Rejected Mate

Marielle's POV

“Victory! Victory!“

The cheers of the crowd echo through the rink. The college ice hockey team—the Blackridge Ice Wolves—has just won the tournament that qualifies them for the championship that will take place in the next four months and yeah… we are celebrating.

The ice hockey players pull off their jerseys—revealing their sexy abs and tattoos—and wave them in the air while sliding across the ice.

Despite my weight and the tightness of my cheerleading uniform—a short blue pleated skirt with a white shirt—I jump for joy, waving the pom-poms in my hands.

I’m not only excited for the victory, but also excited because… finally, my mate—Rylan Ward, prince heir of the Blackridge Pack—will finally announce that we are mates.

On my eighteenth birthday six months ago, we discovered that we were fated mates. We accepted each other and have been dating secretly since then, but Rylan has been too busy with rehearsals, so he promised we were going to accept each other publicly—right here on the rink—if the team won.

My eyes dart toward him as he addresses his teammates, and my lips curl into a smile.

God… he is so beautiful.

A pair of stormy gray eyes. A jaw set so perfectly that it belongs on the front cover of a magazine. Tall. Broad-shouldered. Powerful.

I have loved him since I was ten—since the one time my father, the Alpha of the Silverhart Pack, brought me here on duty. Because of him, I studied hard to get into Blackridge University, a school that only admits the one percent of the most prominent heirs in North California.

Then he starts walking toward me in slow, deliberate steps. He is really going to announce us?! I still can’t believe it.

I quickly run a hand through my hair, button my shirt that keeps coming undone because my large breasts threaten to burst free, and smack my lips against the invisible gloss there.

Rylan’s lips curl into a smile as he stops in front of me. His scent—musk and cedar—and his oppressive Alpha aura press down on me. His soft eyes are fixed on me. I blush, feeling a little embarrassed as everyone is now staring at us.

My heart pounds as I imagine our first kiss in front of everyone. The team cheering for us and then, when he becomes Alpha… I’d stand beside him, not as the overweight Omega anymore, but as a powerful Luna.

“Rylan…“ I mutter, my head lowered shyly. “Congratulations on your big win.“

“Thank you, fatty…” he replies casually, his voice loud with mockery.

Laughter echoes around us at his response.

Even my own cheer squad giggles behind their pom-poms. Then one of the hockey players wolf-whistles, chanting, “Fatty! Fatty!“

Cold, gut-wrenching humiliation crashes down on me.

Oh, fatty… that is my nickname. I’m a size sixteen.

Fatty?

My brows furrow in confusion. I never expected him to call me that. He used to be the one who rescued me from the other students who bullied me.

I snap my head up at him. “Rylan…” The words die in my mouth because his eyes are so cold—sending chills shivering down my spine.

What the hell is happening?

He is supposed to claim me like he said yesterday after we made love, not look at me like he is barely holding himself back from throwing up.

Rylan smirks, then his hand reaches out. But not for me. It slides past me to Mirena—my twin sister. She places her hand on his and shoulder-checks me as she walks past to stand beside him. I stumble and fall sharply to the floor with a loud thud.

Mocking laughter echoes through the rink, ripping my heart apart.

“Easy, fatty,” Rylan sneers, wrapping his arm possessively around her waist. “Don’t scatter the floor with your weight.“

Mirena’s lips curve into a smile—sharp and victorious. Not even a flicker of shame touches her perfect face as she leans into him, her eyes glittering with triumph.

“Oh… sorry, sister,” she mocks. “You were occupying the whole space. That was why I pushed you out of the way.“

Their words sting more than I care to admit. My eyes widen in disbelief at the sight playing out right in front of me. Summoning all the strength inside me, I push myself up and dust myself off.

I swallow past the lump in my throat. “What’s happening, Rylan?“ I force a pathetic smile at him. “You’re supposed to be claiming me.“

“Claiming you?“ He lets out a cold laugh. “You? Why would I chain myself to that—” Rylan gestures at me, at my round belly, my softness, my flaws laid bare for the whole college to see “—when I can have her? The better version. The beautiful one. Strong and loved.“

The tears I have been holding back all this while finally slide down my cheeks. “What?“ My lips tremble.

“It is what it is, Marielle. I won’t be caught dead with a fat, weak, and worthless Omega like you as my mate and future Luna,” he spits, his voice devoid of any emotion.

I stare at him—really stare at him—hoping I’d catch a glimpse of the man who held me last night, promised me forever, and thrusted into me while whispering that I was the best woman for him.

“You are my mate, Rylan. You are supposed to be mine. You said you loved me—just the way I am. Just yesterday, you promised you were going to accept our mate bond.“

“Love you the way you are?“ He repeats it as if the words are the dumbest thing he has heard in years. “You really believed that crap? I only said that to get a taste of your sweet, tight cunt,” he spits through gritted teeth with no iota of shame. “You take me so well, fatty.“

Another round of laughter erupts.

Four months of love, care, and affection… and that is all I am worth? His personal fuck toy?

“You really think someone like Rylan would want you?“ Mirena chips in. “Just take a look at me.“ She turns around, and I hate to admit that she looks so beautiful in her cheerleading uniform. She is a size eight with a sexy killer shape. “So why would any reasonable man want you?!“

I press a hand to my face. The humiliation is too much for me to bear.

Mirena has everything I have always wanted. Beauty, strength, and attention. She is the loved twin while I am the disposable one… and now she has my mate—the only person I thought chose me for the first time ever.

I turn away. I need to get away. Through my blurry eyes, I start running out of the arena when Rylan’s voice stops me in my tracks.

“Not so fast, fatty. Accept my rejection before you leave. I, Rylan Ward of the Blackridge Pack, reject you, Marielle Cross, as my mate and future Luna.“

Pain tears through my chest like a blade. My hands clutch my shirt tightly in an attempt to contain the heartbreak. My knees buckle, but I won’t fall again. Not here—where everyone can see.

After I manage to steady myself a little, I begin speaking without turning back. “I, Marielle Cross, accept your rejection,” I say carefully, making sure my voice doesn’t tremble.

My body trembles as the rejection pain hits me like a sledgehammer. I stand rooted to the spot as the bond snaps. My ever-silent wolf growls silently before going hollow.

After the pain subsides a little, I wipe off the last trail of tears sliding down my cheeks and run out of the arena—away from the place that has just stripped me of my dignity.