Can't Reject

Cora

Shit!

I can’t reject him without using my real name and, in turn, revealing who I am, which ain’t happening as I can’t have him or anyone, especially Xander, find me. Or worse, Eli!

Fuck, Elijah! Oh, goddess! What would happen to Eli if this Alpha were to find out I have a son?! He would probably kill him because it’s not his pup.

No!

Thanks to these fucking Alphas, I’ve lost enough pups during my short life, and I refuse to lose another. This Alpha can get fucked if he thinks I am going to give up my son for him.

‘So what’s it gonna be?’ He asks, breaking me out of my thoughts while trying to hide his arrogant, knowing smirk behind his hand.

Asshole! Okay, I don’t need to reject him; I just have to get out of here and away from him, and hopefully, he will leave me alone.

I know he fucking knows there’s a reason why I can’t or won’t reject him, and he’s using it. I can tell just by looking at his annoying but oh-so-handsome face that he’s also a smart bastard, unlike some others I know.

Luna just snorts in annoyance and starts pacing back and forth, trying to think of a way to get past him and out of this damn cave. But it’s hard to focus because his scent is fucking intoxicating, and it’s distracting.

Oh, goddess Artemis, I hate feeling out of control like this.

We can feel his eyes on us, following our movements, but rather than grinning that he’s got us trapped and forcing his wolf on us like some would, he simply sits, staring with a raised brow, like he’s trying to figure me out. It’s fucking unnerving.

‘Stop staring.’ Luna snarls.

‘Can’t help it. You’re too beautiful not to, despite the dried blood on your back.’ He says with a shrug. ‘Speaking of, how is your back?’ He asks.

Luna stops, moves her shoulders, and then turns to look at her back. It’s completely healed. How?

‘Judging from the head tilting, you’re wondering how?’ He says with an amused chuckle.

‘Axel licked your wounds because he’s an Alpha, and Alpha saliva helps heal wounds faster, but since you’re my mate, they closed completely. However, as I said earlier, he sensed you were still weak, so he thought it was best to bring you out here.’ He explained, but I’m still confused.

How does being out here help? I mean, we can feel it. Actually, we feel stronger than usual. Not like how I was before Xander came and fucked up my life, but if he were here, I’d have the strength to fight him off.

‘How can being outs…?’ I half-muttered out loud, quickly cutting myself off because I spoke before I could stop myself.

Damn it, woman! I mentally facepalm myself. I hope he doesn’t recognize my voice.

‘It’s the moon.” He answers me, having caught my question.

“I don’t know why, but something about being out in the moonlight calms our wolves and, in turn, helps us regain our strength. It may have something to do with what we are, plus cuddling up to Axel must have helped, too. He did say it was the best way.’ He says with a shrug, but unable to hide that small smile tugging on his lips.

‘What do you mean by cuddling up to….Who’s Axel?’ Luna asks outright this time.

I’ve had a mate before, and never, ever has that helped me, so what the fuck is he on about?

He cocks his head to the side, looking just as confused as me.

‘My wolf and I thought you said you had a mate before?’ He asks.

‘Yeah, and? Being around that son of bitch never helped, never healed me, or whatever bullshit you’re talking about. The moonlight makes more fucking sense.’

A look of recognition flashes through his eyes, and he nods his head.

‘I see now. He was a chosen mate, not a fated one.’

‘So? A mate is a mate. The only difference between you is that you smell way better than he ever did.’

When Luna says that, he chuckles, sporting the biggest smirk on the planet as if he has won some prize.

‘Thanks, I do take pride in my personal hygiene.’ He jokes, but Luna just huffs, not finding it or him funny.

‘But yeah, scent is one of the differences between chosen and fated, but not the only one. Granted, I don’t know much since fated pairings don’t occur as often as they should, but according to my wolf and some rumors, mates can also help heal each other, among other things.’

Luna plopped down, a little dumbfounded. Honestly, so am I.

‘Can I ask you a question now?’ He says after a few moments of silence.

