Chasing The Rejected Mate

The following day, Lunaire woke up to the dead silence plaguing the basement.

Now that she was awake, the dormant pain in her body shot back up. She hissed and groaned as she slowly got up, leaning against the wall.

"Happy Birthday to me," she bitterly greeted herself.

Her brothers cooked her up well-done this time. Most werewolves, even the other omegas, should have been healed by now. But her wolf was weak and would take her longer to recover enough to walk out of that dark basement.

In that deafening silence, Lunaire closed her eyes and spoke in her mind.

"Crystal, are you okay?" worried, she called out her wolf, who hadn't spoken to her in a while.

"I'm okay, Lunaire. I'm trying my best to heal us, but it's hard," she whimpered. But despite her sorry state, Crystal still found the strength to cheer her up.

"Hey, we're sixteen now. Maybe our suffering will end soon," Crystal said with warm excitement.

Lunaire smiled wryly and opened her eyes. She hoped so too. She'd wished for it every year on her birthday, expecting the coming year would be different. But each year since their parents died , it was packed full of disappointments.

This year would be her last ray of light. She'd been waiting for the day their mate would come and take them away from this hellish place. Their soul longed for his healing, protection, and love.

'Please, find us soon.' Their hearts desperately wished.

"We need to go now, or else we will get into trouble again," Crystal whimpered.

Lunaire nodded and groggily stood up, holding on to the wall for support as she navigated her way out of this dark basement up to her crappy room.

She quickly washed up, melding her cries to the rush of water that stung her wounds.

Afterward, she made her way down the kitchen, repeating the same routine she did yesterday and, of course, keeping in mind not to make pancakes for Xavier.

While putting things together in the kitchen, she caught a whiff of a beautiful scent coming from somewhere. Lunaire tried not to mind and poured her full attention into what she was doing but

Crystal kept on jumping in excitement.

While serving breakfast, Lunaire heard Bella whisper something to her friends.

"Have you heard? Alpha Zane came back last night. Gosh, it's only been a week, and I miss him so much! I can't wait to see him again," Bella giggled with a blush on her cheeks, making her want to hurl.

'Alpha Zane. Zane Villain.' Lunaire repeated in her mind. Just hearing his name made her shiver.

Alpha Zane was the nicest kid she had ever met during her childhood. Her brothers were best friends with him. She could still remember how caring he was towards her then, but he changed along with her brothers and the entire pack after that horrible night.

Lunaire clutched her skirt tightly as she remembered the time Zane slapped her in front of everyone just because she spilled some water over his trousers by accident. She was only thirteen at that time.

"Guys! Alpha Zane is here!"

A pack member suddenly ran in and informed them all.

As everyone stood up, waiting for the arrival of their Alpha. The she-wolves gazed dreamily at the doorway, fanning their wild excitement, while Lunaire stood in the farthest corner and looked down, feeling nervous. She wanted to stay clear of them as much as possible.

She gulped when the doors opened. Squeals of hungry she-wolves erupted, and Crystal suddenly started howling inside her mind.

The beautiful scent she smelled strongly hit her nose, making her look up. Her brothers walked into the dining room with Alpha Zane leading the way.

Lunaire gasped as her eyes locked in with his.

'Mate. Mate. Mate!' Crystal rejoiced in her head.

In contrast, Lunaire only stood there, conflicted and confused about what was happening. Her heart was pounding fast. The feeling of exhilaration was forcing its way out of her chest.

Zane looked at her, mirroring the same feelings on his face. Then, in a blink, his stiff and shocked gaze softened.

Lunaire searched, the emotions swirling in his blue eyes. 'Is he looking at me with love?' she dubiously thought.

After what she went through, she felt hopeful but hesitant at the same time.

She studied his face; he looked attractive with his dark brown hair, long lashes, high nose bridge, and tattooed tanned skin. It was no wonder why these she-wolves were dying to be his mate. He was a walking six-foot-tall enigma. Even without their mate connection, she'd feel drawn to him like the other she-wolves if she wasn't so broken.

