The Rejected Mate

I woke up to the annoying sound of my phone ringing, which was threatening to ruin my blissful sleep. Groaning in my sleep, I tried to reach for my phone, and when I got a hold of it, I pressed the answer button blindly and heard the person on the other end talking like a car traveling at 100 mph.

My sleep-induced mind couldn't understand their rushed and exciting words. I was tempted to just cut the call since I was already dozing off again. Half conscious, it took me a few seconds to understand two things:

1) The caller was my best friend of four years, Courtney.

2) She was screaming.

I looked at the alarm clock on my nightstand, and my eyes widened incredulously when I saw the time.

"Jesus Christ, woman! Why are you screaming? It is freaking four in the morning," I asked Courtney, unable to believe why she would call me at such an hour. We have known each other since we were fourteen. She is the Beta's daughter and I’m the Gamma’s adopted daughter. Our fathers are close friends, along with the Alpha's family.

"I need you to come back," she answered.

"What? Why?" I don't know why she wants me to come back when she knows why I left in the first place. She also helped me leave.

"Well, first, because I'm getting married, and secondly, you're the maid of honor, sweetie. So of course, I need you to come back, and everyone here misses you so much. Honestly, it's been what? Like three years now? I think it's about time you come back home. I miss my best friend.” She whispers the last part. Sadness laces her voice, which makes me feel guilty.

I inhale a deep breath, knowing that leaving the pack hurt not only myself but also my family and Courtney. It would've hurt more if I had stayed and watched my own downfall. I clear my throat, trying to push away the guilt and the sudden pang in my chest away.

"I don't know Court. It's been too long, and I don't think I can handle—"

"You know damn well that you're one of the strongest she-wolves I've ever seen in my life, Serenity. You could just ignore him, and you could also bring Matthew with you."

I could picture her wiggling her eyebrows suggestively at me on the last part. Honestly, I don't know what I would've done if she hadn't come into my life. She knows when I start doubting myself and she reminds me that I'm worth so much more.

I release a sigh and say, "Okay."

I instantly regret saying yes when I hear her squealing and screaming on the other end. I pull the phone away from my ear before she decides to scream like a banshee again. This girl has too much energy this early in the morning.

"Oh God, I hope my eardrums don’t burst,” I think to myself.

My thoughts are cut off when Courtney says, "Well, it's fixed then. You have to be here by Wednesday and the wedding is in two weeks. We have a lot of preparations left to do, so you better not be late.”

I gulp when I hear the warning in her words. She might look like an angel, but she's a firecracker. No wonder my brother is whipped.

"Okay, I'll be there, bridezilla," I mock her.

I hear voices in the background. Someone is talking and Courtney says, "Okay. I've got to go. Bye. Love you."

"I love you too, Court." I'm met with a beeping sound, notifying me that she hung up. It seems like she's already busy with the preparations.

I sigh. It's been a long time since I've spoken to Courtney and my family back home. Talking to Courtney brings back memories of him and what I couldn't have. It's useless thinking about it now.

I had been there and endured all the pain of seeing my mate get married to my other best friend. I was angry and sad for the most part, but I couldn't blame Emily. She was oblivious to the fact that he was my mate since she’s human and would never have a mate of her own.

I left soon after. I could not handle the pain of seeing them together. I've not been in touch with the pack ever since, and it's been three years.

Emily Christy was a human among werewolves. She was found abandoned in a small basket near the pack border by some patrol guards twenty years ago. The Alpha and Luna, being the kind people that they were, took her in instantly. They made her a member of the pack, not caring that she was a human, and I respected them for that.

It was uncommon to find humans among werewolves since we were supernaturals and liked our peace. Humans meant trouble for the most part. You never know who might snitch on us.

Emily, Courtney, and I had been best friends since Courtney and I were fourteen and Emily was 15, and we were inseparable. Emily was loved by everyone and was a social butterfly. She was in a relationship with Damien Blackwood, which made her even more popular among the pack members. Damien was our future Alpha and my long-time crush.

Although I'd had a huge crush on Damien—emphasis on "had”—I knew if I saw him again, all those feelings I tried to bury deep down inside of me would stir back up. I would never act upon them because he was our future Alpha. Plus, he was scary and intimidating, and it's against girl code to steal your best friend’s man.

