Reject Him

Scarlett's pov.

The agony roused me up from my sleep. My chest pain and the severe headaches had returned. Even in my past life, I had to endure the same pain repeatedly. I was diagnosed with a disease I never heard of at the time by the pack doctor. He called it a name that was entirely foreign to me.

I was gullible and believed every word they told me. As months passed by the pain became a part of my daily life. It became so intense that I started to fear that my sickness was getting worse.

This time, though, I had an epiphany as to its true nature. There was no way that this illness suddenly manifested itself after I met him. There could be only one possible explanation. Michael was sleeping with someone else. And who else could that someone be, other than my "beloved" bestie? 

Gritting my teeth, I grasped my stomach and waited for the ache to expire. Those traitors… it felt like they were having the time of their lives. The pain seemed to last for an eternity until I was finally able to breathe. 

Drenched in sweat, I gasped for breath while attempting to relax on my bed. I was exhausted. Thankfully, it didn't take a lot of time for me to doze off again. 

I woke up a bit later than usual. Well, thanks to those rascals, my sleep was disrupted during the night. I went to the bathroom to freshen up. All the while I washed my body, thoughts of what I could do to them plagued my mind. What would Iris suggest? I couldn't kill him. Not yet at least. He hadn't broken the law… yet.

Reject him… 

A grin stretched across my face.Yes! That's exactly what I should do! 

I cheered for myself as I brushed my teeth in the morning. I had every reason to reject him after what he made me endure last night. Besides, after witnessing Michael follow Georgette into the woods, I was almost certain that they were hatching up a plan. 

Perhaps rejecting him would foil their schemes. That way, I wouldn't have to feel it each time they hooked up. Yeah. A rejection would force him to leave me alone! Why didn't I think of that sooner? 

I gleefully finished my business in the bathroom, got dressed, and rushed out of my room. I was suddenly feeling rejuvenated after thinking about the rejection. I didn't bother about the maids rushing around as I sprinted down the corridor. I didn't stop until I ran into a rock hard chest, making me stumble on my feet. A pair of muscular hands wrapped around me, preventing me from falling. The absence of the sparks was a relief, still, I dreaded that I ran into Michael. 

"Star!" 

I breathed out in relief. It was Gavin and not that walking nightmare. 

"Hey…" I trailed off and looked into his eyes. My jaw dropped. For the first time in my life, I realised how handsome he really was. With his defined jawline, chiselled face, and hazel eyes, he was definitely a heartthrob. 

With his trademark grin, he softly released me. I sucked in a breath.  What a smokin' hot hunk he was! Good grief, how did I miss that?

"I dropped by to say hello. You passed out last night and they brought you to your room. I didn't want to worry you, especially when your mate was there. And yet, I couldn't avoid seeing you first thing in the morning.," he put his hands into his pockets. "How are you feeling now?" 

I couldn't help but admire his dapper appearance in a black shirt and khakis. In spite of his modest attire, his rippling muscles and six-pack were obvious.

Damn, if only I could run my fingers over them. Was it bad that I couldn't stop myself from checking him out? I licked my lips.

"Star?" Frowning, he tilted his head. "Maybe you still aren't feeling okay. You look dazed." 

Dazed? Well, can anyone blame me? I finally realised that my personal guard was a demigod. 

I cleared my throat. "I'm fine. I was… I was… distracted…" 

"Distracted? By what?" He seemed to be genuinely confused. 

Shit. I can't tell him that I was mentally drooling over his fine body. Or that his eyes were breathtakingly beautiful. Or that I was drawn towards his chiselled face. Or that I fucking needed to run my fingers over his fit and…

I desperately looked around, hoping to think of a good reason. The omegas who were carrying a ceramic plant pot across the foyer caught my attention. 

"That. Look at how they are struggling with that pot. It is so heavy. We should help," I stated and rushed towards the two omegas. 

"What?" 

Though Gavin sounded confused, he came to offer a hand. The omegas were visibly grateful for the help they received. While we carried the heavy pot to where they wanted, my fingers brushed against Gavin's. My heart raced at the contact. In the past, I didn't bother to give him any attention, partly because I thought I didn't need a guard. I was a trained she-wolf. But now, after finally letting go of my ego, I noticed Gavin. And I was noticing him a bit too much. I bit my lower lip. 

I knew that it was wrong, but it felt so right. 

Why couldn't I be mated to him? My mate was a jerk, who I planned to reject. It made me wonder if the reason for me to be mated to Michael was to feel the pain of betrayal. Or to teach me a lesson. Perhaps I was being a bit too egotistical. 

If that's how it turned out, then it's about time. I deserved all of it. I learned my lesson the hard way.After being granted another opportunity in life, I intended to use it to make significant improvements this time around. That included my own perspective.

The omegas thanked us for our help. I guess that was our cue to leave them alone. 

"So you're feeling better?" Gavin repeated his query as we walked down the corridor. 

"Yes," I replied, deliberately avoiding looking at him. 

