Rejected but Unbroken

Andy

I had followed that tantalizing scent through the hallways and abandoned the group of friends I was. I had to know who it belonged to. She turned to confront me, pressed close to her current boy toy. Her lips formed my name, though no sound came from her.

Out of all the people in the school, I never ever expected my mate to be Chloe Gabriella. I was at a loss, staring at her. Her friend watched us, his eyes bouncing back and forth. At least he was smart enough to not interfere with this.

Zed moved before I did. He surged to the front of our mind and took control. "Why did you run?" he growled at her. He stepped forward, and she backed away until she backed into the lockers. He put an arm above her head, trapping her against our body, and stared into her eyes. She didn't allow her wolf to answer or to even come forward.

"I-" she whispered, then stopped with a shake of her head. "Sorry," she apologized instead, with her head bent toward us. "I didn't know it was you," she replied lamely.

I wrested control back from my wolf. This was my problem to handle. He could wait in the sidelines. "Does it matter who it was? When you smell your mate, you don't run."

The eyes of the warrior at her side widened, and he stared between us. "Mate?" he whispered. "What's going on, Alpha? What happened?"

Why did he think it was any of his business? I repressed the urge to grab him by the throat and throw him to the other side. Her vanilla and peony aroma clung to him. How many times had they fucked for it to be part of his scent? I forced my mind to stop going down on that track. It didn't remember.

Instead, I turned my attention to the man. Who was this again? I racked my brain trying to remember, but he'd been such a background warrior. It was all fuzzy. Besides, it had been two years since I'd been with my warriors. This guy had never stood out aside from some of the women in the pack after him.

Still. I was an Alpha, and my brain finally gave me the information I needed. "Kale, isn't it?" I questioned after several moments.

"Yes, Alpha," he answered with the proper bowed head. At least he still knew his place.

"Can you give me a moment to speak to her alone?" I glanced back and forth down the long hallway. Due to classes about to start, they were nearly abandoned. It's just what I needed. I didn't want the whole school to witness this. No one needed to know that my mate was this woman.

"I'll see you in classes, Chloe," Kale offered to her with a weak smile and a final curious glance my way. He wasted no time in slipping into the chemistry room and closing the door behind him, leaving us alone.

Chloe swallowed and looked up at me. She crossed her arms over her chest. "What do you want, Alpha?" she whispered the words. Her body trembled.

She was going to pretend she couldn't sense what was between us? What did I want? I wanted to growl in her face.

Fine. That would just make this whole job easier.

"Andy, what are you doing?" Zed sensed my intentions. "You can't be serious. She's the one chosen for us. We have to give her a chance to explain herself fully."

"Zed, she ran from us. What kind of mate flees from the one they're destined to be with? Besides, we both know she'll never be good enough for us or the pack."

I kept the control away from my wolf. He'd no doubt do something stupid and try to claim her by force to cement the bond. I wouldn't let that happen. She'd had her chance to explain herself and she had failed. I knew what had to be done for the good of the pack. The Moon Goddess had made a mistake this time around, and I'd just have to fix it myself. "We'll talk later, Zed," I told him.

Didn't she understand it didn't matter what she said? I'd made up my mind the moment I'd understood the tantalizing scent that had tempted me so much was hers. I reached down and nudged her chin up with my index finger, so she stared into my eyes. I didn't want her to misunderstand any of this.

"Chloe Gabriella of the Crescent Blood Pack," I started in a steady voice.

"Andy!" Zed screamed at me. He would get over this. I knew better.

Her head jerked, and she stared at me wide-eyed. She didn't object, but horror entered her features and big tears glistened in her eyes. I told myself those weren't because of any feelings she had, but because I was taking away her chance to rule this pack one day. This type of woman didn't deserve power, ever.

"I Andy Cain, the future Alpha of the Crescent Blood Pack, reject you as my mate and the future Luna of this pack. What the Goddess has brought together, I hereby dissolve."

"No!" Zed's scream echoed in my head. He threw himself against the prison I had built around him, but it was too late.

I stared into her eyes and the bond and her sweet scent crumbled away. It was like a knife plunged into my gut and reached inside of me, pulling out my insides and crushing them. She crumpled to the ground crying, and I used an elbow to lean against the locker so I didn't fall down.

It didn't matter what Zed or Chloe thought anymore. I had done it and this woman no longer meant anything to us.

I was free to go after who I really wanted.

The Moon Goddess had gotten my mate wrong, but I knew exactly who I wanted at my side and once this unbearable pain stopped, I was going to go to Quinn and tell her everything.