Chapter 2

Danielle

“Mate—“

Everything within me cried out in joy and excitement as I continued staring into the eyes of beta Manuel. Goodness, when did he become this handsome? I mean, he has always been handsome but I have never seen him like this before. It was like looking at him in a whole new light.

Wait a damn minute. Mate? My eyes widened when I realized what the excitement I felt meant. Mate? My mate? I felt a rush of heat as the excitement inside me increased and suddenly everything started to make sense, everything my mom spent years telling me about the special feeling when you finally find your one.

I couldn’t believe that this whole time, my mate hadn’t been far away. It was someone I knew. Someone I respect. How did I not realize this? I have literally been living not far from this man for years now. okay, we don’t see each other often because I am always busy at the hospital and he has a business to run but still, we meet at the clan meets and sometimes even go out for runs in the same group but not once.

Not even once did I think of this man as someone destined for me yet, now, as I looked into his eyes, it felt like I was seeing him for the first time. really seeing him and damn, my heart was so close to exploding. The same explosive feelings that my mom told me I will experience once I find the one for me.

“Be—be—beta Man—“

He pushed me off before I could finish stammering the words that formed in my head. I stared at him questioningly. Shouldn’t he be excited to finally find his mate? He didn’t look excited at all. maybe he doesn’t know yet. Which might be odd seeing as both of us should know at once. That’s if I am going by what my mom told me.

According to Mom, it will be a shared feeling of euphoria. A feeling too strong than neither of us can deny or downplay. That’s no way near what I could sense from Manuel.

“You are my mate.”

I blurted the words out before I could stop myself and I said it a little loud because some heads turned in our direction. Manuel reacted fast. Before I knew it, he was dragging me with him to the outside of the hall. I followed him quietly but inside, I was burning up with excitement and happiness.

Just when I was about to give up, I finally found someone. Not just anyone but my actual mate. That’s so rare these days. My actual mate and it was someone I know very well. Someone in my clan so I don’t have to move to a new clan.

I hated it when my best friend had to move to her mate’s clan. It happened with my other friends too. Only Helen mated with someone in the same clan as us and that’s why we have been really close lately. I thought I would have to leave one day but now I don’t have to worry anymore.

The excitement reached to the point that I was smiling as Manuel pulled me all the way to the back of the hall where no one was around. My heart soared as I thought of how tonight would end. Maybe, just made I will end the night tangled up in bed with my beta. Not just a beta anymore but my beta who is also my mate. Lucky me.

Manuel stopped abruptly and pushed my hand away as if I had burned him. Maybe I did with how hot I felt inside. I smiled and reached for him to connect with him again.

“Don’t let me hear you say something like that ever again.”

That’s not what I expected Manuel to say but that’s exactly what he said and his handsome face wasn’t smiling or happy like I expected him to be. He looked offended. I tried to smile and reach for him again but he pushed my hand away in anger. Okay, maybe he doesn’t know but that doesn’t matter, I can tell him.

“You are my mate. We are mates.”

I let out desperately but his expression didn’t change after I told him. In fact, if it did change, then it was for the worse. I tried to reach for him again but he moved away from me and that hurt more than I thought it would. I realized something that I didn’t think about until he started acting weird. He knew.

“You knew? You already knew that we were mates? Right?”

It was so obvious from his reaction that he already knew. I wonder how long he has known and why he didn’t say anything or even approach me with the topic. Isn’t it supposed to be like that? Isn’t he supposed to be happy to have found me? His mate?

“How long have you known?”

I asked him, willing myself not to overreact. There was no need to be mad or hurt.

“What does that matter? It’s not like I want you anyway.”

My jaw dropped at his harsh words. Yes, Manuel has always been harsh with his words. The few times he has addressed me and even when he addresses the pack on behalf of the alpha, he always sounds so rude and annoyed at everyone but I never thought too much about it but now, he was using that same tone with me right after I found out he was my mate.

“What?”

I asked him because there’s no way he just said what I just heard. No way he doesn’t want me when I am his fated mate.

“You heard me the first time. I don’t plan on having someone like you as my mate and unlike in the past, I can decide who I want to be with and it’s certainly not someone like you.”

He looked me over in a demeaning way while saying the last part of his sentence.

“Someone like me? What’s wrong with someone like me?”

I don’t know why I felt like hearing more words from him but I just couldn’t shut up and let him just talk because there’s nothing wrong with me. I am beautiful, funny and hardworking.

“Do you really need me to spell it out for you? It’s already a flaw for you to be part of our pack but now you want more? You want to be my mate? You must be over dreaming!”

Damn, not the hybrid thing again. Great, even my fated mate doesn’t want me because I was unfortunate enough to be born half-wolf, half-bear. Great. Just when I thought that wouldn’t stand in the way. I realized that I had been excited over nothing, that I won’t be tangling up anywhere with him, and that he obviously hated the sight of me and didn’t even want me to be in the clan. That part wasn’t pleasing at all.

“I get that you don’t want me as your mate and as much as that hurts, I can deal with it but I won’t let you talk down on my place in the clan.”

I let out. I could hear the pain in my voice. I hated how his obvious rejection affected me. the aching in my chest was enough proof of how bad it hurt even though I only found out minutes ago. It still hurt like we dated for long and he just decided to break up with me.

“No, you don’t deserve to be part of the pack. You are the only hybrid in the pack and you are a flaw. You are not one of us and if the alpha listened to me then you wouldn’t be anywhere near the pack.”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing from his mouth. I understand him not wanting to mate with me because of my identity but the clan thing? I belong in the clan just like everyone else. I moved to the city at a young age and found the clan. The alpha accepted me even though he saw who I was and I have been a part of the pack since I was eighteen so hearing him say that it’s a flaw for me to be in the clan pissed me off more than him not wanting to be my mate.

“I deserve to be in the clan as much as anyone else and it’s not in your place to decide who becomes a part of which clan. You are not alpha, you're just a placeholder for when the alpha isn’t available.”

I blurted out. usually, I am respectful to everyone in power but this man literally insulted me to my face, I just can’t let him get away with that.

He already broke me with the way he trampled on my excitement at finally finding my mate and I will lick my wounds when I get back home but I won’t let him walk away thinking he won. My words got him. He frowned deeply and jerked his right hand at me.

“How dare you? How dare you speak to me like that just because I don’t want you? You might not know it yet but no one wants you! It’s not just me but no one wants you. Look around, Why do you think you haven’t found a match yet? No one wants to be with you.”

All the excitement I felt because of him earlier washed away to the point that I doubted it even existed at one point and in its place a sick feeling appeared. The longer he talked, the more annoyed I became. Not wanting me doesn’t give him the right to talk so low about me. I would be damned before I let him just talk to me like that. I don’t care about his status in the pack.