Word Count: 5070

The girls all followed Lorelai into the house, hunted down their bags and changed into their shorts, tank tops, and sandals to enjoy the rest of the party. It was still relatively early and werewolf parties tended to last all night long. Celie was surprisingly perky and energetic despite her serious injury, Harper had been expecting her to be worn out early in the evening, but it appeared that the copious amount of vodka that Celie was drinking was keeping her going. Harper couldn't help but feel sorry for the hangover Celie was surely going to be suffering tomorrow, but there was nothing to be done about that. Celie would likely start drinking again as soon as she woke up, but by tomorrow night, most of her pain would be gone, and barring any other battles or injuries, Harper should be able to take her stitches out the day after. Celie would still be sore and need to take it easy for a few more days, but the majority of her healing would be done.

Harper was now on a mission as she stepped back out into the courtyard and she was not looking forward to it. But hearing about what Finn had just gone through made her willing to push her irritation to the side and seek out the one person she'd been avoiding like the plague. After making a circuit of the lawn she spotted Adam, Reese, and Callum sitting on a bench near an open space where some small children were kicking around a beach ball.

"Reese, can I talk to you for a minute?" Harper asked as she approached.

Reese look up, shock clearly on his face before he smiled and jumped out of his seat.

"Of course, Harper, what's up?" Reese said.

"Can we take a short walk?" Harper asked as she stepped away from the others.

Reese looked confused but followed her little ways away from the others.

"I wanted to ask you about maybe taking a potentially temporary pack member for a little while," Harper began. "You said you have a male breeder at your pack now, and many warriors looking for mates and I was wondering if you'd mind taking another in, at least for a short while to see if his second chance is there."

"Of course we would, there's a male breeder here?" Reese asked.

"Yes, he's a good friend of mine, his name is Finn. He's a sweet guy, no one realized he was a breeder until last week, he found his mate, got rejected, and went into heat. I think getting away from here would be good for him, I know rejected wolves want to be as far away from their rejectors as they can get. If you have a male there who has been through the same thing as him, I think it might be nice and comforting for him."

"Yeah," Reese said, a pained look on his face. "Getting away is probably going to be best for him. Did he accept the rejection?"

"Yes, he accepted it immediately," Harper confirmed. "He hated the male he was mated to, the guy was a grade A douche bag, but he got an attitude adjustment a few minutes ago." Harper could help snickering at the thought of Thomas's beating.

Reese's eyes widened.

"The guy who just got his ass handed to him by the future Luna was the one who rejected your friend?" Reese asked.

"Yup," Harper giggled. "You can't imagine how hard we all laughed about that once we got into the house. Karma bitch!"

"Actually, I can imagine how hard you laughed," Reese chuckled, then turned serious. "So, I guess it's really official for Celie and Eden now, huh?"

"Yes, it is," Harper confirmed with a sympathetic glance at a dejected Adam sitting with Callum. "They're completely in love; it wouldn't surprise me if she marks him soon."

"I thought sirens waited two years?" Reese said, looking surprised.

"Mattie and I waited the two years so we could mark each other together, but you don't have to," Harper explained. "Celie can mark him now, and they can do the official siren bonding in two years. Mattie and I talked about doing that, but I wanted to wait and do them together. I don't think Cel has the patience for that though, now that she's made up her mind she's committed. Also Sira isn't going to want to wait to claim her mate now that she's accepted him, especially since she recently had to contend with an unmated siren female trying to steal him from her. She'll want to mark him to keep away any others that might show up responding to Ara's calls."

Reese just sighed and nodded, he was disappointed and hurt for his friend, but he understood, maybe it would be a good thing. The sooner Celie marked Eden the sooner the final thread of the bond would be broken, and Adam could start to finally move on.

"Harper, I know you've been avoiding me, and I understand why, but I have a few things I'd like to say to you," Reese started and saw Harper tense. "I won't take long, but I wanted to speak to you personally about my feelings."

