Rebirth Of The Rejected Luna Chapter 44: I Am Not Your Mate, Theo

**Tiana's POV**

"You're not what?" He asked, with a raise of his eyebrows.

"I'm not your mate..." I said, taking the weight of the words off my chest.

"You're not," he agreed with a nod. "But I am hoping you will be."

"Theo, that is ridiculous," I replied, turning away from him. "Wait for the moon goddess to grant you a mate."

"I'm not saying I'm not waiting," he argued. "I said I'm hoping and praying to the goddess that you will be."

"Think about it Theo," I sighed, dropping what I was knitting. I ran a hand through my hair in exasperation. "Fiona is more practical. She's a noblewoman, you are best of friends and she's a member of your pack."

"We don't have to go down that lane Tiana," he sighed, running a hand through his head.

I said nothing.

"My father would like to meet you," he said after a few minutes of silence. "It's not in the way you are thinking. I promise I won't force the way I feel on you. He just would like to know who I have brought into the pack."

"Oh," I mumbled, looking down towards my lap.

"You do not mind, do you?"

"No, not at all." It was not like I had a choice. In all honesty, I did not mind meeting with his father but I could not deny that I was going to be scared of what his judgement about me was going to be.

"We will all be having dinner tonight," he said. "He shall be there so you should join us."

"Of course," I said with a small smile. Deep down, I wondered if Fiona was going to be present, but of course, she was going to be. She was a noble lady who was as good as royalty because of how close she was to the Alpha and Beta family. I guessed it was probably because she was an orphan who lost her parents while bravely defending the pack against rogues.

As much as I hated to admit it, I could understand Fiona's behavior a little bit. I had lost my mother to rogues and the memory still plagued me.

"There seems to be a lot on your mind," Theo commented, picking up my hands from my thighs. His touch seemed to pulsate electricity within me. Almost as if it was awakening something.

"I guess I'm just nervous for dinner tonight," I chuckled lightly.

"I can't blame you," he responded. "I'd be nervous if I were in your shoes."

"I suppose so."

"What are you making?" He asked, inspecting the fabric I was knitting.

"Just a quilt," I smiled at him.

"Make one for me," Theo smiled. "If you're not too busy."

"Of course!" I exclaimed, quite surprised that he would request one but glad to take the offer as well.

"Thank you. Well, this is goodbye. I shall see you during dinner." He stared at me longingly for a while. "Do you mind giving me a hug?"

I did not know whether to give him one or not but I didn't want to hurt his feelings so I just walked into his outstretched arms. He held me so close for a long while that I could literally count his heartbeats before he finally let go.

**Theo's POV**

I left Tiana's room feeling overwhelmed with emotions. She was hesitant and unsure, and it bothered me. I didn't want to push my feelings on her, but I couldn't pretend I didn't feel them either. As I walked back to my room, I kept thinking about our conversation, wondering if I made a mistake by being so honest with her.

Peter found me pacing in the hallway. He raised an eyebrow, a small smirk playing on his lips. "You look like a man who’s just come out of a battle."

"In a way, I have," I admitted, rubbing the back of my neck. "But only one battle I guess."

Peter chuckled. "What happened?"

"Fiona kissed me... Said I was blind to see she was in love with me..."

"Well, you were blind. Everyone saw it except you," Peter shrugged.

"Wait really?" I furrowed my eyebrows. "I..."

"So what did you do?"

"Nothing... I mean she kissed me and Tiana walked in... Then she left because of Fiona... Fiona stormed away angrily. After telling me she's been in love with me?"

"Let me guess, you chose to see Tiana instead?" Peter sighed.

"Yes," I sighed, feeling like a bad person. "I kind of wanted to explain."

"Well, Fiona will definitely not take it well that you did not go after her."

"She seemed to want to be alone," I shrugged.

"Idiot," Peter facepalmed. "She secretly wanted you to follow her. She wants you to fight for her."

"Oh," I responded, blinking rapidly while feeling like a fool.

"Yeah," Peter sighed. "How did it go with Tiana?"

I sighed, leaning against the wall. "Complicated. I apologized, but I’m not sure if it made things better or worse. She said I'm not obligated to apologize and don't need to explain anything."

"She's right. You don't owe her an explanation. But we are talking about females. Deep down she really wants to know why or what happened. Not like you owe it to her though."

"You're right," I sighed. "I don't owe it to her but why do I feel like I do? I just had to see her and make the situation clear for her to see."

Peter's expression softened. "You care about her, don't you?"

"More than I realized," I confessed. "But it's not just about what I want. There's Fiona to consider, and Tiana's feelings. It’s a mess."

"You know none of this matters until you have a mate, right?" He asked.

"I know, but I'm hoping for a miracle," I sighed. "Remember the scroll that talks about how the moon goddess tends to give you a mate with someone you might have affectionate feelings towards? When you're of age and still haven't found one."

Peter clapped a hand on my shoulder. "You’ll figure it out. Just be honest with them, and with yourself."

I nodded, appreciating his support. "Thanks, Peter. I needed that.”