Lunaire mustered a smile with butterflies fluttering in her stomach and Crystal's howling ringing in her head. However, her smile disappeared, and her fears overtook her joy when his loving gaze switched to his usual look of hatred and disgust.

Zane strode towards her and grabbed her wrist. Sparks instantly burst through her body at his touch, making both flinch. He dragged Lunaire away, ignoring everyone's stares, and pushed her into an empty room.

Lunaire's eyes welled in tears when he turned around and looked at her with a menacing gaze after shutting the door.

"I can't believe the moon goddess gave me a weak, pathetic, and ugly mate like you!" He spat angrily, making Lunaire jump in fear.

"Above all, a murderer!" he hissed.

His direct insults took Lunaire aback. "I'm not a murderer," she muttered in defense, but soon regretted it.

"What did you say?" Zane growled and drew closer.

Lunaire's head drooped low and repeated in a stutter, "I...I said I'm n-not a murderer."

Zane boiled in anger and yanked her hair harshly, making her cry.

Her pained voice made him freeze. His glare mellowed as he stared at her widely in shock.

Zane slowly released her and stepped away.

"I'm sorry," he muttered, which stunned Lunaire.

'What? Did Alpha just apologize to me?' She thought, baffled.

He suddenly sighed and cupped her cheeks. "I've been swarmed with work and haven't been getting much sleep because of the stress," he said softly, his eyes gloomed with regret.

'I'm sorry about whatever I said. I didn't mean any word of it. I'm sorry, my mate," he profusely apologized and softly placed his rough lips on hers, sending her sparks and mixing her emotions into chaos.

'He took my first kiss... My mate took my first kiss,' Lunaire's young heart celebrated.

He slightly broke away from their kiss and looked at her with pleading eyes. "I hope you can forgive me," he said.

However, Lunaire still had her reservations.

'Forgive him, Lunaire. Look into his eyes. He loves us so much. Besides, he's handsome!' Lunaire blushed at Crystal's fangirling over their mates.

"I forgive you," she whispered, bashful.

Zane smiled and sought her lips again, kissing her intimately. Lunaire kissed him back, loving the feeling of his lips over hers.

He broke the kiss and stepped back.

"We need to keep this a secret," he suddenly said, simmering the boiling intimacy between them.

"W-why?" Lunaire asked, feeling crushed.

"Oh no, no, baby, please don't cry. I only wanted to surprise the pack," Zane hushed her, wiping her tears away with his thumb.

"Will...will you keep this a secret?" His eyes begged.

'Anything for our Mate,' Crystal whimpered.

Lunaire nodded and hugged him. "Yes... I will keep it a secret," she said, slightly downhearted.

"Thank you." Lunaire heard him say and planted a kiss on her crown.

"Meet me in my room tonight before midnight, okay?" he added, breaking their hug.

A bright smile appeared on his face as Lunaire nodded and smiled.

"I'll see you soon," Zane whispered, pecking her lips again, and then left.

Lunaire stood alone in the middle of the empty room, frozen and tracing her lips with her fingers. A broad smile marked her lips while staring at the door.

"Omg! I love him," Crystal squealed, making Lunaire chuckle.

She hadn't smiled or laughed like this for years. She smiled for the first time, and the cause was her mate.

Lunaire giddily left the room and did all her chores, trying to stay out of trouble until the clock struck before midnight.

She looked at her reflection in the mirror, smiling as she brushed her hair. She wore a long white nightgown she kept for this special day of meeting her mate.

Her reflection in the mirror revealed the joy brimming in her heart. But it quickly disappeared while her eyes traced the scars all over her body.

'I look so ugly. Why would he want to be with an ugly girl like me?' she gloomily thought.

"Hey, girly, stop being so negative. You're damn gorgeous, and you don't even know it. Don't let those bitches' words get to your head," Crystal cheered her up.