Rejected, but not Broken
Chapter 53

Gabi’s POV

That Dana is a piece of work. She saw me looking their way and started touching Tanner. I am not going to stand here and watch this, so I started walking off. I cannot make another person fly right, and I will not beg Tanner to be with me.

I know she did it to mess with me, but it still hurt seeing her hand on him. I have already dealt with a mate who couldn’t keep it in his p*nts. I trust Tanner, he has never done anything to make me think he would, but Dana is another story.

With Taylor’s threats hanging over me, and not being able to see Tanner like I needed to for over the past month and a week, it has been stressful. I heard what she said, and I heard Tanner call her out about her lying to him.

The fact that she had his phone the whole time and shut it off so he couldn’t hear my texts. I am angry, and I already know that I am going to have to deal with her and probably sooner than I wanted to.

Tanner loves me and he showed me when he k!ssed me and gave me all his emotions. I can feel it when we are together, how deep his love for me is, and it is a comfort.

I guess I am finally ready to consider coming to his pack and starting to be trained on how to be a Luna by his mother, Aria, after we take care of the rouge problem at Rev River and the River Bed packs.

I was also excited about showing Tanner a refresher course on shooting, and I ran upstairs to get my site for him to use, my paintball gun, more paintballs, and my th!gh holster as it is adjustable. The site was important as it helped me be able to find the guys in their ghillie suits.

I heard someone on their phone heading my way and I stopped to let them pass. I couldn’t see who was coming yet but I heard, “I know what to do, but are you sure it will work? Will it be strong enough to overcome an Alpha command? Because he is really angry with me now, and I am banned from his office”.

I saw Dana come into view and see me standing there and said, “I have got to go now, talk to you later” before dropping the call. Dana looked at me and said, “Do you people normally stand around waiting to eavesdrop on personal phone calls?”.

“No, actually I just got here, I needed to get something from my room, and I heard someone talking and I stopped walking so I wouldn’t run into you, but I guess you are feeling guilty about something, next time I will keep walking and we can just run into each other,” I told her and continued on my way.

“Like you could do any damage to me, little girl. I don’t care if others think you are tough with your stupid little training team. I am the best female warrior in the B***d Rose pack, and I will always be better than you. I am not scared or intimidated by you at all.

I am glad others at B***d Rose know that you are tricking Tanner into being your mate. I know he belonged to your sister first and then you took him from her. You don’t deserve Tanner at all, and I hope you get what you deserve for being a backstabbing sister.

In fact, I think I deserve him more than you do, and I won’t just let him go like your sister did”, Dana tells me and turns to go downstairs.

“Did you just say that Tanner belonged to Taylor? Who told you that? Tanner straightened out the whole place, telling them that he and I are mates and that he was never with Taylor.

You need to talk to Tanner about it if you won’t believe me. Taylor lies, a LOT. I would be really careful about following any information that she gives you, as she has her own agenda, and she cares about no one but herself. You would be wise to realize that.

I didn’t realize you knew her that well, to listen to her words as if they were true. You need to pick your friends out better as Taylor is NOT your friend”, said to Dana.

“She may not be, but she at least cares that Tanner ends up with me, and not you. She warned me about you, how you twist things around to make it benefit you. That YOU lie, a LOT. SO, excuse me if I don’t take counsel from you, as I already know that I cannot trust you.

Go try to tell one of your “teammates” that I have heard you are extraordinarily close to. I cannot believe that Tanner would want a girl like you”, Dana said, and shook her head as she walked away and down the stairs.

How the hell does Dana know Taylor? Why would she be taking advice from her? I see what Taylor is doing and she has probably convinced Dana that Tanner needed to be rescued from me, and, of course, Dana fell for it, because she wants Tanner. I need to warn Tanner about this.

I think Taylor is the one coming into his pack, and I think it is Dana letting her in. This could become a really big problem for me and Tanner. My joy has been taken away at getting to spend time with Tanner, and I hurry to go get the items we need so he isn’t alone with Dana for very long.

I get them all and slide the site into the side of my leggings as my hands are full and run back downstairs. I see Dana standing behind my seat and trying to sit down at our table and her being told that it was my seat. Dana sat down anyway and gave Heath and Von a sneer and then started talking to Tanner.

Tanner rolled his eyes and then looked around for me and promptly got up and came over to me. We go to leave the dining room, and Dana calls out to him, “Be careful Tanner, you don’t know who you can trust here” and then gives me a smirk.

Von and Heath get up and I mindlink them what I had overheard Dana say on the phone, and then what she said to me. I saw the shock on Von’s face and her turn to Heath with worry on her face. Heath mindlinks us both back, “Do not worry, yes, I think she is the mole.

