#Chapter 4 I, Rachel Flores, reject you, Tyler Wright, as my fated mate.

3 Years Later

"Happy Third Mating Anniversary!"

Tyler didn't reply to me as I mind-linked him. I knew he heard me all the same. As my mate, he couldn't block my messages even if he didn't choose to reply to them.

"Please come home right after work today. I'm preparing a special surprise to celebrate the occasion. You'll love it. I promise."

I could feel a spark of interest from Tyler's side of the bond though he remained silent.

Most females would have been at least a little concerned if their mate refused to respond to them, but I knew my situation wasn't ordinary.

I was the offspring of an omega father from a lower pack who had blackmailed my alpha mate into accepting me by faking a pregnancy.

The fact I hadn't known if I was pregnant or not at the time didn't matter. I had said I was pregnant; I wasn't. It was a lie. It was a lie I told for money.

Money Tyler Wright had given me to pay off my father's gambling debts in order to save my younger brother from kidnappers.

No one cared what the money was for though.

All anyone cared about was the lies I had told to get money from a mate who had been surprised to find me in the first place.

Tyler could have loved me, I think, if I hadn't told my father's lie. I had been drugged on our first night together as mates; I didn't have clear memories of my first time making love. I thought Tyler had been gentle with me. Generous. Kind.

It was hard for me to think of Tyler before I met him in his office. He'd been closer to a stone statue than a man as he listened to me ask him for money. His cold expression had never changed as he'd written me a check in the amount I named.

Every experience since then had been the same: an exchange of something for something else.

Tyler touched me when he needed release. Tyler spoke to me when he needed me to respond verbally to a question. Tyler gave me money to ensure I had no reason to talk to him.

Our mating was colder than winter in the Arctic Circle.

I twirled as I set the table for our mating anniversary dinner. My skirt flew out around my legs and I laughed like a girl again though I was a college graduate with a degree in Music Theory. I felt as if I were dancing on air as I hummed a tune I had composed myself as part of my thesis.

Tyler had not attended my graduation even though I had completed my studies on the Dean's List.

I would never accomplish enough to make Tyler proud of me. I would never be able to erase the grudge he held in his heart against me---and I was done trying.

Placing the covers over the plates to keep the heat in, I moved to open the bottle of wine we would be sharing.

The wine was the most luxurious part of the meal. Tyler preferred simple foods which I had learned from his household staff rather than from him directly. All the years we had spent together felt as if they were melting away as I poured two glasses of the rich Malbec.

Hearing the door shut, I picked up a glass in each hand and offered one to Tyler as he came into the room, "Happy Anniversary!"

He sneered at me before his eyes flickered to the bottle on the table. I knew he only took the glass from me because the wine was his favorite and it was too valuable to waste.

"What is it you want now?"

Tyler scorned my offer to sit at the table to share a meal with me. I wasn't surprised. I couldn't stop smiling which was probably as confusing for him as it should have been for me.

I had been given few reasons to smile during our mating.

"I want to celebrate this anniversary as our last together."

Swallowing more of the wine than was socially acceptable, Tyler drained his glass before reaching for the bottle to fill it again. I drained my glass and accepted the refill he offered with my smile intact.

"Our last together? Is that what you're after? You want your own house? This mansion isn't good enough to share with me?"

I shook my head negatively.

Tyler was very good at provoking me.

I finished my wine and placed my glass back onto the table. Tyler finished his as well then he surprised me by grabbing my wrist and pulling me against his chest.

My nipples peaked at the friction of his suit rubbing against my blouse.

We hadn't been fully naked together in so long I couldn't recall our last time. I was touch starved and my body yearned for his as my wolf, Rayne, nearly howled at the attention.

We kissed hungrily for minutes, sharing the flavor of the wine between us as our tongues danced with one another in the way we had never bothered to do with our bodies.

Gasping, I broke the kiss with a smile before heading for the stairs up to our bedroom.

Tyler slept beside me every few nights to keep our wolves at bay. The mate bond demanded he have me close while his personal hatred of me kept us worlds apart even when we shared the same bed.