‘Even if he turns out to be your mate,’ my wolf said and scoffed at my line of thought.

He wouldn't even notice me—a female with boring chocolate brown hair and hazel brown eyes—when he had someone like Emily with her golden blonde hair and blue eyes. I was self-conscious back then and used to hide in baggy clothes because they made me feel comfortable.

I didn't want to ruin their perfect relationship. I sort of admired it. Damien was cruel and mean while Emily was an angel. They were polar opposites. Maybe that was the reason they got together in the first place. As the saying goes, opposites attract.

It was like some cliché story where the good girl changes the bad boy.

I push all the memories away and I smile when my thoughts trail to a dirty blond male.

I suddenly realize that today is Monday and Courtney expects me to be there by Wednesday. I groan and realize I have to call Matthew.

When I dial Matthew's number, he picks up on the third ring.

"Hey Sera, what's up?" I don't answer him, which makes him realize his mistake and he huffs dramatically. "Okay, I won't call you that anymore, Serenity."

‘Sassy, aren't we?’ my wolf thinks.

He takes notice of my heavy breathing and silence. "Serenity? Are you okay? What happ—?"

"We have to go back home,” I say in one breath, so I won't have to repeat myself.

"Why? Did something happen with your family? Are they okay? Is it because of him?” he asks me.

I take a deep breath and tell him that Courtney is getting married and as the maid of honor, I have to be there by Wednesday.

"So, will you come with me as my date?" I wait hesitantly for his reply.

"Serenity," he says.

"Yes?" I stutter and take in another shaky breath, waiting for him to say no.

"I would love to, but will you be okay?" He emphasizes the word ‘love’ and I smile at his concern.

"Yes, of course. I will have you beside me. Okay, I gotta go. This girl needs her beauty sleep.” I say goodbye and we hang up.

Honestly, this is the third time in the past two years that I've let myself feel this way—vulnerable. I realize that this is going to be my first time going back home to see my family and the whole pack, including him, after his marriage to Emily.

I sigh, which I've been doing a lot lately. It's going to be one hell of a ride.

3 Years Ago:

I almost fall from my bed when the shrill sound of my alarm clock goes off. I groan and stuff my face into my pillow and try to get a few more minutes of sleep while reaching to turn off the alarm.

Right when I'm about to doze off into my dream world, my bedroom door bursts open, and a voice shouts, "Wakey! Wakey!"

Really? What am I? Four years old?

"Go away and get your annoying ass out of my room. Let me sleep peacefully for another 5 minutes," I say sleepily.

I hear silence for the next few moments, so I assume she really listened to my request. Huh, that's a first. My surprise is short-lived when someone jumps and lands on my back. I groan painfully.

"No way! You are going to wake up right now or else I'm going to pour cold water all over you like last time," Courtney replies. I can practically see the smirk on her face while she says this. ‘Bitch,’ I think to myself.

My eyes widen when my brain registers her threat. I know she has no problem carrying it out. I decide to wake up and escape her wrath by rolling over and I find myself lying on the edge of my bed. By rolling over, I caused Courtney to fall off my bed and she landed on her ass with a loud thump. I burst out laughing.

"HA!” That's what she gets for being so annoying in the morning. I stop laughing and see her glare at me and I sober up quickly. "Okay, okay. I'm up. No need to go all cavewoman on me…Sheesh!"

She huffs and replies, "That’s right.”

I swing my legs over the bed, stand up, and enter the bathroom to freshen up. Looking at myself in the mirror, I see a girl with a round face, big hazel eyes, and long chestnut brown hair.

My eyes move down the lower half of my body, and I release a sigh. I have always been a little curvier than the other she-wolves in the pack. Some may even consider me a bit chubby. It's as if my puberty is on a train that travels 20 km per hour. That fact alone makes me the subject of mockery for the jerks in the pack. This mockery happens only when I'm alone because they know if the Gamma found out what they were saying to his daughter, he would not spare them.

My mind then wanders to a different topic—the topic of mates—which makes me think about my mate. Will he accept me or reject me? Well, I hope he doesn't reject me.

