Rejecting My Unworthy Mate

I was halfway to the cemetery gates when my phone rang. The cemetery manager’s frantic voice cracked through the line, trembling with panic. “Miss Ariana, someone’s... someone’s digging at your mother’s grave!”

The air seemed to vanish from my lungs. My mother—my gentle, selfless mother—had endured so much heartache and had given me everything without asking for anything in return. Even in death, she deserved peace. I turned on my heel and ran back, my legs pumping harder with every word replaying in my mind.

She had been my rock after my father’s death, her mateless heart never wavering in its devotion to me. Even when she was diagnosed with heart disease, she never let the weight of her illness darken my life. Her last wish had been simple: “Don’t engrave my name. Just write, ‘May my daughter live a safe and happy life.’” And now, that wish was being trampled on.

I reached her grave and froze.

Winona Lei stood there, flanked by her ever-loyal followers. Two wolfguards were already knee-deep in the earth, shoveling dirt from my mother’s resting place. The urn containing her ashes lay discarded like trash on the side, replaced by another. Winona’s dog.

“What are you doing?!” I screamed, my voice hoarse with rage as I rushed toward them.

Winona stepped back, feigning innocence, her hands resting lightly on Scott’s arm. “This is my baby’s new home,” she said sweetly, her syrupy tone cutting like broken glass. “The inscription fits so well, doesn’t it? I’m sure you don’t mind sharing, Ariana.”

My hands curled into fists, nails biting into my palms. “You dare—” I grabbed a shovel from one of the wolfguards and began to undo their desecration.

“Ariana, stop!” Scott’s voice thundered as he pulled the shovel from my hands. His touch burned, not from heat but from betrayal.

“How could you let this happen?” I demanded, my voice cracking. My hands hit the soil, clawing at the earth with raw desperation. My mother’s urn was still there. I had to save it.

Winona’s mask of sweetness slipped, her lips curling in anger. “Stop her!” she shrieked. “My baby deserves a resting place! I won’t let her disturb him!”

The wolfguards grabbed my arms, yanking me away from the grave as I struggled and screamed. My wolf surged within me, begging for release, but I held her back. Not now. Not here.

Scott stepped forward, his face hard. “Ariana, you’re making a scene,” he said, his voice cold. “Winona’s been through enough with her dog’s death. Yet you’re blowing this out of proportion because I had to pause the mating ritual. This... this is ridiculous. Apologize to her. Now.”

“Apologize?!” I spat, my voice venomous. “She dug up my mother’s grave, Scott! Have you lost your mind?”

He shook his head, disappointment etched in his features. “Winona’s grieving. You’re strong, Ariana. You can handle this.”

His words were a blade, slicing through the last threads of loyalty I had left for him.

Winona tilted her head, her voice dripping with feigned concern. “Scott, I’m starting to see why the mating ritual didn’t happen. Look at her. She’s unhinged, acting like a rogue. If you marry her, you’ll be the laughingstock of every pack around.”

Scott’s jaw tightened, but his cold gaze turned to me, and I saw the flicker of doubt. Winona’s manipulation was working. She gave him a triumphant, saccharine smile, knowing she was winning.

“Who dares laugh at my woman?” Scott snapped, his voice sharp enough to silence the murmurs of Winona’s followers. But the fire in his tone didn’t reach his eyes.

He turned back to me, disappointment still painted across his face. “Ariana,” he said, quieter now but no less icy, “you’re making this all about you. If you apologize to Winona, maybe—just maybe—I’ll forgive you.”

My chest heaved, anger and heartbreak warring within me. I stared at him, searching his face for any sign of the man I had once loved. There was nothing left.

“And if I refuse?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper, trembling as I held back tears.

His silence was answer enough.

The weight of his betrayal pressed down on me like an avalanche, crushing and relentless. My wolf howled in agony, clawing for release, but I kept her at bay. Scott wasn’t worth losing myself over.

I yanked my arms free from the wolfguards and stood tall, meeting Scott’s cold gaze. “You’ve made your choice, Scott,” I said, my voice steady despite the storm raging inside me. “So have I.”

I knelt by the grave one last time, retrieving my mother’s discarded urn. The warmth of her memory steadied me as I turned my back on them all.

As I walked away, Winona’s laughter rang out behind me, shrill and triumphant. “Poor Ariana,” she cooed mockingly. “Always so dramatic.”

Scott didn’t defend me. He didn’t stop me.

I didn’t look back.

This time, I wouldn’t break.