The Rejection

I woke up to an empty bed, and the evidence of last night's passion strewn all around the room. My clothes were on the floor, and Alpha Cole's white shirt was standing out amongst the black ensemble.

My legs trembled, and my body felt used, and ached everywhere, in the best way possible. 

My brows furrowed as I turned around. It was quiet, and I couldn't sense Alpha Cole's essence.

I slowly got out of bed and wore my clothes, my knees wobbling under me. I reached for the door knob and started to open when I heard voices and footsteps. 

"That isn't possible. The Stone family are just bodyguards. She can't possibly be Alpha Cole's mate."

I froze, my heart hammering in my chest. It sounded like a few omegas walking past the room.

"Well, I heard she is. I want to see what the alpha will do at the announcement ceremony today. I mean, everyone in the pack knows that he arranged with Isaac to take Sylvia as his mate to straighten the pack's power."

It felt like a bucket of ice cold water was poured directly on my head. Isaac. The most influential council elder in the entire pack, and Sylvia, his only daughter. I looked back at the blood stained sheets and the evidence of the desire from last night.

The alliance with Sylvia would make sense. The mate bond with me... it was like a foolish dream.

I shook my head. Alpha Cole was an honourable man. There is no way he would take me... take my first time knowing quite well he intended to be with another woman. I know him well enough.

I opened the door and stepped out of the room. The voices were gone, and I made my way towards Alpha Cole's study.

Maybe Alpha Cole was there, preparing for the announcement ceremony. Maybe he was there... and he would tell me that it was all just nothing but gossip.

I got to the door, my heart hammering in my chest, and got ready to knock.

"I thought we had an agreement, Alpha. My daughter and I are not very happy right now."

It was clearly Isaac. There were very few people who could maintain that air of authority around Alpha Cole, and Isaac was at least three of them.

I leaned forward to listen to what they were saying, my body pressed against the door.

"Unhappy about what?" Alpha Cole's voice came, flat, devoid of emotions.

"You skipped the ceremony last night. The entire pack believes it was because you were with the bodyguard girl. That you found your luna in her."

Another beat of silence. Moon goddess, please.

"I did. Is that you are here, Isaac?"

I closed my eyes. I knew it. Alpha Cole... he is everything a man should be.

I started to turn around when I heard the rustle of papers in the study. I turned back, my bodyguard instincts kicking in.

If Isaac was doing something to Alpha Cole...

Alpha Cole's voice came, stopping me in my tracks.

"Yes, I found my mate, but a rejection is not unheard of, is it?"

I froze, my eyes wide. What? A... a rejection?

"It is not," Isaac said. "Especially since you are putting your pack first, right, Alpha?"

Alpha Cole went silent for a long minute. Moon goddess, please. 

"I want to have half the troop. Fifty thousand men. At the ceremony, I will reject Selena. That was the agreement with you, Isaac. I won't go back on my word."

I gasped, taking a step back, tears immediately filling my eyes. The words stung like arrows, and I gripped the door knob to keep myself from falling.

"Fifty thousand is ambitious, but seeing how good you and Sylvia fit, I am willing to part with that." 

Another beat of silence. I heard a paper rustle once more.

"I shall take Sylvia as my luna. Those troops will become mine. We will strengthen this pack and guard it."

"Glad to hear this, Alpha. Truly. I thought you were going to forget everything because of the slutty advances of a lowly omega."

"She is my bodyguard, and since I haven't rejected her yet, my mate."

"But you will reject her, so she is still an omega. Just one the alpha family, and apparently, the moon goddess has pitied. I have reservations about her stay in the pack after..."

"Where do you expect me to take her to?"

"I don't know. Plenty of rogues wander around packs, don't they?"

I closed my eyes and waited. This can't be. This can't be the same man who held me against his chest and whispered how long he had pined for me. My heart felt like it was being ripped apart in two.

"Sure thing. I will arrange for that after the ceremony."

A chair scraped back, and I took a step back, tears blurring my vision already.

"It is good you did not allow petty emotions ruin our alliance. I have always believed in you."