Ever since I learned about the concept of mates, I've been excited to meet mine. I have had no luck so far. I've already turned eighteen and most of the young females like me have already found their mates. They usually find them when they're seventeen, which didn't give me much hope. There was also the fact that I had no good experience with males in my previous pack.

Past memories flashed before my eyes, haunting me with all the torture and abuse that I suffered.

I hope he will be from my pack.

Sometimes, I envy Courtney and how easily she found her mate. After all, she is mated to Alexander, Alex for short. He is my overprotective older brother. They found out they were mates on Courtney's seventeenth birthday and are happy with each other. I'm happy for them.

I release a huge breath and continue my morning routine while Courtney sits on my bed and scrolls through her phone.

I get dressed in some black jeans, a mustard-colored top, and my Converse All-Star shoes.

"So, why did you decide to grace me with your presence this fine morning?" I ask Courtney while glancing at her through the mirror in front of me.

She lifts her face from her phone and scrunches up her face a little bit and replies, "You don't know?"

"Don't know what?" I ask her.

"Damien is coming back from Alpha training," she replies.

My eyes widen and I turn towards her fully.

"What!" I shout. My best friend rolls her eyes and mumbles something along the lines of 'dramatic much,' which makes me narrow my eyes at her. She replies after a few moments in a voice filled with sarcasm.

"Damien Blackwood, as in our future Alpha, is coming back from Alpha training to take up his position as the Alpha of our pack and the pack has decided to throw him a surprise welcome party."

"Oh." I realize how stupid I must have sounded.

Damien Blackwood was the future Alpha of the Midnight Moon Pack, which is located in the rainy forests of Beacon Hills in the center of California. He was eighteen when he left for the training meant for Alphas and Betas all over the world.

He was also someone I had a huge crush on. The only person who knew about my little crush on Damien was Courtney.

I never chose to do anything about my crush. After all, he was dating Emily Christy. Emily was a year older than us, making her nineteen.

I used to be jealous and got angry when I saw them together. They were always happy and smiling like a married couple. I brushed it off as a stupid crush, thinking my feelings would go away over the years, but they never did.

In time, I got used to them being together. That helped reassure me that nothing was going to happen between good old boring me and Damien.

I often wondered how someone like Damien got into a relationship with Emily. They were polar opposites. If she was sugar, he was salt. If she was lemonade, he was vodka. Okay, okay. I know that last one was a bad example, but you get the drift?

Damien was the silent, brooding type of guy. He was ridiculously good-looking. I would guess that he was over 6 feet tall. He was huge, and like a sin waiting to be committed.

His eyes were something you would definitely notice. He had alluring grey eyes with a black ring in the center. The grey in his eyes bled to black when he was angry, just like the sky darkens before a storm. His chocolate brown hair, which he preferred slicked back, gave him a sexy look. Not that he wasn’t sexy already.

He had a hulking frame packed with muscles. He had tattoos covering almost all of his body. Don't even get me started on his body. It was as if he was personally sculpted by God himself. Each and every muscle on his body was defined and ripped…My thoughts made me blush.

Every girl in the pack used to drool at the sight of him and would do things like hike up their skirts or unbutton the top buttons of their shirt to flash him their cleavage, hoping to grab his attention so that they could try to flirt with him. He never paid any attention to them.

Most females in the pack had a crush on him, but he stayed away from them or growled a warning when someone tried to make a move. There were also the shy ones who admired his beauty from afar, a.k.a. me. No surprise there, really.

I guess the only one who was able to catch his eye was Emily.

"Well, what are you waiting for then? Let's go. He is going to be here at 11 a.m.," Courtney says. I look at the alarm clock and realize that he arrives in 15 minutes.

"Okay. Let's go."

I drag Courtney with me downstairs and upon reaching the last step, I realize that almost all of the pack members are running around to prepare for his arrival, and they seem excited.

'Well, aren't I oblivious to my surroundings,' I think sarcastically to myself.

Emily rushes towards us with a smile on her face.

"Oh. Hey guys! Where were you? I didn't see you two earlier," Emily asks us.

"Well, somebody decided to sleep like a baby this morning," Courtney replies while glancing at me sideways. This makes me scowl and Emily's smile widens.

"Oh, well that's okay. I think he is going—" Emily starts to say.

"The future Alpha has arrived." My heart skips a beat.