CHAPTER 4 Rejected Mate

Apphia POV

'Are you my wolf?'

'Yes. My name is Ziora, but you can call me...' she pauses for dramatic effect. Or maybe making up a nickname, 'Zio,'

So, I do have a wolf, after all. Werewolves feel their inner counterpart as early as ten, but there has been part of us since we were born. We shifted at sixteen years old, but it wasn't like that in my case.

'Hello, Zio. Did you take over and hit Aya?'

'Yes. she was being mean to you, and I got angry. It felt good to do that,' she giggles.

'Why didn't you come on my sixteenth birthday?' I ask.

'I just couldn't. I tried,' Ziora is sad. It is an odd sensation to have a wolf within you. I can feel everything she does,' Apphia, why do you let them mistreat you when you have Alpha blood?'

'How can they not when my father and brother enable the abuse,'

'That sucks, but I'm here now. We'll get through this together and leave this pack,' my wolf is confident.

'I like the sound of that,'

Knowing I have someone who will never leave me feels good: my best friend and companion.

I'm focused on my wolf to see where I'm going. I bump into a wall, but firm hands catch me before I fall to the ground. I feel tingles rush through my body. I looked up and came face to face with Gavin Jr. I gasped as his unique citric scent hit me, and my wolf whispered one word.

'Mate,'

My heart starts to race in my chest, and butterflies bounce in my stomach. My body feels warm and pleasant.

Is Gavin Jr. my mate? Oh, goddess, thank you! I like Gavin, and he's Duncan's second in command. Once we are mated, everyone will treat me better.

I smile brightly for the first in ten years, but the smile dies when I realize he is glaring at me. All air is sucked out of my lungs when the realization strikes me; he hates me. The excitement I was feeling turned to dread.

"Y- you're my mate," my voice is unrecognizable to my ears. I feel a lump growing in my throat.

"Shut up! I'm not your mate," he commands. My eyes widen in shock, and a whimper escapes my mouth at his harshness.

Gavin grabs my elbow; sparks erupt over my arm again. My heart sprints as he discreetly drags me away from the packhouse into the forest where no one can see or hear us.

"No," I whimper, knowing what he is about to do. Fear settles in my stomach at the thought of not being wanted by my soulmate. Even though mates are given by the moon goddess, they can still reject each other and break the bond. There is no doubt that Gavin brought me here to reject me. I feel a burning pain in my chest, and tears fill my eyes.

"You've dragged me here to reject me," I say, my voice quiet.

"Of course. What choice do I have?!" he growls, running a hand through dark brown hair, "You are the reason Luna, your mother, is dead. Because of your selfishness,"

Those words from his lips cut me more profoundly than a dagger would ever.

"I didn't kill her," those are the only words that manage to leave my trembling lips.

"You're the reason she's dead, right?"

I can't hold his gaze anymore and look down at my shoes in shame. I'm the reason my mother is dead. She was trying to protect me from the darkness.

"I can't be with you. I'm the future beta of this pack, and if I accepted you, which I couldn't even in the next life, I'd lose my status. And besides, you're not my type," Gavin is ranting now, trying to convince himself to reject me, yet he doesn't say the words. Ziora's heart and mine shatter into pieces. I don't want to cry anymore; I don't want him to see me cry, but my eyes betray me. I let out a sob. Everyone who was supposed to love me hated me. They don't want me. Who will ever love me now?

"I can't take you as my mate-"

"I reject you," I cut off his sentence, looking him deep in the eye. Gavin freezes and stares at me, perplexed. I bravely put a hand on my chest,

"I, Apphia Aeson, reject you, Beta Gavin Jr Marino, as my mate," I say, my voice firm. I'm proud of myself for not breaking down in his presence while saying the words. Gavin is caught off guard by my abrupt rejection. He grips his chest as pain burns across his body. Gavin begins to pant as if he's failing to breathe.

"I have dinner to serve. Accept my rejection now," I command coldly, looking away from him because of my pain.

Gavin is unable to produce any worse. His lips are quivering now, and his dark eyes are soft.

"I, Beta Gavin Jr Marino, accept your rejection, Apphia Aeson," he says, his words strangled as though they burnt him. The pain that crosses his face makes me want to beg him to give me a chance, but I don't do that. I needed to be strong and move on from this.

My chest hurts, and pain ripples through me. It feels like it's on untamable fire over my skin. I try to stay brave through the pain, but tears fall from my eyes. It hurts like hell. It takes a good five minutes for the pain to dissipate, but even so, there is a constant painful sensation in my chest. Gavin stays with me through it all, his hand almost reaching out to touch me, but he restrains it. I exhale and turn toward the packhouse before breaking into sobs.

'Zio, are you alright?' I ask my wolf. She whimpers and whines in pain. Ziora didn't expect the rejection. I can feel her immense pain through our bond.

'You were finally supposed to be happy, Apphia. But I was wrong,' she wails.

'What do you mean?'

'He wasn't supposed to reject us. I saw a glimpse of our future,' she murmurs. Before I can ask how she is gone, I can't feel her anymore.

'Ziora, Ziora, come back! Please!' I shout. It's dark like it was before her. I didn't like a life before her. I'm desperate, shouting for her to return, but she doesn't answer me. I fall to the ground on my knees, begging my wolf to return.

"What the fuck happened to you?" I hear a deadly growl.

I stand to my feet and take wobbly steps towards Duncan, still crying. Duncan's anger fades away, and his eyes soften as he looks better at me in the light.

"Apphia, what the fuck happened to you?"