Bound To My Alpha Mate

Avery’s POV

I stood frozen in the bedroom doorway I shared with my Beta mate, Craig—the love of my life. My heart was thumping erratically in my chest, and I felt sick. The sight before me felt like a nightmare. It could not be accurate. There, tangled up in the sheets, was my mate, cuddled up with another woman.

That woman was none other than Carolina, the previous Beta's daughter. She lay there with a triumphant smirk on her face. My stomach twisted painfully as realisation dawned on me. I could not deny it. My mate had been sleeping with Carolina. Anger flared up within me, and I clenched my fists into balls. How could he betray me like that?

"Craig, " my voice cracked, barely a whisper. What have you done?" Tears threatened to fall on my face, but I willed myself not to cry. Neither was worth my tears, and I would not let them have that satisfaction.

He opened his eyes and looked straight up at me. Confusion and shock etched across his handsome face. He sat up properly and turned to see Carolina beside him. He leapt up from the bed and growled at Carolina while she smirked at me like she had won.

"Oh my goddess! Avery, listen to me. This is not what it looks like. I swear to you."" He started to say, but I did not want to hear it. The denial in his eyes only made me feel worse. He had been caught red-handed, yet he dared to deny it was anything to worry about.

Carolina, with her arrogant, smug look, slipped out of bed and threw her long black hair over her shoulder; she was such a drama queen, such a slut! I could not stand her. I wanted to rip her apart, limb by limb.

She dared to shoot me a look that said she had got what she wanted. She had always been sniffing around Craig, but I never had a reason not to trust him before now.

"I guess I better be off now. See you later, Craigy. I enjoyed my time with you.” She winked at him, and I noticed the hickeys all over her neck, I shuddered with anger.

""You stupid bitch!"" I growled and lunged at her, grabbing a chunk of her hair; I yanked her towards me. Ignoring her screams and how she tried to kick out at me, I only saw red. "I am going to kill you, Carolina. Mark my words." I spat in her face, and she shrieked in horror.

"Let me go, you crazy nutcase," Carolina shouted, but it only fueled me to hold on tighter to her hair. Bringing my hand up, I slapped her hard across the cheek, leaving a red mark. Shoving her to the floor, she crumbled into a heap and tried to compose herself, but I lifted my leg to stomp on her, and the next thing I knew, I was being lifted off the ground and pulled away from Carolina. I growled at her as I realised Craig had taken control of the situation.

"Get out of here, Carolina. NOW!"" He shouted. Carolina slammed the door shut after her. I pushed him off me and moved to the other side of the bedroom. Opening the window, I breathed in the fresh morning air and told myself to calm down.

"Avery, let me explain." He reached out to touch my hand, but I snatched it away before he could. I perched myself on the chair and drummed my fingers on my leg. I could not bring myself to look at him. He had no idea how much this had hurt me. Craig was supposed to be my mate, the one that the moon goddess had paired me with, and he was supposed to love, worship, and be loyal. I could never cheat on him or hurt him. My love was stronger than what he felt for me. It was as if our lives were a huge lie; he wanted to sleep with that piece of trash and forget about our bond.

"I want a break, Craig. I need space to think."" I finally spoke.

"But, Avery, nothing happened. I don't know why she was there. I was asleep."" He tried to explain.

"I am serious, Craig. Deadly serious," I muttered, ignoring his disappointment. I need to think clearly, and I can't do that around you," I informed him.

"Beta Craig, I reject you as my mate," I spoke the words that were a death sentence over our bond.

Craig knelt before me, begging me to reconsider my words. But my mind was made up. I couldn't bear to deal with his betrayal or the look on Carolina's face when she knew she had caught them together.

"Accept it, Craig." I hissed in disgust, but he shook his head. I felt my stomach drop. How could he refuse my rejection when he was the one who had caused this in the first place? I wanted to be away from him, to be alone. I needed to breathe. I felt like I was suffocating in this room.

"No, I cannot accept it, Avery. You are my mate, and nothing happened with Carolina; I don't know why she was there. I was only sleeping. You would have felt it if I had done anything!" He tried to pull me into his arms, and I felt like I could easily fall into him and the whole world would melt away, and it would just be the two of us, but then the reality of finding him in our bed with Carolina came crashing back, and I pushed him away from me.

"Just accept it, Craig. We are over. I don't want to hear your stupid, petty excuses. How could you cheat on me with that bitch. I hate you! I am going out. Don’t bother to follow me.” I told him and knew then that I had to muster all my strength up to walk away from Craig. I needed space to think. I did not feel anything special like he said I would. “I need time to think about all of this.” I said firmly.

"I will never accept that rejection; I love you, Avery Woods." He shouted at the top of his lungs as I walked away.