Rejected By Beta, Claimed By Alpha

Juliette POV.

"I, Sammy Palmer, reject you and sever my ties to you, Juliette Rohan, as my mate once and for all."

My heart ached as I heard him announce this rejection in front of the pack members. It hurt more than anything I could ever feel and it wasn't a dream because I could feel this pain through my heart, as his words sounded like a knife that was so sharp.

My tears fell so hard that my knees wobbled, making me fall to my knees in front of him.

This was sudden even though I had been feeling different about him lately.

I thought he just needed more time with me because of his busy schedule as a Beta in this pack, but it didn't. He even said it all without his trembling voice. He looked like a stranger I just met with a bad nature.

But what made it worse was that today was our second anniversary and I still couldn't believe that his gift was this painful.

Now it felt like I was being humiliated. Being hurt, witnessed, and the center of gossip.

So, should I agree to it? But I also need a reason why he's suddenly like this.

His gaze was even so cold toward me, not looking remorseful or anything like that. Could it be that he doesn't love me anymore?

My throat hurt so much every time I swallowed while crying like this. I was even reluctant to speak.

I finally tried to stand up without anyone to help me, completely alone with tears still flowing, as if I was trash—no one cares.

I swallowed hard before I finally said, "I, Juliette Rohan ... accept your rejection and break my bond with you, Sammy Palmer ... once and for all."

I didn't know what he was feeling and thinking as my voice stuttered and trembled, but it didn't seem to make him feel the slightest bit sorry.

My heart felt like it had been stabbed, hurting but not bleeding.

My body was suddenly so weak at that moment and it felt like nothing was on my side.

He then walked away from me without even looking back at me. But finally, with the little courage I still had left, I tried to chase after him to ask why he broke this mate bond.

"Why, Sam?" I asked, stopping him.

He turned around and looked at me with a cold stare, devoid of any love and even stranger.

"I love another woman and you're no longer in my heart. You no longer attract me in the slightest."

"Who is she? How can you decide unilaterally just because—"

"I've had it with you, Juliette, don't you see and feel how I behave toward you?!"

I was surprised to hear him say such harsh words to me. He never said anything like this to me before, even when we fought, he just chose to keep quiet rather than hurt me. But now ... the Sammy I knew had completely changed and seemed to have disappeared before me.

"I don't expect you to understand because I love that woman more than how I used to be with you."

"But today is our anniversary! How could you, Sam!"

"And it is a gift from me. Remember it."

He walked away after saying that, leaving behind a million, even countless ways he hurt me so much that my body felt like a broken glass bottle that couldn't be fixed anymore.

My cries exploded even more and I couldn't contain this suffocating pain.

I slowly left to calm myself down, because being in the same place as someone I loved but hurt me was very difficult to make me calm down. Even I was sure that I wouldn’t be able to calm down on this day too.

I walked to the cliff, seeing the beauty of nature with tears still flowing like a waterfall.

My body was no longer trembling, but my heart ... It felt unquestionable because I felt broken.

I held the necklace he gave me on the first anniversary that was still hanging around my neck, and I repeatedly breathed in and out as today was a burden to me.

Then suddenly I smelled and felt Damian’s presence which made me turn my head towards him.

Reflexively, he hugged me and I was surprised by the sudden hug he gave me. My whole body was stiff with a heart that really hurt.

"Damian," I said in his arms. "Let me go."

"You don't intend to jump and kill yourself, do you?"

I wanted to laugh but my situation wasn't cooperating. As much as I hurt for Sammy, it didn't make me suicidal, because that would be showing my stupidity.

But I didn't answer him, instead staying silent for a while as his embrace felt warm.

"Now, you can cry in my arms. I know you need someone's shoulder to pour your tears on," he said.

Instantly, I dropped my tears again. Without thinking about who he was and how it could be like this, I cried in his arms.

I cried so hard that I even squeezed his sleeve because the pain was so deep.

Then when I felt that crying couldn't bring everything back, I slowly stopped and pulled myself away from him while wiping away the tears and taking a step back.

"Th-thank you," I said still trembling.

"Feeling better now?"

I nodded with a weak smile. "I didn't see you watching how he dumped me, Damian," I say weakly.

He chuckled and this time I was sure he was going to mock me. "You're too focused on him to feel hurt."

When he came closer again, I felt shocked at being so close. He was not even mocking me ... or was he not going to yet?

I wet my lower lip and looked back at the nature before me. I thought this view was the only thing that could calm me down.

"Take off that necklace," Damian suddenly commanded and I realized that he had been watching me.

"What?"

"I'm not going to repeat it. And I command you as an Alpha to the pack."

I let out a long breath and hesitantly obeyed his orders.

He held out his hand for me to hold the necklace.

It was hard for me to give the necklace to him because it was from Sammy, but I had to obey him.

Damian then pocketed the necklace and looked at me seriously.

"I have something to offer you," he said.

"What kind of offer?"

"Hmm, sounds like it's about revenge but it depends on how you look at it."

I still didn't understand, but I was thrilled that he was going to talk to me about something this serious because he and I hardly ever communicate.