"That's good. I guess spending the night with your mate does help." 

I froze in my steps. "What?" 

His forehead creased as he turned around to face me. "Well… didn't you guys spend the night together?" 

Was the entire pack thinking that we slept together last night? Ugh. Great. 

"No, we didn't. I told them I needed to be alone so that I could rest." 

"Oh… I thought… " The colour drained from his face. "I saw him this morning and he…" 

I narrowed my eyes. "He what?" 

Gavin's lips parted. "Shit. This isn't my place to speak." 

I grabbed his hand. "Tell me. I want to know." 

He gulped. He was clearly hesitant to reveal what he had seen. 

"Please, Gavin. I trust you. I know that you won't lie to me and that you care about me. Tell me now, or it might be too late," I begged. 

"I… I might be wrong, but when I saw him early in the morning, I thought he smelt like… uh… sex?" 

He hastened to refute himself. "I might be wrong. Maybe I misread him and his scent. Maybe he was…" 

"Where did you see him?" I cut him off. 

"On the first floor. I thought he was coming down… you know… after sleeping with you." 

So that was what it was. The pain I felt last night coupled with what Gavin had seen made perfect sense. In my past life, I used to ignore those headaches and chest pains. I foolishly accepted that I was sick. They were cheating on me back then and even now things were the same. Only this time, I wasn't going to turn a blind eye to that. Georgette's room was located on the first floor. Micheal must have spent the night with her. And how could I forget what I saw last night? They definitely were up to something. 

"So he cheated on me," I declared moving towards the balcony instead of going for the stairs. Because I needed privacy for this conversation.

"No. No, no. I'm sorry I even said that. It must be my mistake…" Gavin rebutted as he hastily followed me to the balcony.

"No, Gavin. It isn't just what you saw. It's also what I felt last night," I told him. I made sure no one else was around to overhear before spilling the beans to him. His muscles tensed as he listened to me describe the nighttime anguish I had to bear and the scenery I saw before falling asleep.

"That asshole! He needs to go! And I wasn't expecting that from Georgette!" 

To my relief, no one was in the area. His temper was on the verge of exploding. Because of the tension in his muscles, his shirt appeared ready to burst.

"Gavin," I whispered, hoping to calm him down before his wolf took over. 

"We need to relax and be wise. If we act on impulse, nothing will go our way." 

His eyes shifted between hazel and pitch black and I knew that he was ready to shift. 

"Michael would simply turn everything against us. If you attack him or accuse him, he will blame you, and naturally, everyone will believe him rather than you. He is a notorious alpha and you're just my guard. They'll lock you up and I can't afford that. I need you around. You're the only person I can trust. I can't even trust Georgette anymore." 

His eyes returned to normal as his body gradually relaxed. 

"What are you going to do?" He asked me when he finally got his fury under control. 

"Reject him," I shrugged. "I don't want a cheater as my mate." 

"So you're going to tell them that you felt the pain?" He asked. 

I nodded my head. "Yeah. That's a valid reason for me to reject him, right?" 

"That might work," he agreed. "I'll be by your side. If you need any help…" 

"I know, Gavin. I trust you. But please don't tell anyone anything. I don't want anyone to point their fingers at you." 

"But I am your guard. I need to…" 

"Please, Gavin. I want you to be safe. I have a feeling that they are up to something. We need to find out what they are planning. I am sure that this is more than just a simple betrayal. Why else did we find Georgette at the boundary a couple of years ago? She said that she was a rogue orphan. But how in the world does she know Michael? And why did they sneak into the trees last night? There are so many unanswered questions and I need your help to investigate. So please lay low. I'll do the talking for now." 

Though begrudgingly, he agreed. We went downstairs where everyone else was having their breakfast. My parents, Georgette and Michael were already at the table. As usual, Gavin stood behind me, being the guard he was taught to be. No one except Michael seemed to care that he was standing close to me. 

He growled, as though he was possessive of me. It took every ounce of willpower in me to stop myself from rolling my eyes. I couldn't believe that he was acting as though he didn't sleep with my best friend this morning. 

"Honey, you're here. Come and sit down and Gavin, please step to the side. She is now mated to an alpha so…" 

"Mom," I interrupted her. "That won't be necessary. Gavin is the guard my dad appointed me and we all can trust him. We must not forget that he is the one who saved me yesterday from a rabid rogue," I told them.

They seemed to agree with me. Mom and dad nodded their heads while Michael seemed to be simply pissed off. Georgette looked indifferent. I looked at my so-called best friend and then at the jerk who was mated to me and heaved a deep breath. 

"And about my mate… Michael, where did you sleep last night?"

"Uh… in the guest room. I didn't want to go back to my pack when my mate was feeling unwell," he replied, earning appreciative smiles from my parents. 

 "Well, if that's the case, I am pretty sure that you have invited someone to the guest room last night because I was woken by the pain of betrayal after I fell asleep. So I no longer want to be mated to you. I, Scarlett Johansson, reject you, Alpha Michael Pierre as my mate and alpha."