me for not leaving. I couldn't ask, I couldn't…

"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.

"Two very bitter espressos. She likes it that way," Casper said, asking the manager. The young man promptly nodded, seriously. Conflicts? He looked at me, smiling, saying he would get it. My face expressed a smile back, it was irresistible. I watched him walk away to the back of the counter. Then Casper was standing in front of me. Exactly as I had remembered, the six years had in no way shaken him, except for a few scars, probably from his position as alpha. "Hello, Naomi," he said, with a wholly different tone than when he had arrived. My mind traveled to the past when we were in bed together, and he had woken me up with that exact tone of voice, and that very phrase. I didn't answer, I just watched him sit down in front of me, straightening his suit. He was a businessman, after all.