Then suddenly he approached me like this and I didn't even think he would know my whereabouts.

“I thought you came to mock me but why do you want to offer me something?” I said as I was asking.

"I'm not a bullying Alpha, Juliette, and you know that. I came because I knew you needed help indirectly."

"What ... is that?" I asked once more.

"Be my mate, Juliette Rohan.”

Juliette POV.

I looked at him with a surprised look and was silent for a few moments. Suddenly my heartache disappeared as it was replaced with what I had just heard.

Was he not wrong to offer me something like that? Or was he trying to make a joke or was he going to bully me after this?

But for a few minutes, I was speechless and he only looked at me with a serious look in his eyes. It confused me because no serious person has bad intentions, surely he really meant what he said.

I swallowed my saliva while wetting my lower lip and looked around while letting out my breath. There was no one except us and it made this conversation become more serious.

"I didn't hear wrong, did I?" I asked him.

"Are you denying what you just heard?"

Damn! I needed an answer as to whether he really meant it or not. But it looked like he meant it. I just need to think about his offer solemnly. It wasn’t just an ordinary offer, but a truly extraordinary one that would have a great effect on me.

"I just thought that you were joking," I said softly and lowered my head.

Then he touched my chin and lifted it until my eyes met his. His aura was so powerful that it made anyone who looked at him fall to their knees.

"So you still don't believe that I'm not the Alpha bully? How long have you been living in your disbelief, Juliette?"

I averted my eyes and backed away again. But suddenly he pulled my body in his arms and looked at me seriously. "One more time you step back, you'll only kill yourself."

My breath caught in my throat as I realized that behind me was a cliff, and he was right, I could fall if I stepped back without looking back.

His hands still didn't let go of my body, which made my heart beat faster because this position was for me who had just been hurt. And it seemed he had no intention of letting me go because his grip on my body felt so possessive and aggressive.

"Do you realize that you're offering me that as a former mate of your cousin, Damian?" I ask him.

Now he pulled me further from the brink and removed his hands from my body. "I'm one hundred percent aware of what I'm offering you. I haven't even forgotten who you and Sammy are."

I paused and began to walk back and forth in front of him while staring at the dry leaves that were my base.

Now, could I be his mate? That would mean I would become Luna, right? All this time I had only been the mate of Sammy, the Beta in the pack. I didn't have much of a hand and I felt like I was just another mate ever since.

"Why are you offering me that?" I asked him who stopped right in front of him.

He sighed and his body was completely built with charisma. "Because soon I will be crowned the original Alpha of the pack, replacing my father. You know that I'm not officially an Alpha yet either, right?"

I waited for more details from him but it seemed he wouldn't explain if I didn't ask, because he just stayed silent while still looking at me.

The way he looked at me was completely different. Or was it because it was the first time I felt his eyes looking at me differently? I didn't know but I felt really unusual being looked at like that by him.

"I know," I replied. "Then, when will your position be inaugurated?" I asked finally.

"It’s in the full moon. I really want to get my mate right on the day I'm crowned Alpha, Juliette."

Should I accept his offer? What if it turned out to be a trap? I really kept thinking bad things since Sammy rejected me as his mate, I was really afraid that Damian would end up bullying me, and that this was his way of blatantly embarrassing me.

"If I accept you ... does that mean you will mark me in front of the whole pack, including Sammy?" I asked with a stutter.

He nodded and said, "You know that's the first rule for marking mates, Juliette. But after you agree with my offer, I have to mark you myself privately, and when in front of the pack, it is only for formality.”

I bit my lower lip out of nervousness as I remembered the moment when Sammy marked me as his mate back then. It felt so good to have a mate and be loved, but the reality now really hurt me.

Reflexively, I touched my shoulder, where Sammy had marked me there. Then I realized that I didn't feel the bite mark with my hand.

Suddenly, Damian's hand grabbed my clothes and lowered them halfway down my side, right at my shoulder. "The marks disappeared after he rejected you," he said.

I glanced to the side and there were no bite marks to be seen. Usually, even without a mirror, I could see it, and I could even feel it with my hand.

I sighed and went back to fixing my clothes with an embarrassment that I only realized because Damian was still staring at me.

Did he have no other sights than looking at me? I was really surprised.

"So, we're really separated," I said softly. "He and I are no longer bonded."

"Yeah, that's true."

I felt that heartbreak again as I remembered everything. And now, I had to organize my future around my own decisions.

"Juliette," Damian said suddenly. "This time I ask you once again, do you want to be my mate?"

He must have been waiting for my answer while I still needed time to think. I'd really been embarrassed today for being rejected by someone I loved on our anniversary, let alone witnessed by everyone, which really embarrassed me instantly.

I looked into his eyes and asked, "Why me, Damian? There are many she-wolves in the pack that you can mate with. Why me? I'm even the former mate of your cousin."

"There is no reason. But if you accept my offer, of course, you get the highest title of being the Alpha's mate, plus I don't have to choose another because you're all I think about," he explained. "I will await your final answer before the full moon arrives, Juliette."