Harper frowned, but nodded, she'd expected this.

"I just want you to know that I truly am sorry for the way I treated you, and all the terrible things I did. I have no excuse for my behavior, I was mean, violent, and cruel to you for no good reason. I was certainly not the alpha I always claimed to be, or I never would have allowed that behavior, I certainly wouldn't have participated in it. My ego and my immaturity were out of control and I have no one to blame but myself for what happened." Reese said, he was determined to own up to his failures. "I've learned a lot since then, I've grown into a better person and alpha, and I just wanted to express my sincerest apologies to you for what I put you through. I know I can never undo what I did to you, but if there is ever anything I can do to make amends, please, let me know and I'll do it."

"Thank you, Reese, I appreciate that," Harper said, deciding maybe it was time for her to try and let go of some of her own animosity. "Helping and protecting Finn would really go a long way in earning back some of my good will. Please, take care of him, he's a good, sweet kid, and he doesn't deserve what happened to him. He's fortunate that he grew up here in the Everglades pack, Porter has always looked out for him and protected him, but even Porter couldn't have stopped a rejection."

"I'll look out for him myself, and I know Devon will definitely take him under his wing and help him through it," Reese said.

"I'll go and talk to Finn and Porter and see if they'd be interested in the move," Harper said. "I hadn't mentioned it to either of them, I wanted to make sure you'd welcome him before I suggested it. You might also end up with his best friend Tosha, just warning you. She might not let him go alone, and I gotta tell ya, she's a handful!"

"The girl that's been hanging and laughing with Celie all night?" Reese asked, glancing over at them where they gathered at several garden tables laughing loudly and toasting each other.

"Yup, that's her," Harper chuckled. "She's a good person, but she's definitely a firecracker, she'll speak her mind regardless of who you are or what rank you hold, just warning you."

"I'll keep that in mind," Reese chuckled. "Is she mated?"

"No, she hasn't found her mate yet and she's twenty three, so it might be a good idea for her to travel. She's never been anywhere else so hopefully getting away from here for a while is what she needs," Harper said, then glanced over where Adam sat with Callum. "How's Adam doing?"

"Not great," Reese sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "But there's nothing he can do, he knew this was a possibility and he's trying to accept it, though his heart is pretty much broken."

"Yeah, I feel for him, but at the same time, I watched Celie's heart be broken for seven years," Harper said. "So I'm happy for her finding Eden and being healed. I honestly don't think it would have been good for her to take Adam back. There are too many bad memories associated with him, their past was just too painful for her, and she was too angry at him to ever fully get over it and forgive him."

"He told us that, he said she was so angry at him she just seemed like she would explode when she was around him," Reese said, shaking his head. "All that is on my head too, I know that, it just makes the whole thing even more heartbreaking. If I'd just taken two minutes to think about what I was doing it might have changed everything."

"It wouldn't have changed things for us, Reese, I think you should know that," Harper said bluntly. "I would have rejected you the second we were alone if you hadn't rejected me first."

Reese stared at her, shocked for a few seconds before he was able to speak.

"You would have rejected me? Seriously?" Reese finally asked.

"Without the slightest hesitation. I wouldn't have done it in public or humiliated you with it. I would just have said the words then left as I'd been planning on doing all along. There was never, for even one second, any possibility for us being mates," Harper told him. "The only thing that would have changed is you'd have gotten a second chance mate; all you did was beat me to the punch by saying the words. What happened between us for all those years was too bad, Reese, it was too horrible for me to ever get over, I would never have stayed mated to you. Sorry if that hurts your feelings, but it's the truth."

"No, I deserve to hear it, and you're right, what I did was too horrible to get over," Reese said sadly.

"Well, I'm going to chat with Adam for a minute before I head back to the party table, thank you for taking care of Finn if he decides to go, I truly appreciate that," Harper said.

"My pleasure," Reese smiled.

"Hey Adam, have you got a sec now?" Harper asked with a smile as she walked back to their bench.

