Rejected by My Fated Mate

On the night of his birthday, Jude Mitchell, the Lycan Prince, had too much to drink and mistook me for my cousin, Summer. Things got out of hand in the living room. The next morning, he asked me how much money I wanted.

I wiped my sweaty palms and pretended nothing happened, using sign language to communicate. "It was all a misunderstanding, nothing to worry about." As I left, his friend, a Delta from his pack, asked, "Your Highness, you’re just going to let her walk away like that? Aren’t you worried she’ll go to the Alpha?"

Jude lazily blew out a puff of smoke, his Alpha aura faintly pulsing, though I could feel its weight even as an Omega. "She’s just a mute Omega. What can she do?"

As he wished, I took the money and moved out that very night.

His words cut into me like knives, tearing me apart inside. My wolf whimpered softly in the back of my mind, a faint presence I rarely acknowledged. I should have stormed in there and slapped him across the face. But in reality, I was frozen, unable to move, just listening to his friend’s laughter echoing through the room.

"But you didn’t exactly lose out. Sure, Sofia isn’t as stunning as her sister, the Gamma, but she’s sweet. Don’t you think you should take some responsibility?"

Jude’s voice came through, cold and detached, his Alpha tone making my knees weak. "Forget it; I’m not into chasing after someone. Don’t let Summer know about this; I don’t want her to get upset."

"Alright, alright, Your Highness, I promise to keep it quiet."

"As for Sofia, I hope she takes the money. But if she tries to use this to mess things up between Summer and me, she won’t get away with it."

I don’t remember how I left, only that the wind was biting cold. I was wearing just a light jacket, feeling like I’d been hit by a freight train, with every part of me aching.

By the time I got to Uncle Thomas’s house, the Beta of the Silver Fang Pack, the bedroom door was already locked. I weakly knocked on the door. Summer, the Gamma, always locked her room when gaming and wore noise-canceling headphones to avoid interruptions. The door stayed closed. It was her room; I might have had a bed on the top bunk, but I wasn’t entitled to a key.

I stood outside the door for what felt like forever. Then I turned around and headed up to the attic where all the clutter was stored, the faint scent of damp wood and dust filling my nostrils. My wolf’s presence retreated, leaving me alone with my thoughts.