The Rejected She-Wolf

One : Deception

He aged well.

I'd reckon that he had to be at least twenty-eight.

His dirty blonde hair was combed back, his handsome jawline was sharp and masculine, and his tall nose was slightly crooked as if it had been broken several times in the past.

Everything about him called to me. From the way he moved to the way he talked. I found myself unable to look away.

As if he noticed my gawking, he turned his head to me and our eyes caught and held for the first time.

The ballroom music faded and the entire room dimmed until I could only see him standing before me, mesmerizing me to the point that I couldn't remember where I was or who I was supposed to be.

To me, he was perfect. This was my mate, the answer to all my prayers.

The mate bond flexed between us and tightened to an almost uncomfortable ache, pulling me towards his tall build with magnetic force. It was something I had never felt before.

Smiling at him with excitement and wonder seeping from my eyes, I quickly made my way over to him. But my excitement was short-lived when my mate lowered his gaze and looked away, his eyes filled with what looked like remorse.

He watched me come closer but remained frozen in his spot with a deep frown painted on his thin lips and wrinkles in between his eyebrows.

I had a feeling something was wrong. I didn't know what but it was making me nervous.

Most males didn't stand stock-still like my mate when they found their other half.

He should have gathered me into his arms and hugged me to his chest, happy beyond words that he had finally found his soulmate, especially at the age that he was. Yet he did none of that.

He only avoided me like I was some sort of bubonic plague.

Why was that?

"Babe?" a feminine voice called from behind him.

Before I could process that one term of endearment, I saw a female with a head full of red curls come up to my mate.

Her manicured fingers curved around his muscled forearm, and she leaned into his chest, taking the position I was supposed to be in.

It took me a full minute to see the blonde-haired baby in her arms, clambering up onto my mate and drooling on his shirt. The picture they made quickly etched itself into the deepest recesses of my mind.

I frantically looked at his hand, and—sure enough—there was a golden band on his ring finger that had caused my whole world to collapse.

He was married.

My mate was married to another woman.

Everything went quiet in my head. Though I was standing in the middle of a boisterous party, I couldn't hear anything. It was like someone had cupped their hands over my ears and trapped me in a room with four white walls.

The complete disbelief and sheer horror showed clearly on my features, painting an image of my extreme distress. The heartbreak was real at this point.

"Do you know her?" his wife asked, snapping me out of my thoughts and forcing me to choke back a sob that was halfway up my throat.

He didn't answer immediately. His eyes darkened and he turned his head to kiss her soundly on the mouth, glancing at me from the corner of his eye. I could tell that he didn't want his wife to know about me.

The look in his eyes was almost pleading. He wanted me to leave and stop bothering his perfect family. Yet I could only stand there gaping, waiting for his reply with a smidgeon of hope still burning inside me.

What was I hoping for, though?

He had a happy family, a beautiful wife, and an adorable baby boy.

If I did anything, I would just be a homewrecker. No one would know that I was the mate he had abandoned.

The pain and betrayal could not be undone.

While he was busy building a perfect life for himself and his family, I was left burning in the depths of hell, suffering from the horribly painful attacks caused by him sleeping with another woman.

It was only now that I realized this. Had I known this earlier, I would have rejected him a long time ago instead of letting myself suffer like this.

"No," he said. That one syllable caused my heart to shatter into millions of pieces.

His wife looked expectantly at me as he wrapped his arm around her waist.

The way he protected her made me envious. And the green-eyed monster in me urged me to destroy that little thread of happiness he so desperately clung to. Yet when my eyes flashed to his baby, I found myself unable to.

I stood stunned in my spot.

What could I do?

"Pup, is there something you wanted?" she asked, raising a quizzical brow at me, waiting for me to do something. Anything. They were probably tired of me blocking their path.

Pup? Was I a child? Was that what they took me for?

My mouth opened but nothing came out. I was too busy trying to cover all the bitterness and hurt with a blank expression on my face. But who was I trying to kid?

My chin trembled as some members of my pack laughed and pointed their fingers at me, watching our exchange like it was good entertainment on a Friday night.

I felt humiliated, and I couldn't hide that or the burning tears collecting in the corners of my eyes.

"Alpha, Alpha Female, we are ready for your speech," the new Beta of our pack interrupted, making me realize that the couple in front of me was our new Alpha and Alpha Female.

I didn't wait for them to reply.

Instead, I swallowed down what little fight and pride I had left and walked away, leaving them all unscathed, unlike the murderous thoughts that were crossing my mind.

You are too cruel, Alpha Liam Bane.

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A/N: Thank you for giving this story a chance! I hope you liked this chapter. :)

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