"Sure, Harp, what's up?" Adam got up with a little smile.

"I just wanted to see how you're doing and say hi, since I haven't talked to you tonight," Harper said.

"I'm doing ok, heartbroken, but dealing with it. How's Celie? She doesn't look like she's in too much pain, I would have expected her to be resting after that injury," Adam said, his eyes steady on their table.

"She's gone through about two bottles of vodka since it happened," Harper chuckled. "Believe me, she's feeling no pain right now, she'll have the hangover from hell for a while in the morning, but she'll live."

"So...her and Eden are official," Adam said.

"Yes, she's probably going to mark him soon, so just be prepared for that," Harper told him. "Sira will want to claim him quickly now that she's accepted him, and she doesn't want to have to worry about dealing with another unmated siren female trying to steal him from her. She's getting possessive after the Sana incident."

Adam just bit his bottom lip and stared at the ground for a few minutes before he let out a deep sigh.

"Yeah, I should have expected it, but thanks for the warning," Adam said slowly. "I know I need to let go, and I'm trying, it's just...not easy."

"I know, and I'm sorry it turned out this way for you, Adam," Harper said, reaching out to squeeze his hand. "I really like the guy you grew into; I consider you a friend, and I think you deserve to be happy; I want that for you. I know that once you're able to open your heart to someone, you'll find a great girl and be happy. They say rejectors don't get second chances, and I think that's true most of the time. But I also know the moon goddess watches over us," she held up her arm so he could see the tiny moon symbol on her wrist, "I know she loves us, and knows what's in our hearts. I think she has something good out there waiting for you, you just have to have faith in her and be ready to accept her blessing."

"Thank you for saying that, it makes me feel better. You're a good person, Harp, the best I know," Adam said with a sad smile. "I wish I'd gotten to know you sooner; I think my life would have been better for it. Believe it or not, I'm glad Celie found Eden, I want her to be happy, and it seems like she really is now. I think I'm ready to finally find some happiness for myself, so I'll take your advice, and do my best to keep my eyes and heart open."

"Good, be sure and hit me up this week," Harper said with a smile. "We can grab some lunch and I can show you around Miami a bit, might as well do some touristy shit while you're here, and I can take you to the best local places."

"I'll do that," Adam chuckled and turned to go back to his bench.

As he approached he noticed that Reese and Callum had apparently bailed on him and now there was a young woman sitting on the bench watching the children playing with their ball. Adam started to walk away and find the guys and maybe grab another beer, but he wasn't sure he felt like talking to them right now, so he went back and sat on the bench again.

"Are one of them yours?" the young woman sitting on the other end of the bench asked.

"Uh, no, I don't have any pups," Adam said a little wistfully.

"Mine is the little one in the green shirt with that mop of curly hair," She pointed at the smallest boy, who appeared about three years old. "His name is Jordy."

She glanced at Adam's neck, but the collar of his shirt hid his neck so she couldn't see if he was mated or not.

"Have you found your mate? Or are you just waiting a while to have pups?" She asked.

"That's kinda a long story, but the short version is, I'm not mated," Adam said, then turned and extended his hand, he couldn't help but notice she had no mating mark on her neck either. "I'm Adam, by the way."

"I'm Dana, it's nice to meet you Adam," She said with a wide brilliant smile. "So, are you planning on going anywhere or sitting here for a bit?"

"Not planning on going anywhere," Adam replied. "Though, I was thinking of grabbing another beer and a plate of shrimp."

"Oh, that sounds amazing!" Dana said, clasping her hands in front of her with another grin. "Grab me one while you're getting yours."

"Uh, Oookay," Adam said slowly, he was somewhat surprised but then got up to go retrieve the food and beer.

Adam returned a few moments later, carefully balancing two plates piled high with shrimp and a couple of bottles of beer.

"Ok, here ya go," Adam said, holding out the plate. "Wasn't sure what kind of beer you liked, so I grabbed you a Yuengling."

"Perfect, that's my favorite kind," Dana said, taking a long drink.

