My Rebirth Begins With Rejecting Him

Sophia POV

Alpha Darren Silva and I have been mated for five years. We were not fated mates but we respected each other and never argued.

Members of the pack and our friends all envied us and our parents were proud of it.

But no one knew that after all those years of being mated and joined to each other, Darren had never slept in the same bed with me.

He had always been deeply in love with his ex-mate Tania Storm and I was just a substitute. He chose me as his mate to stop his parents from bothering him about finding a Luna.

But after I died and was granted a second chance to live, I refused to live like a coward anymore.

***

As I opened my eyes, memories flitted into my mind. I saw Darren’s impatient glare from the driver’s seat of our sleek, black SUV. His tone was cold, the same as it had been in my past life.

"Sophia Winters, get out of the car. Did you hear me?" He growled impatiently, his eyes flashing with impatience and disdain but it didn’t scare me like it used to. Not anymore.

I glanced out the window and recognized the winding road leading through the forest. We were headed back to his family’s estate, the same route we’d taken countless times before. This was the moment in my previous life I remembered clearly.

Just as before, Darren had received a call from Tania. Without hesitation, he’d pulled over, dumping me on the roadside without a second thought. He expected me to find my way back, even though we were deep in the forest several miles away from our pack with no contact for miles. But I was no longer that helpless girl who would quietly endure the humiliation.

His voice cut through my thoughts again. "Just tell my parents I was called back to the pack house for an urgent matter. I'll be there later. Do you understand?"

I sat there, refusing to move. His orders used to make my heart ache, but now, they only stoked anger deep within me.

Ignoring him, I ran my fingers through my long, dark hair, steadying myself. “Why don’t you tell them yourself, Darren? Or better still, explain that you’re rushing off to the Pack hospital to see your ex-mate?”

He stiffened at my words agitated by the confrontation.

"Sophia, what the hell are you talking about?" he snarled. "Tania needs me. You know how serious her condition is. Her wolf is weak, and she needs care. We've been through this before."

I met his gaze coldly. "And I’m tired of it, Darren. I refuse to live as your little Luna anymore. I want a rejection."

His eyes widened in shock, the scowl on his face had given way to confusion. He seemed genuinely stunned as if the idea of me leaving him had never even crossed his mind. “What did you say?”

“I said, let’s break our mate bond. It’s obvious that Tania needs you care more than I ever will, and after we part, you’ll be free to stay by her side without any need for excuses.”

After saying that, I unbuckled my seatbelt, opened the door, and stepped out into the early evening air. The cold air felt like freedom. Before Darren could respond, I slammed the door of the car behind me.

For a moment, I stood there, waiting for him to say something—to fight for us. But no, Alpha Darren Silva was nothing if not predictable. After a few tense seconds, he revved the engine, and the SUV sped off, leaving me behind in a cloud of dust, just like in my previous life.

But this time, I smiled.

***

Darren and Tania had been mated to each other once, their mate bond was so strong that everyone expected them to get joined one day. Both of them were from powerful Alpha families and had planned to get joined together after training school, claiming their positions as Alpha and Luna destined to rule the pack together.

But Tania had vanished unexpectedly in their final year of training. Rumours had it that she had gone abroad —some said she’d left to study under an ancient pack of healers in Europe. Whatever the truth was, Darren had been devastated. He waited, hoping she would return to him, but after two years of silence, he met me.

Perhaps it was my resemblance to Tania, or maybe Darren simply needed someone to fill the void she left behind. Whatever the reason, our families gave their consent and soon we became mated and bound to each other.

On the night after our Joining ceremony, Darren received a phone call and immediately became excited and dressed up to leave the house. Curious, I had asked him where he was going and he had given me a flimsy excuse that something had happened to a friend of his, a very good friend of his and he had to see her.

Back then I had been naïve and, in my innocence, had asked to go with him but he had refused and rushed out of the house leaving me alone in our bed.

He had returned the next morning looking haunted with worry etched on his face.

He had told me that his friend had a serious health issue and needed constant care.

I had pitied him then, mistaking his anguish for loyalty to an old friend. I hadn’t realized the truth until much later. That friend was Tania. The one who had returned to his world as suddenly as she had left it, needing Darren’s attention and care.

From that moment on, Darren spent more nights at the Pack hospital than he did at home, his devotion to her absolute. And I, like the obedient Luna I was raised to be, said nothing, always waiting for him to return.

But I would no longer wait. This time, I would get my life back. My rebirth was not just a second chance at survival—it was a chance to break free from the chains that had bound me to Darren Silva.

And this time, I would live for myself.