Luna turns her head to look at him briefly before subtly nodding.

‘Why do I get the feeling that you don’t know much about shifters, even though you are one? And a powerful one at that.’ He asks.

I cock my head to the side again. Huh? Me? Powerful?

Sure, I feel stronger because I’m healed, but powerful? Nah, I doubt it.

‘Because I’ve lived a very sheltered life and was lied to many times.’

‘Such as?’ He probes.

‘Mates for one. We were never told about mates being a thing until…him.’ Luna says with a light snarl.

His eyes go wide. ‘Well, fuck…'

‘But wait, Tess said you knew I was your mate, so how…?’ He asks, turning to face us, shock evident on his features.

Luna and I roll our eyes. ‘My human asked Tess to confirm how fated mates were recognized, dumbass. As I mentioned, we’ve been lied to many times. Anyway, I sort of knew the moment I caught your scent. Wolf’s intuition and all that shit.’

‘Interesting. But weren’t you raised in a pack? Surely you must have seen or heard from others?’ He asks.

‘What part of ‘sheltered’ don’t you get? No, I wasn't raised in a pack.’ She sneered.

‘So, you’ve been a lone wolf all your life. Well, that explains some things.’ He half-muttered to himself, thinking he’s got the correct assumption.

Yeah, sure, go with that.

'What things?' Luna asks, and I mentally shrug.

'Do you care? Cause I don't.' I reply.

'Nah, not really. I hated being in a pack. I wasn't allowed to run, so fuck that shit.'

‘So what else were you lied to about?’ He asks out of nowhere, interrupting us.

It seems like he’s still trying to get more information out of me, and I internally chuckle at his attempt.

Good luck with that. I’m done. I’ve already said too much, and I need to get back to Eli so he can shove his pathetic fishing attempts up his ass, and if he could actually move his ass, that would be nice, too.

I stand up and walk towards where he’s sitting, his giant and magnificently sculpted body blocking the entrance.

‘Nice try, but I'm not answering any more questions, and I have somewhere I need to be.’

‘Okay, I’ll take you.’ He says, standing up, still blocking the entrance.

Luna growls at him.

‘Don’t fucking growl at me, little mate. You’re mine, and given the shit show that happened tonight ending with you getting fucking injured, I want to make sure you’re safe, fucking sue me for caring, so I’ll fucking ask again, where are you going?’

‘You’re also not wearing our mark.’ A deeper voice possessively says out of nowhere. I turn to see where that voice came from, only to look into the Alpha’s eyes, and they’ve gone dark. Pitch black, to be precise.

Oh, great. His wolf joins the conversation, and frustratingly, his rough, deep voice makes Luna shudder in pleasure. As if dealing with his human counterpart wasn’t torture enough.

Under different circumstances, I probably would have given in to my instincts and fucked him by now, my head automatically thinking of what I would gladly do to him or him to me, especially with the monster that is hanging between his legs.

Motherfucker! How the hell did I miss that?! It’s fucking huge, and it’s not even fully erect! I internally shiver at the thought of having THAT inside of me.

Oh, no, fuck! Bad, bad ideas. Control yourself and get out first. We can fantasize about the monster later. At least then, no one can smell my arousal, especially him, although I think the semi-erection he's sporting is because of me.

Seriously, what the hell is going on? I’ve never been the one to drool over a guy. Granted, he’s an Alpha, so of course, he’s intimidating and scary, but he seems more formidable than the other Alphas I’ve seen.

In fact, he could put them to shame in both physique and stature, as well as in his appearance. It’s pretty hard to focus on anything else when he’s naked in front of me, and all I see is his drool-worthy body. He’s tall, extremely tall, with toned arms, tattoo sleeves, and big, broad shoulders, muscular everywhere and in all the right places…

What was I saying again?

Oh yeah, he may be all that, but still, what the fuck is the matter with me?

We’ve done a good job of showing that he or the apparent mate bond doesn’t affect us. However, being so close to him and his delicious scent makes it difficult to ignore our animalistic desire for him, especially when he’s being all possessive over us.