"Mine too," Adam chuckled. "So, how old is Jordy?"

"He just turned three last month and boy did we have a huge birthday party," Dana laughed. "Mama was worn out for a week after that fiasco. There were seventeen toddlers at the party and only four adults, I've never cleaned up so much mud, cake, ice cream, and vomit in my entire life. Pro tip: monitor all toddlers when there is cake and ice cream around, if they eat too much, they just puke it right back out."

Adam laughed out loud, "I'm not sure I'll ever be in that position, but if I am, I'll try to remember that tip."

"Why wouldn't you be in that position? Do you never want any pups?" Dana asked, glancing sideways at him.

"I do, well, did want pups, but I don't think that's in the cards for me," Adam said.

"Since you're not going anywhere, you have time to tell me your long story, that kid won't run out of steam for another hour at least," Dana said, turning to Adam with a smile.

"Alright," Adam said with a sigh after a minute. "But you have to promise not to think too badly about me after you hear it."

"I can't promise that, I make it a policy not to make promises I'm not one hundred percent sure I can keep, but I can promise to keep an open mind and try not to be judgmental," Dana said seriously. "How's that?"

"Fair enough," Adam smiled. "Alright, here goes nothing. I'm an idiot. Just going to get that out there first. I know I'm an idiot, I will admit it to anyone who wonders. I'm the beta of my pack, and was best friends with my alpha, and in high school, we were not great guys. We were bullies to a couple of girls in our pack, I wasn't directly mean to them, but I didn't do anything to stop it even though I knew it was wrong."

Adam stopped and took a deep breath, working up his courage to say the next part.

"Well, the two girls who got picked on had their eighteenth birthdays on the same day and it was the last day of school. The girls were Harper and Celie, who were inducted into your pack tonight."

Dana's eyes widened and she glanced over at the table where Harper, Celie, and their gang of werewolves and sirens were partying and laughing.

"Yeah, I know," Adam sighed. "My alpha, the worst of the bullies, found out that Harper was his mate, and I found out Celie was mine at the same time. Reese, being a giant asshole, started yelling insults in Harper's face and rejected her in front of everyone."

Dana's brows furrowed and her lips pressed together, obviously getting angry at the thought of someone doing that to their mate.

"That was horrifying, I just sort of stood and stared and couldn't believe what was happening right in front of me, but then I made the biggest mistake of my entire life. I asked Celie to walk with me to the other side of the school where there were a few trees and when we got out of sight, I rejected her, and just walked away before she could accept it. Please hear me out." Adam pleaded when he saw the horrified look on Dana's face. "I was stupid, I was so stupid. I was worried about what Reese and the guys we hung out with would think if Celie was my mate. I wanted her for my mate, I always liked her, and I rejected her with the intention of revoking my rejection either that night or the next morning. I was actually thinking about what I was going to say to her when I revoked it while I was doing it. I never, for one second, intended for it to be permanent. I was planning on talking to the guys, talking to Reese after he calmed down from everything that just happened. I was going to get them to understand that I liked Celie, that I was happy she was my mate, and I wanted to revoke the rejection and get them on my side. But Celie and Harper ran away that afternoon. I mean, they just left immediately after school, packed their clothes, and got out of there. Gone without a trace."

Adam stopped and scrubbed his hand over his face, afraid to look at Dana to see her reaction.

"Callum, Harper's brother, and I looked for them for seven years, I never stopped looking. Even after they called off the search for them, even after they said we'd never find them, even after they said they were dead and had a memorial for them. I never stopped looking. I never dated anyone, I never thought of another girl, not once." Adam stared at the ground. "Then we found them, a few weeks ago, they'd changed their names, and weren't affiliated with any pack, which made searching for them harder. But we finally found them, and we came here to beg for forgiveness, I was ready to do anything to get her back, to make it up to her."

"But you couldn't make up for it," Dana said, the anger had faded from her eyes and she just looked at him with sympathy.