"What? Are you going to tell me you don't want this? You always want it on 'special occasions' so here I am!"

Tyler followed me up the stairs and I avoided looking back at his disgruntled face. I knew it would only upset me and possibly send Rayne into a frenzy of need to please our mate.

I almost felt sorry for his confusion. He really had no idea what was going on.

"I do always want it, don't I? I'm sorry about that, Tyler. I can't imagine how hard this has been on you all these years. I suppose you were right at the start. I do want something. I want my own home. You're right about that, too. What you're wrong about? You're not going to have to deal with any more 'special occasions' with me ever again."

Tyler grabbed my arm to reel me back to him. His mouth fell on mine to start kissing me again and he used his free hand to grab my ass, grinding his hips into mine as he tried to sate his body.

All our physical encounters were fast and hard in order to get them over and done with as quick as possible. Originally, Tyler had been the one who wanted things that way, but, now, I wanted it over just as soon as he did.

For a moment, I let myself give in to the feeling of my body crashing against his, drank in his wine-flavored kisses and pretended it was passion we shared instead of alcohol, and I buried my fingers in his thick hair which he never remembered to get cut.

I could have loved him.

We fell onto the bed. His weight was heavy on top of me, but I didn't mind. My body was strong and young and I was in remarkable health for all I was the daughter of an omega. I was an excellent match to his Alpha physique no matter whether he wanted to admit it or not.

Tyler began to push up my blouse, palming my whole breast in his hand over my bra. Our mouths devoured each other as we lost control of our bodies. I didn't consciously spread my legs, but I came back to myself as I felt him reaching for my panties under my skirt.

I pressed against his chest to get some distance between us and Tyler raised up to take off his suit jacket. He opened the bedside table to grab a foil condom packet; I shook my head as I stopped him from opening the wrapper.

"What now, Rachel? What is it?"

Desire made him snappier than usual.

"I promised you a surprise, Tyler. Don't you want it?"

"Right now? No. I think you know what I want right now."

For a moment, I thought about giving him what he wanted---one more time sharing his bed wouldn't hurt, would it?

Except it always hurt.

Every time he touched me as if he hated me, I died a little more inside.

I was tired of dying. I wanted to live for a change.

"I, Rachel Flores, reject you, Tyler Wright, as my fated mate."

The words held an ancient kind of magic in them which caused my inner wolf to fall quiet in my mind. I wasn't worried about Rayne. She would wake up. She would wake up and she wouldn't yearn for this male any longer because our side of the bond was severed.

"What?"

Shock blanched Tyler's tanned face, his eyes going wide as his wolf tried to respond to his mate's sudden silence.

"Surprise!" I crowed as I scooted from underneath him and straightened my clothing, "I am truly sorry I kept you for so long, Tyler. Three years with me? That was wrong. I shouldn't have insisted on this mating all this time. I can't give you the time back, but I can give you your freedom now. All you have to do is finish the rejection on your side and you'll be rid of me forever. I hope you find happiness. I truly do."

"You're rejecting me? What are you playing at?"

"This isn't a game, Tyler. This is goodbye."

Tyler remained on the bed as I gathered up my suitcase to make my way back to the stairs. I had packed only the very essentials. Everything he had ever given me -designer clothes, shoes, jewelry- I had left behind with him where it belonged. I took only as much as I had brought to our union in the beginning.

I had the reputation of a gold-digger, but I would be damned if I proved myself to be one.

Tyler must have still been stunned on the bed as I left out the door. He didn't come after me and I had already dismissed our staff for the day so there was no one to send for me either.

I got into a private car and closed my eyes as I focused on surviving the ride to my friend Bella's apartment.

Bella was waiting in the doorway with a concerned expression when I got out of the car. I made it inside the door and into her arms before breaking down in tears. She held me as I wept, rocking me against her as she tried to hold me together as I was being broken apart by my emotions.

"I can't believe she's pregnant! I'm so, so sorry, Rachel!"