Weirdly, coming from him, it’s a fucking turn-on.

Again, what the fuck? Is everything he does a turn-on? I usually hate that shit because it reminds me of Xander, yet from him, it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

‘I think this is the mate bond because I never felt like this towards you-know-who. This is so intense, raw, and almost impossible to ignore. We really need to get out here and ask Tess more questions before I end up with my ass in the air and beg his wolf to mate me.’ Luna says, almost whining.

‘I hate to intrude on the inner conversation you seem to be having with your human, I’m assuming, plus the staring contest you two seem to be having with my body.' He pauses to grin, and Luna snorts.

Arrogant fucker.

'But to answer your question, as you were being a little loud, Miss Luna, yes, this is the mate bond. I hope that helps lessen the confusion and that you are not the only one struggling to hold back, so please refrain from saying shit like that unless you truly mean it.’ He says, followed by a strained, low, possessive growl and eyes flashing.

We both go wide-eyed, mortified. ‘Oh shit!’

Luna moves back slightly, whimpering, petrified that he will do something now, even though that growl sends a shiver down Luna’s spine.

He must have sniffed our fear because his face dropped. "Woah, sorry." He says, with his palms out.

He scrubs his face before crouching down, but stays where he is. ‘I didn't mean to frighten you. I was just being honest.' He sighs, turning his gaze down for a moment, taking a moment to collect himself, before returning his gaze to us.

'Look, Luna, you’re obviously terrified and confused about a lot of things, including us.’ He gestured between us with his finger. ‘That much is clear, and I am not the type of man or wolf to take advantage of that despite smelling your arousal. I much prefer smelling that without your fear mixed in. However, I also don't bullshit, so hearing that made Axel react as that was quite the explicit visual. Just hear me out, and if it makes you feel better, Axel can come out and confirm what I'm about to say.’ He pauses to take a deep breath.

‘Based on the little time we’ve spent together, I know something pretty fucking bad has happened to you, and I'm guessing it was an Alpha, considering how many times you’ve sneered at my title, that did something to you. From the bits I saw in your nightmare and what you’ve said, your previous mate probably hurt you as well, both of whom I'm going to rip apart, by the way...’ He angrily growls, making me jump and move back even further.

‘Why? You don’t even know me.’ I ask, cutting him off.

‘Doesn’t matter, they touched and hurt you, so like my human said, we are going to put them down like the filthy dogs they are.’ His wolf answers with a vicious snarl, and his sharp canines flash.

He shakes his head and clears his throat.

'Sorry for scaring you again, but I mean it. Once I find the fuckers, they're going to be begging for death. As I said, knowing you had a previous mate and that you were hurt doesn’t sit fucking well with us but going back to what I’m trying to say, I’m not like the fuckers we encountered earlier or even those you probably heard about. I fucking hate that bullshit, and I do not tolerate any fucking abuse. In my pack, I don’t follow the fucking laws, especially those directed toward the females, and my pack members follow my laws. Anyone that doesn’t, I boot out or kill them if I have to.’

I don’t respond for a few moments, taking everything in. I mean, he talks a good game, and I can tell he’s being truthful, but then again, a lot of them do before they reveal their true colors.

‘You talk a good game, I give you that. Best one I’ve heard yet, but it doesn’t change anything. Just because I admit to feeling the bond doesn’t mean I accept you, so get on with it and reject me so I can leave.’

He groans in frustration, scrubbing his face. ‘No!'

Luna snorts, sitting down.

‘You know, I’m beginning to really dislike those fucking snorts of yours, little mate.’ He says, eyes narrowed.

Luna does it again, clearly not giving a shit. It’s actually pretty funny. I knew she was a sassy bitch, but still.

‘I’ll let you go on one condition.’

Luna lets out a warning growl, suspicious of what he’s about to say.

He raises a brow. ‘You’re gonna be a challenge, aren’t you, little wolf?’