The Rejected Female Wolf - Chapter 154: Chapter 154

"Alright, fine. I guess we can venture outside for a little while," he grumbles with a dramatic sigh. I laugh at his face before I quickly run to the bathroom to take a shower.
Once we've both done our morning routine, we exit the house and start walking.
"Where are we going?" I ask as I look around.
"I'm taking you out to breakfast at this diner I really like. Emily and Brian are going to be there." A huge smile forms on my face at his answer. I can't wait to see Emily. It's been so long.
I practically skip towards the diner while Ryder walks next to me with his long strides.
When we get closer to the town, people start bowing at us with smiles on their faces. I smile back and wave and Ryder just nods in acknowledgement.
We get to the diner a few minutes later and I hurriedly fling the door open before scanning the diner for Brian and Emily. I don't have to look for too long because they appear in front of me a few moments later.
"I see that you two have finally decided to grace us with your presence," Emily says with a huge smirk on her face. She starts to wiggle her eyebrows at me and a pink blush spreads across my cheeks. Ryder and Brian chuckle softly while Ryder pulls me closer to him. We walk to a private section of the diner and food is already piled up on the table.
"Congratulations alpha," Brian says with a respectful nod as we get closer to the table. He's obviously referring to the fact that Ryder and I mated which causes me to blush again.
"Yeah, congrats you guys! I was getting gray hairs over here waiting for you two to mate!" Emily exclaims before she launches herself at two of us. Ryder growls slightly before moving me behind him.
"Stay away from my mate," he growls while glaring at Emily. Emily immediately stops heading towards us. She instead starts moving to the other side of the room. She lets out a whimper and I see tears form in her eyes before she puts her head down.
I gasp before nudging Ryder side with my elbow. He turns to me and his eyes are almost completely black. I let out a sigh before I wrap my arms around his waist.
"It's alright. Emily wasn't trying to hurt me, Ryder. Emily is our friend, you don't need to worry about her," I say through the mate mindlink. I rub his back slowly and I can see him relaxing. He pulls me closer to him before glancing at Emily. Brian is now at her side and is whispering something into her ear.
Ryder clears his throat before he gives Emily an apologetic look.
"I'm sorry Emily. I didn't mean to growl at you. My wolf and I are still on edge about letting people get near Elizabeth." Emily wipes her cheeks with the back of her hand before she looks up and gives him a wobbly smile.
"It's ok alpha. I shouldn't have done what I did anyways. I was just excited to see you guys," she replies, her voice shaking. I feel my heart squeeze painfully in my chest. I gently remove myself from Ryder, which causes him to growl slightly, and walk over to Emily. I hold out my arms and she gives me a small smile before wrapping her arms around me.
"I've missed you, Emily," I murmur into her hair. She sniffles slightly.
"I missed you too, Luna. I am happy that you are back home and you are well," she states. I pull back slightly so I can see her face and then I rest my hands on her shoulders.
"Emily, what have I told you about calling me Luna? We're friends, just call me Elizabeth. You don't have to be so formal with me." She nods her head but avoids all eye contact with me. I sigh and let my arms drop down to my sides.
A few moments later, we all sit down and start to eat. There's an awkward silence that's surrounding us and it's suffocating me.
"So how are things going with everyone else?" I ask while turning to look at Emily. She swallows the food she was eating before answering me.
"Everyone's pretty good. All of us have just been trying to move on from everything that's happened." I nod my head in understanding.
"Do you know about how Jake or Carter is?"
"Yeah, Jake has been spending a lot of time with his mate, but when he's not with her, he's training some of the younger pups. Carter has been helping Jake with the training, but other than that, he's kind of reclusive unless someone talks to him. The pack really respects him though."
"What about my parents?" I frown slightly when I realize that I haven't seen or spoken to my parents since before I got kidnapped. I feel like such a bad daughter.
"Your parents are fine. They understood your need to be alone with your mate for a little bit," Emily says with a knowing smile. I nod my head and continue eating. Ryder and Brian have been silent this whole time and I think they're talking to the mindlink. It must be pretty serious though since both of them have blank faces on.