Rejected

Aria's POV

The only thought going through my head at that time was that I didn't want to be where I was.  

It was night and it was obviously late but the men of Silverclaw Pack didn't give two shits about that.  They were throwing some sort of celebration.  For what? No idea.  Alpha Gregory, who was the pack's leader, was as drunk as the rest of the men.

And he had brought me out to serve as some source of entertainment for them.  I had never seen this type before.  They were different, and I had an inkling that they wouldn't go easy on me.  

That thought brought a nauseating feeling to the back of my throat.

I was surprised that after serving Lana, I'd still have to serve these men. Orphans really didn't have a place in the pack.  

"Wine!" someone shouted.

I moved my feet and got a tray with a full jug. 

"Hello, beautiful," the man drawled at me as I refilled his cup.  I didn't meet his eyes.

"Look at me when I'm talking to you!"

I was forced to look at his very unattractive face.  

"Whoosh," he said.  "Who's this,  Gregory? Gregory? Who is this?" 

Alpha Gregory caught up.  "Oh,  just  a little bit of entertainment." 

I didn't know why he used that word when referring to me.  Well,  maybe it was because that was all I was to him.  Ever since I found myself in the Silverclaw pack,  I had been made to understand loyalty.  I would serve these people for the rest of my life.  

Without a mate.

I sighed.  

Just as I turned to leave,  the man placed his hand on my ass and got to his feet.  His touch actually revolted me but I didn't dare shake his hand off.  I could even lose mine in the process.  

His breath was bad and he didn't care that he was so close to me.  

"Hey,  there's a nice place behind the trees where we can be alone. How about that?"

I did not comment.  

His hand squeezed, and I could hear his breathing become intense.  The man was putting himself in the mood.  

"Hey, take your filthy hands off her, Gura," someone intervened.  I thought I had been rescued until he added,  "She is mine for the night."

"And what the hell would you know about sex? Just keep your mouth shut and let the experienced ones have at it," Gura said.  

"Don't talk to me like that!"

Gura scoffed.  "Or else what?" 

I knew I should leave there.  But Gura's hand was still on my ass.  What would happen if I did? Definitely something not good.  

Soon,  some of the other men began to pick interest in our altercation.  I watched their hungry eyes roam over my body and I knew the night would be a long one for me.  

This was the sort of life I was used to in Silverclaw.  

Someone approached from behind.  He stood in front of me and raised the jug to refill his cup.  

"I should pour that for you,  sir," I offered.  

He looked at me.  "I can do that myself."

The moment our eyes met with each other,  something changed.  I had never felt it before but I had been waiting for it all my life.  

Questions had been asked about how I would know,  and I never did forget all I had been told.

Within,  my wolf whispered the one word I had been waiting for, and that was for a long time.  "Mate."

**

I could tell that he felt it too.  Whoever, he was.  How surprising that I would meet my mate in such circumstances? 

"Are we...?" 

I asked, trailing the last word.  He dropped the jug.  "I guess we are."

The men were still arguing about who was going to have me for the night.  Gura became distracted and I used that opportunity to follow my mate.  His hair was the color of gold.  

"Then I think you should claim me," I told him.  "Immediately."

He appeared very cool about the fact that he had just found out who his mate was.  Inside, I was jumping for joy.  

"Claim you?" he asked.  

"Yes.  That's the next thing.  Isn't  it? You claim  your mate once you've found her."

He looked me over from head to toe.  "And why would I want to claim you? Or someone like you?" 

I noticed he had a cocky expression like he didn't really take things seriously.  

"Is that a joke?"

"Telling me to claim you as my mate must be the joke.  What are you? Some scarlet woman?  A servant to Lana? Some piece of tool  these  men can use whenever they want?"

I felt the tears coming but I held them back.  Not the time.  "I know.  But you can save me from all of that once you claim me."

"If," he said,  in a manner of correction.  "If I claim you.  Know something? I actually thought my mate would be Lana." He smiled.  "Because someone told me that my mate would be an heiress.  Are you one? I don't think so.  You have no worth."

The tears finally fell. "You.. you.. don't even know.. me yet."

He finished the drink in his cup. "Good,  and I plan on keeping it that way.  Hey! Lady here says she's ready  for copulation!" 

"Please, don't..." I begged.  

"It was nice knowing you.  Name's Jace, anyway.  And I reject you... mate."

With that, he walked off.  

I had just found my mate,  which meant I had some worth.  Yet,  because of my circumstances, he rejected me and called the men to use me as they liked.  

Around me,  a fight ensued.  Men going all out on each other, just to have a piece of me.  When the victor finally had me,  I wondered what violence he'd do to me.  

So I moved.  

"Stay the hell where you are!" someone shouted.  

"I'm coming for you!" another yelled.  

But they were just going for themselves.  

I turned to run, but it was too late. Something or someone crashed into me,  my head exploded with pain, and I lost it.  

The moment  I hit the ground, it was with a relaxing thought.  

I hoped I actually died.