CHAPTER 3

I slept perfectly well, despite how unsettled both I and my wolf were. Maybe it was due to all the nagging my parents did when they got back after hearing about the earlier laboratory drama, or maybe it was the "You weirdo" that my brother whispered in passing while wearing his signature you-can’t-fool-me look. Regardless, for someone who had just seen their fated mate with another woman on their very first meeting, I slept surprisingly soundly.

Our house was situated in the middle of the pack territory just like most families, but as usual, I was the first to head to the hospital after breakfast. It was a routine that almost everyone in the pack knew me by. So, I wasn’t surprised when the moment I stepped foot into the lab, my mate was already there, seated on a free examination bed. His eyes were scanning everything in the room except me.

My wolf turned in eager anticipation the moment he stood up and strolled over to me.

"Tracy," he muttered, his eyes finally landing on my face.

I gave a small nod of recognition. "You’re my mate, right?" I asked softly, intentionally failing to meet his gaze head-on to maintain my fragile facade. "Can I at least know your name, since you know mine already?"

He exhaled a low, mocking breath. "Damn. I heard you were a fucking pushover, but I didn’t know it was this bad."

That... that made me snap my eyes up to meet his. As if it wasn’t enough that he was attached to another woman the first time we met, now what? He was going to be entirely rude from the get-go?

"What would someone even do with a mate like you?" he added, looking me up and down with an insulting smirk.

I let his gaze wander until he was satisfied before speaking up again, keeping my voice small. "Can I at least know your name?"

He groaned, rolling his eyes. "It’s Rodney. Rodney Fluke. Not that it’ll change anything, anyways. The girl you saw me with yesterday is the one I chose as my mate. The Moon must have made a mistake giving me a bond with a nerd like you."

He paused, his tone shifting suddenly as a dark, sleazy grin spread across his face. "Or wait... maybe not. With a body like yours, it shouldn’t be hard to carry my kids. Not to mention how soft you’ll be under me with all these curves." He stepped forward, aggressively pulling me close to his chest.

I absolutely hated how sparks flew from the spot where his hands touched my skin. What I hated even more was my inability to control how the mate bond naturally pulled me toward such an asshole.

"I can take you as my second," Rodney finished with a small chuckle, tightening his grip. "At least I won’t be breaking the spiritual bond that way."

I immediately yanked myself out of his grip and took a step backward. "I’m not sure your chosen one would like that, Rodney," I breathed, forcing myself to keep my tone calm. "I’m the one fated for you. Why would you pick someone else over me? It doesn’t work like that."

"It works the way I want it to work, Tracy. Who would want someone like you as a sole mate? You’re probably as boring as you look," he said, his face twisting into a look of pure disgust.

I had to clench my fists tightly behind my back to stop my wolf from lunging forward and tearing out the throat of the pathetic mate we had been handed. I would rather be entirely bondless than be joined to a person like him.

"Just go ahead and reject me," I breathed finally, looking up at him with watered eyes. "I’d rather die of rejection than be a second choice, Rodney."

His harsh laughter filled the laboratory. "I see you have a bit of pride. You are still a woman, after all." He stepped even closer, his eyes narrowing into a threatening glare. "No one must know that someone like you was once my fated mate. If even a single word about this is breathed to anyone else in this pack, you will have to watch your back for as long as you live," he seethed.

My wolf whimpered in my mind as we awaited the pain we knew was coming. I’m sorry, Lora, I muttered to her internally as Rodney opened his mouth.

"I, Rodney Fluke of the Stone Ray Pack, reject Tracy Harnold as my mate and life partner."

The pain hit me instantly. I had researched the physical effects of a mate rejection for years, but I never imagined the raw, agonizing emotions would envelop me like this. It felt like a heavy string tied directly to my soul was being forcibly pulled apart. The exact moment the bond snapped, my legs gave out.

I fell to the floor, my eyes welling with hot tears. My hands clutched desperately at my chest to try to dull the agony, but it did absolutely nothing.

"I hope you get through it, nerd," Rodney muttered one last time before turning on his heel and walking out, leaving me entirely alone in the blinding pain.

My body curled up tightly on the cold tiles. Not a single sound escaped my lips, because this was definitely not one of the times where I needed an audience. My eyes burned even more than my chest did, and the agony didn't look like it was stopping anytime soon.

Curse the Moon Goddess for creating such a bond, I managed to choke out through my tears. Curse her for letting such a bond even be formed.

"Get the hell up!"

A loud, immensely powerful voice boomed through the lab and my limbs moved entirely on instinct before my mind could even register what was happening. Only one type of person was capable of making that happen. An Alpha? Using his Alpha voice on me?

I forced myself to turn around, the agonizing pain in my chest momentarily dulled by the absolute authority of the sudden command. My eyes landed on a massive, tall man who was carefully carrying a petite, unconscious lady in his arms.

Tears still rolled down my cheeks, even if I could barely feel my own body right now. Frankly, I preferred this forced numbness to the devastating pain Rodney had left behind.

"I know you are going through a rejection right now, but I need a doctor, and you’re the only one here who can help," the man muttered hurriedly. He walked straight past me over to an empty examination bed, gently placing the unconscious lady down.

"Come over here," he commanded again.

That oppressive Alpha command seized control of my movements yet again. Was he the Alpha? No... he had to be the current Alpha's son. The next in line.

I found myself walking over to the bedside, completely unable to control my own limbs, and stood looking down at the unresponsive lady.

"Treat her," he ordered darkly, his brown eyes flashing with intensity. "I found her a few towns away, but she isn’t responding. Bring her back to life. Do it now!"

His voice boomed, the heavy pressure of his aura pressing down on my shoulders, and I immediately got to work checking her vitals.

"You can speak," his voice commanded again, loosening the restriction on my throat.

Only then did my mouth part. "She’s still alive, Alpha," I called out, my voice trembling perfectly. "I’ll monitor her for a few hours and run some tests to determine what is stopping her from responding."

I watched his dark eyes harden even more as he stared at the patient.

"Hand her over to your parents when they get here," he muttered, taking one last look at the lady on the bed.

The moment his focus left me, his absolute hold on my body finally loosened. The numbness vanished, and I fell back to the floor as the agonizing rejection pain hit my chest all over again.

He turned toward the exit, his broad back to me as he walked out. "Wipe those tears off your face, too," he called out coldly just before crossing the threshold. "You lost absolutely nothing by letting go of a pathetic mate like that."

With that, he was gone, leaving me to my pain once again.

I lay on the floor, clutching my chest as my breath hitched. Should I be thanking him for relieving me of my agony for those few minutes, or should I be cursing him for callously making use of me even when he knew full well that my soul was breaking?