Zander ran a hand over his face. He hated that Caleb was right, but he knew he was. He just hadn't thought about it that way, that he might actually be hurting his chances with her because he had closed himself off so that he wouldn't get hurt. He'd been too busy protecting himself and was probably hurting her in the process.
His thoughts drifted back to last Saturday night when she'd taken off out of there so suddenly. That had hurt. A lot. The she'd ignored him until Monday afternoon, and that had hurt as well. Was he doing the same thing to her? It wasn't his intention, but it did sort of seem like that's what he was doing. Returning the favor. He was going to have to fix this if he had any hope of making it work with her. He was going to have to fight for her.
"I know this isn't the way we do things as werewolves, but she's not a werewolf. She may know about all of this, but she's still human. You've got to give her a reason to want to be with you, to want to change, to want to spend the rest of her life with you no matter how long that might be, you need to make her fall in love with you. Otherwise, you're going to end up with another rejection."
Zander sighed. Which meant he had to set himself up to get hurt again.
"This is for both of you, too. You have to take that chance or you will most definitely lose her. Make her fall in love with you, Zander. If you don't put yourself out there, you will lose her. It's as simple as that." Caleb crossed his arms over his chest.
Zander nodded. "Okay."
"You know your family will help you out with Darcy as much as possible. Just say the word and we'll be there for you and her. But you need to pursue your mate, or you might as well just go up there today and reject her." Caleb stood and patted him on the back, then walked away.
Zander stood as well. There was no way he was going to be able to concentrate anymore. He'd gotten a decent workout in already anyway, though frankly, none of his workouts that week had been all that great. He was too distracted. He left the gym, grabbed lunch and then headed home. He took a shower and settled down on his bed to think.
Zander had planned to take Darcy to an attraction in Lancaster tomorrow. He wondered if Reyna would be willing to come along. He probably needed to talk to her first. Explain himself and that he was an idiot, then beg her to go out with him. He probably also needed to take her on a date alone with just the two of them.
The thought of being alone with her made him think of sex and he sighed. But Caleb was right, as much as he hated to admit it. He didn't actually have to stick his dick in her. There were plenty of other ways he could get her off. He wouldn't get off more than likely, but that was okay. He'd just jerk off to what he'd done to her later. If being alone with her even led to that. It might not, and he was okay with it. The main and most important thing was that he showed her that he was interested in her. That he wanted to be with her.
He finally got up and headed into his closet, throwing on jeans and a t-shirt. Then he headed out to go pick up his daughter and see his mate. It would be nicer if he was picking them both up. Maybe one day, if he didn't screw this up any further. But he couldn't help the excitement he was feeling at the prospect of seeing her again, of actually talking to her and making plans with her.
A little bit later, he was sitting at the school, waiting for Darcy to walk out with Reyna. His eyes scanned the entrance, watching for the two of them. Finally, he spotted them. His breath caught. Reyna was wearing jeans today, along with a blue top and she looked stunning. His dick immediately grew hard and he closed his eyes. He really needed her. Later, he told himself.
Zander got out of the SUV and walked over to them. Reyna spotted him and frowned, which made him realize how right Caleb was. Darcy smiled and ran over to him, throwing herself into his arms. "Hey."
"Hi, Daddy! It's Friday," she said excitedly.
"I know it is. Go get in the car. I need to speak to your teacher for a few moments and then we can head home." He kissed her forehead.
"Okay." She slipped out of his arms and headed towards the car.
Zander turned back once she was inside and frowned. Reyna was headed back into the school already, something she usually didn't do. He felt his heart drop at her silent rejection. He started to call her first name, then thought better of it. "Miss Miller."
She stopped and her back stiffened before she turned back to look at him. She wasn't smiling. "Yes, Mr. Beckham?"
"A word. Please. If you don't mind. It's important." Please don't say no.
She didn't move, and he knew he needed to. It was metaphorical. He needed to make the moves, be the Alpha he truly was and go after his woman. He needed to prove to her that he truly wanted her. Desperately. He needed her, and not just because she was his mate. He walked up to her, stopping a foot away. Thoughts of just kissing her crossed his mind, and if they were anywhere else, he would have. "Can we talk tonight? At your place? Alone?"
She bit her lip, then sighed softly. "I don't know if that's wise, Mr. Beckham."
"Reyna, I need to tell you some things. It's important." He really hoped she'd agree. "I've screwed this up, and I need to explain myself."
Her eyes flickered as she searched his face, and then she finally nodded. "Okay. I'll be home in a half hour, and I don't plan to go anywhere the rest of the evening. If you still want to come over, I'll be there, and you're welcome to."
He breathed a small sigh of relief. "Okay. As soon as I get Darcy situated, I'll be over."
She met his gaze. "Okay."
He stared at her for a moment longer. "You look absolutely beautiful like that."
A small breath escaped her and she blushed. "Thanks. I um.. should get back inside."
He nodded. "I'll see you soon, Reyna."
She nodded and turned to head back inside of the school and Zander headed back to his car. Well, hopefully she answered her door when he showed up, but he'd seen the hesitation on her face. He hadn't realized how close he'd come to blowing this with her, simply because he'd been afraid of getting hurt. He really needed to get out of his own way.
Why in the world did relationships have to be this complicated? All he'd wanted was a mate who would fall into his arms, agree to change, and that was that. Instead he'd had to go through two rejections, and the third was complicated because of what he was. He sighed.
"Daddy?"
Zander glanced into the rearview mirror at Darcy. He'd barely paid attention to a word she'd said this entire time. He'd been too lost in his own thoughts. "Yeah little one?"
"Are you going to marry Miss Miller?"
Zander's eyes almost popped out of her head at her question. Darcy amazed him at times over the random things she said. And how did he answer that? "I don't know. I like her."
"Me too. If you did, would she be my mom too?" Darcy asked.
"Yeah, Darcy. She would be. But we'll see. I just met her last week." He pulled up to the house, shut off the engine and got out, then walked around to get Darcy out. Then they headed inside. He needed to see if his mom would take care of Darcy for the evening so he could go try to salvage his relationship with his mate.