I will get Beta Eli and Beta Female Fawn to keep an eye on her while she is here. I don’t trust her and don’t want her loose in my pack. Just go help Tanner and forget about Dana for tonight. We will keep an eye out, and our ears out for her, as she clearly has an agenda too”.

I look up at Tanner and see him smile down at me and it makes my heart happy. I love him so much and I want to be his Luna. I guess I am ready to take the next step in our relationship tonight. I also needed to let him know what I had heard Dana say, as we headed to the target area.

“Tanner, I need to tell you something,” I told him.

“What’s up, Gabi?” Tanner asked me.

I explained what I had overheard Dana say, as well as our brief conversation, and I could see him get visibly upset. I think he realizes too, that Dana is the mole and Taylor has completely lied to Dana to get her to comply with whatever she wanted her to do. “And you are sure that is what she said on the phone?” Tanner asked me.

“Yes, I know what I heard, Tanner. Yes, that was our conversation together. Dana thinks you were with Taylor, and that I took you from Taylor. If you could straighten it out with her, maybe we can get this resolved before whatever Taylor has planned comes to fruition.

I have a really bad feeling about this. It has me very worried. It has kept me from you, and Dana keeps coming onto you. Why would I lie about it?” I asked Tanner and now I am upset again. He already knows just how low Taylor and Dana are, and it seems like he is questioning MY honesty in this.

I feel like I have been slapped in the face. How could he listen to Dana over me? I stop talking and keep walking to the target area. Tanner walks quicker to catch up with me and reaches out to grab my arm and asks me, “What Gabi? What is wrong?”.

“What do you mean, Tanner? Like with us? Or with me in general, as apparently you do not trust what I told you?” I asked him.

“Yes, Dana has come on to me, but I have always shot her down. I do not want Dana. I only want you. I just have to make an informed decision on what I need to do, and I will be getting with my dad when I go back to my pack. I don’t want to just punish her, and it was all a misunderstanding.

You understand, right Gabi? I am Alpha, and I have to follow the rules and pack guidelines on punishment. Right now, yes, it looks suspicious, but she hasn’t done anything that would allow me to kick her out of the pack”, Tanner tells me, and I look up at him and I realize he just can’t see it.

Maybe jealousy is a one-way thing with him, where he can be jealous of Derek still chasing me, but I can’t be jealous of Dana continuing to pursue him. Which is crazy because I never slept with Derek, but he has slept with Dana.

I know what I heard, Dana is planning something and asking if they really think it would work” and about being banned from Tanner’s office. Maybe I need to take a step back from this because I see this tearing me apart and potentially destroying me because he isn’t willing to recognize that this all pieces together and Taylor is at the root of it.

I cannot allow myself to be hurt like that, I cannot sleep with Tanner, knowing this, because when Taylor executes her plan, it is designed to destroy us both, and if I mate with him, it will take me down as well.

My heart is filled with pain.

Tanner may, believe me, a little, but he is not seeing the whole plan, just the bottom corner of it, and I can’t be betrayed again. I can’t hope for the best and fall in line and just wait for the shoe to drop and be completely destroyed when it happens.

I really honestly believed that when I got my second chance mate, especially with me being away from Red River, it would be OK, and I can see right now that it won’t be. My eyes fill with tears as I ask Heath through mindlink, to come to the target field and help Tanner because I can’t.

I start putting the items I brought down on the ground. I take the site out of the side of my leggings and put it down as well. I look up to tell him good luck for tomorrow, but right now I don’t know if I want him on my team anymore.

My eyes are full of tears, and I cannot speak. Tanner looks down at me and I can see his expression soften, and he reaches for me.

I cannot do this. I take off running and mind link Von to take Tanner’s bag out of my closet and put it into another room for him. I linked Heath and told him I would not be at the testing tomorrow and why. Heath is upset, but his anger is for me, not at me.

I heard Tanner calling after me and I know he was confused because I saw the writing on the wall, and I just needed to keep running for a while. I end up exhausted and at my friend Eden’s home. I linked her and asked her to let me in.

She seems surprised to see me and lets me in. She also brought me a towel to wrap around myself. I linked Von so she would know where I was, and that I wouldn’t be home until Tanner and his people leave, and for her to let me know when that is.

I have nothing else to say to him. I am his Luna, and he did not take counsel from me. He wants to speak with his dad, and I am going to let him.

I am glad I left my phone on the ground as well and I linked Heath to ask him to get it for me when he leaves the target area, for him to charge it for me and just leave it in my room.

Tanner can talk to me later, but I am not going to allow him to rip my heart into confetti because he is scared to tell Dana the truth that he was NEVER with Taylor, and that he knows she is the mole, and jail her so she couldn’t participate in any plan that Taylor has devised. \I don’t see that as being a hard thing to do, but what the hell do I know? My opinion obviously doesn’t matter.