Rejection

It was the night of the mating ceremony, the night that every she-wolves is happy about, the night they get chosen by their mates.

It was supposed to be a happy night, but not for me.

I watched my fated mate, kissing another woman in front of me, his hands on her waist, his lips attached to hers.

“…I can never be with someone like her.” He didn’t hide the disgust in his voice.

I took a step back when he came forward, everyone had seen how he had humiliated me earlier, cursed, and pushed me away from him.

“This is a mistake. I can never be mated to you, never.”

My hope and brief moment of anticipation crashed like a train.

“I mean look at you, no one wants you for a mate, you don’t look refined, you look older than me, maybe if you lose some weight but you’re still not attractive enough.”

“The moon goddess made a mistake.”

“I’m about to be Alpha, everyone in the Pack knows that my uncle made me his heir, and you want me to ruin that by taking you as a mate. Who are you?”

“She’s a creep.” The lady beside him was my stepsister Judy, the one he had chosen as his mate. “…always trying to be where she doesn’t belong.” Her hands went down to her hips.

“Get out of here and don’t ever show your face in front of me again!” He pushed me backward. “Get out.”

The whispering, the stares, the fingers in my direction, everyone was watching.

“What’s your name and let’s get this over with.” He sneered.

“Avery William.” I knew the rejection was coming, with my trembling lips and the tears that sting my eyes, I brace myself for the impact.

“I, Lucas Roar, reject you, Avery Williams, as my mate.”

I folded my hands over my bubbled skirt. “I, Avery Williams, accept your rejection.” My lips quivered, my hands were shaking, and the bond between us had been torn apart.

I couldn’t stand on my feet, but I don’t want to break down in front of them.

“I have chosen my mate, and the one that will be my Luna, and it’s Judy.”

I felt the sharp pain in my chest, I couldn’t breathe, and it was forcing me down to my knees.

I pushed through the crowd, I needed to get out of the mating ceremony.

I stumbled across the way, got back on my feet, and kept propelling through until I was out.

The cold air welcomed me, it brizzled against my exposed arms, I dabbed my eyes quickly with my palm, hurrying down into the woods, I came across a small part of the forest that has a river.

I stopped close to it, and took my clothes off, the dam that had been holding back broke, it came out in torrent, my voice came out loud, painfully crying for me and my wolf.

I walked into the river, I could see my reflection on the waters because of the moon light, and I hated that I looked that way. Five feet seven, 160 pounds, curly, tangled hair brownish at the tip, I wished I was thinner, like Judy, she was perfect.

She’s always the one that everyone picks, I tried so hard for my father to look at me the way he looked at Judy, but I am never the one.

I stepped into the water and noticed that it wasn’t so deep. I tried to calm myself with the water since I couldn’t shift, my wolf was still scared to pop out, so I have never shifted once.

I deepened myself into the water, the coldness and serenity seemed to have worked, I took my head out of the water after some seconds.

I saw someone squatting beside my clothes, I squinted my eyes, the features were those of a man, his long arms when he reached out for my clothes.

I wanted to come out of the river but I remembered I was naked, and went back in.

“What are you doing with my clothes?” I raised my voice at the stranger, when he lifted his head, his eyes were like silver, they were glittering.

The shape of his face was sculpted perfectly with a sharp jawline, a straight nose and small round lips.

He stood up, and I noticed how tall he was, around six feet six.

“How long have you been watching me?”

His eyes narrowed at me, from my face down to my chest, I ducked back into the water, but instead of walking away, he kept walking towards the edge of the water.

He was crouching now, right by the edge, and his face was finally visible.

He was one gorgeous man.

Or a beautiful man-beast rather.

“I thought you were a spy.” He muttered, my eyes were rolling over his features in disbelief. I haven’t seen him before, but yet it feels quite familiar.

Was it his voice?

He didn’t take his eyes off me, not once.

It felt strange, no one has ever looked at me that way.

I kept my head up, because I couldn’t breathe under the water.

“Everyone is at the mating ceremony. Isn’t that where you should be?”

“Did he send you to come get me?”

“Who?”

“Don’t pretend,”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about, young lady.” His voice was deep, very masculine. “And you’re not supposed to be down here, so are you getting out of the water?”

I gulped, remembering that I was naked. “No.”

He stood up, and I noticed that everything he had on was black.

“Who are you anyway, you don’t smell like a rogue.”

He gave me a cocked smile.

“You don’t know who I am?” He asked, genuinely curious.

“No. Am I supposed to?”

His gaze rested on my face for a moment, teasingly.

I was never allowed out of the house to do anything or go anywhere, I was only allowed tonight, because it was the mating ceremony. They kept me locked down in the house like a perfect little maid.

He was a powerful wolf I could tell, but my wolf was still in her trance, and I couldn’t get her to focus.

“Yes.” He wrinkled his nose.

“And this happened to have dropped from your clothes.” He raised my pocket diary.

I gasped. “You liar!”

“You picked it up.”

“Don’t read it.”

He chuckled, showing perfectly white teeth. “Why don’t you come take it from me?”

My lips mumbled. I stared at him, and the water, he held my diary in his hand, and when he flipped the first page, I pulled myself up from the water, screaming. “No.”

Everything I hated was in it, everything that was about me, and tonight, I had the slightest of hope that finding my mate would change everything.

But instead, it ruined me.

I tripped on a pebble, his strong arm wanted to touch me, I hit his hand off, grabbed a hold of his shirt to pull myself back from falling, I was going to fall back on the ground but his hand went behind my head protecting me from hitting the ground.

We both fell, his body above me, his small round lips inches away from my lips, his silver eyes fixed on me, my heart beat increased, faster, that I could hear it pound in my ear.

He took my hand, and pulled me up to my feet, my breast pressed against his chest.

I was embarrassed.

He turned, letting go of me.

What was the point? He had already seen me naked. I grabbed my clothes from the ground, covering my chest with the bubbled skirt, I could hear him chuckling.

I hurriedly put my clothes back on, while his back was still against me.

He spun around, a lazy stare but intense. “Avery.” My name rolled off his tongue.

I froze when he called my name, he met up with me, he was so tall, and was towering over me, I had to look up at him. He lowered his head down to my eyes, and in that instant, I felt his lips close to my eyes.

Kissing my tears off.