From Rejected Mate to Luna Chapter 8

James's POV

Shit. The moment the joke escaped my lips, I'd realized my mistake.

My stomach clenched with that familiar dread—the kind that came from watching your best friend carry a grief so profound that most days I wondered how he even got out of bed.

Matthew had lost his mate. Rachel. Dead for over two years now, killed in a rogue attack that had shattered him in ways the pack couldn't see. Most of Spring Valley had no idea their Alpha had even found his fated mate, let alone lost her.

Only Olivia and I knew the truth—we'd been there that night, had watched Matthew cradle Rachel's broken body, had heard the sound that came from him when the matebond severed. It wasn't a howl. It was something worse, something that still woke me up sometimes in the middle of the night.

I opened my mouth, scrambling for words that wouldn't make this worse, but my mind was completely blank. What could I possibly say? Every apology felt inadequate, every explanation hollow.

Then, like an answer to a prayer I hadn't voiced, I felt Olivia's presence through our matebond before I heard her footsteps. The office door opened, and my pregnant wife walked in with that perfectly timed grace that had saved me from countless awkward situations over the years.

"Am I interrupting?" Olivia asked innocently, though the knowing look she shot me through our bond said she'd felt my distress and come running. Her hand rested protectively on her rounded belly, now prominently showing under her flowing summer dress.

Matthew's dangerous edge softened immediately, his expression shifting to mild surprise. "Why is your wife joining our meeting?"

I placed a protective hand on Olivia's lower back, grateful beyond words for her intervention. "She's being clingy lately. Pregnancy hormones," I said, trying to inject some lightness back into the atmosphere.

"I am not!" Olivia protested, playfully swatting my arm in a performance I recognized—she was deliberately creating normalcy, giving Matthew something else to focus on besides my spectacular foot-in-mouth moment. "I'm actually interested in hearing about the scholarship program." She nestled closer to me, and I wrapped my arm around her shoulders, silently thanking the Moon Goddess for this woman.

I couldn't resist pushing the playful banter further, needing to cement this shift away from dangerous territory. "Just admit it—you can't stand being away from me. I was only out of the house for what, an hour? And you were already missing me so badly you had to come find me."

Olivia rolled her eyes, but I felt her amusement through our bond. She knew exactly what I was doing.

Matthew cleared his throat dramatically, and I saw him force a smirk. "Seriously? You have to do this in front of a single guy? Have some mercy."

It was my opening—maybe a chance to say something right for once today. "You know, there's an easy solution to that problem. Either find a mate or at least relax a little. Go out, meet people. You're still young, Matthew."

I watched his expression harden immediately and knew I'd stepped wrong again. Dammit. Through our bond, I felt Olivia's gentle warning: *Let it go, love.*

"Three sentences and you're already on this topic again," Matthew said, his voice tight with controlled irritation. "You're worse than those gossipy old ladies at the village center who try to set up everyone who walks by. Seriously."

Before I could dig myself deeper—because apparently that's all I was capable of today—he raised his hand to cut me off. "Let's get back to business. What else do you need to report today?"

I sighed, reluctantly abandoning the topic, though part of me wanted to keep pushing. Someone had to try to pull Matthew back to the land of the living, even if I was terrible at it. "Fine, let's talk business," I said, opening one of my folders. "Besides the scholarship program, Edward's retirement ceremony is coming up soon. We need to finalize all the arrangements. The venue is confirmed, but we still need your approval on the guest list and ceremony details."

Matthew flipped through the first folder I'd prepared, scanning the details about Edward's retirement ceremony. The whole situation had been awkward from the start. When Matthew became Alpha a year and a half ago, it hadn't been planned—his father had stepped down early, forcing the leadership transition mere months after Rachel's death.

I understood why. The former Alpha had watched his son spiraling into grief, losing his will to live day by day, and had made a calculated gamble: bind Matthew with responsibility, give him something he couldn't abandon, use duty as an anchor when love had been ripped away.

And once Matthew took on the Alpha mantle, he'd immediately insisted I take the Beta position instead of Edward. He simply couldn't bear the thought of his uncle-figure becoming his subordinate, reporting to him daily with the formal deference Edward had always maintained toward pack leadership.

We'd ended up with this strange arrangement—Edward remaining the nominal Beta while I actually performed the duties. It had taken months of proving myself before Edward finally, last month, deemed me fully qualified and decided to officially pass the position to me.

"When do we need to have the selection completed?" Matthew asked, his focus now entirely on the scholarship folder.

"Next month," I replied, my posture relaxing as we settled into the familiar rhythm of work. "The Elders want the scholarship awarded before the fall semester starts."

"Understood. I'll find someone to draft the examination questions," Matthew said, making a note.

"Our annual scholarship program," he continued, more to himself than to us. "Every year, Spring Valley pack established scholarships for exceptional students at State University, helping talented individuals while also increasing our pack's visibility in academic circles."

I nodded. It was one of the things I genuinely admired about our pack's approach. Unlike many other packs that remained isolated and traditional, Spring Valley had embraced a more modern and open philosophy.

We actively encouraged pack members to pursue higher education and welcomed university graduates to join our community, bringing fresh perspectives and skills. The program had been one of Edward's initiatives that Matthew had expanded after becoming Alpha.

As Olivia began explaining her vision, I felt a small measure of relief through our bond. Maybe I'd screwed up with my thoughtless comments, but at least we'd managed to redirect to something productive. And watching Matthew actually engage with something beyond his grief, even if just for a moment, made the awkwardness worth it.

Still, I made a mental note to think before I spoke next time. My best friend had been through enough without me accidentally twisting the knife.