"Sure. I will see you at the ceremony, father in-law."

My knees went weak, and it wasn't just from the tremors of last night. I went to the floor, my heart shattering. Last night had felt so real. So pure and now... now it was just petty emotions. 

I stood up slowly, tears running down my cheeks. It wasn't just the mate bond that hurt, it was the heart that had been in love with this man for years. It was the body that had protected him and then submitted to him last night, only to be discarded like I was nothing. Like all of that love and loyalty meant nothing.

I walked downstairs, my head cloudy with thoughts. With everything I had just heard, my heartbreak felt almost like the last thing I could attend to.

If Alpha Cole really decided to make me go rogue, where would I go? This has always been home. What would I do? What would I start from? I have always been Selena Stone, Alpha Cole's bodyguard.

Who would I be if I leave?

"Selena."

I looked up, and Beta Ian was standing there, his eyes thin. I swallowed hard and took a step forward.

"Did you know?" I asked, my voice betraying the pain I was trying my hardest to hide. "Did you know he is rejecting me for Sylvia?"

Beta Ian hesitated, like I wasn't supposed to know. He slowly nodded, and it took everything in me not to shove him away.

"How... how could you? How could he?!"

"He is an alpha. A million wolves and he has to be responsible for each one. Don't get ahead of yourself, Selena. Wait till after the ceremony and I will come find you. Don't go to the ceremony. I can't tell you anything more right now. We need to see till after that."

He put a hand on my shoulder, gave it a small squeeze, then walked away, leaving me standing there.

Why was I not enough? Why did he get so close just so he could rip my heart apart and leave me out to dry?

I felt like I was in another body, watching my life crumble. I sat in the gym, not knowing where else to go. A silly, traitorous part of me hoped that the ceremony would redeem Alpha Cole. That he had reasons beyond my comprehension and this wasn't the blatant betrayal I knew it was.

The hours ticked by and the time slowly came. With each minute, I felt my love shatter into small pieces that came together and made something else. Betrayal. Pain. Hatred for the man who had put this tremors between my thighs and didn't even care to stay the morning after.

I closed my eyes, my fists clenching hard. I could hear the music, the fanfare downstairs at the announcement ceremony. The ceremony where he intended to strip me of my mate bond, my identity, and leave me bare with nothing but a body that has been forever tainted by the man I knew no one else would ever be able to replace. 

I slowly stood up, my mind now made up. I would not wait to be cast aside like that. I had one night with my mate, and if this is how it ends, I would be the one to discard him first.

I made my way down to the banquet hall where the announcement ceremony was taking place, my heart pounding hard.

I entered the banquet hall just as the announcement from Beta Ian came.

"Please welcome the supreme alpha of Blackmoon, Alpha Cole Knight, as he takes the hand of his mate and luna!"

Alpha Cole stood up from his seat, his eyes scanning the room. For a short second, his eyes met mine. I saw something pass in them. Guilt, maybe? His lips parted, and he shook his head slowly.

I held his gaze, willing for him to say something. Instead he slowly, almost reluctantly turned away.

He took the center stage, his eyes falling to me. "Today, I shall take my mate and my luna in the presence of the pack and the moon goddess."

Silence fell over the entire hall, and I held my breath. His eyes met mine again before he turned away.

"Let me introduce...." he started, turning towards where Sylvia was sitting. She was already fixing her red dress and getting ready to stand up and take my rightful place.

Red. The colour of lunas. The audacity was astounding.

I stood up, my chest heaving, my heart hardened by hours of marinating in my own heartbreak. "I have something to say."

Gasps erupted in the hall, as people turned to me. It was obvious that the gossip had spread everywhere, and they were all wondering what the disgraced mate had to say.

"Selena," Alpha Cole said, his voice stern.

"I apologize, Alpha," I said, my voice loud enough to resonate through the halls. "But I... Selena Stone, daughter of the alphas' bodyguard family, Stone, reject your mate bond, and resign from my position as your personal bodyguard. I shall leave this pack immediately."