“I really wanted to see Jace right now,” my best friend Megan said as we were waiting for her older brother, our soon-to-be Beta, to come and fetch us. We will be graduating today. That’s why we’re in our pack house.
“Megan, Jace wanted to wait until his party to see you. This is his twentieth birthday, and he will know who his mate is,” I replied, trying to soothe her. “I called him this morning, and he plans to stay in his room until the party so he doesn’t come in contact with any she-wolves.”“I know, Carrie. I just feel it in my heart that he is my mate. I love him so much!”“I know you do. No matter what happens, I will be by your side,” I said, secretly rolling my eyes at her.Megan knew the possibility of her becoming Jace’s mate would be futile, but she didn’t consider it, no matter how many times I tried to reason with her. She should consider the fact that she might not be Jace’s mate.“Don’t worry, Carrie. We have been in love since freshman year. I think the Goddess brought us together.”“Okay, Megan, let’s just concentrate on the graduation. Let’s do our hair and makeup so we’re not late. Okay?”We had just said goodbye to our parents, and I was dragging Megan, trying to navigate the sea of bodies to get to the parking lot. I couldn’t wait to get to my car and be done for graduation today. I wanted a long rest after.After graduation, we met Megan’s older brother outside the auditorium.“Carrie!” I looked around and saw Jackson waving at me as he ran over. He would be Jace’s Beta when he took over as Alpha.“Hi Jackson! What’s up?”“Are you coming to the river? It’s going to be a great party.” He smiled.“I wouldn’t miss it! But I promised Megan I would stay with her until she found out if they are mates.” All of our friends knew that Jace and Megan were counting on being mates.“Yeah, everyone is waiting until after the mating to go.”“Come on, Carrie! I want to get ready for the party!” Megan was getting impatient as I laughed, “Sorry, we gotta go. I’ll see you later.”We jumped in her car to head to the pack house.After a few minutes, Megan dropped a bomb.“You know he has a crush on you,” Megan smirked.“He does not!” I protested. There’s no way! Jackson is an embodiment of what we call Playboy! He’s a certified panty-ripper.“Yes, he does. The only reason he came to graduation was to see you. Jace told me yesterday.” she giggled.“Shut up. We’re here,” I said and parked the car.We got out of the car and headed into the pack house.“I’m hungry. Why don’t you head up to my room, and I’ll grab something real quick,” I said.“Alright,” Megan said before running up the stairs.I laughed at her enthusiasm and headed to the kitchen. As I looked for food, I found some leftover meatloaf and decided to make a sandwich.“Is there enough for two?”I was startled, and when I turned around, It was Jace. I was probably too concentrated on making a sandwich that I didn’t sense his presence.“Alpha, I didn’t hear you come in.”He chuckled, “That’s not good for someone to sneak up on a wolf.”“Sorry, I’ve got so much on my mind with Jace and Megan’s situation.”The Alpha stopped, looked at me, and then nodded. “What if you are his mate?”“That’s not likely. I’m the daughter of a pack doctor. It is more likely that it will be an Alpha or Beta female. Since Megan is a Beta, I’m sure it will be her.”“You are still a ranked female. Pack doctors are Gammas.”“But I don’t want to be a doctor, Alpha,” I said, smiling at him.“Nevertheless, Carrie. You have a gamma bloodline, which makes you a ranked female wolf, too,” Alpha replied after winking and leaving with the sandwich with him.“Hey! That was mine!” I could hear his laugh down the hall. I sighed, made another sandwich, and headed upstairs.“What took you so long? The party starts in an hour!” Megan was running around the room.I took her sandwich and sat down on her bed. “Would you chill? We have plenty of time. Besides, I don’t function without food.”Later that night, the party was in full swing. Females surrounded the future Alpha Jace, touching him, hoping they were his mate, only to walk away disappointed.Megan and I sat in the back corner of the lawn to watch. She was getting more excited as each girl walked away.“Why don’t you just go over to him?” I ask her, getting dizzy with her jumping all around.“No way, Carrie! Jace and I agreed. I would be last if he didn’t find his mate. We will meet in private before we touch,” she replied.“So you’re saying you rushed me to get dressed only to sit in the corner?” I playfully glared at her.Megan laughed.“Since our night will be in a corner, I’m going to get something to drink. Do you want anything?”“Whatever you’re having will be fine,” Megan replied.I got it. Megan was a nervous wreck.“What happened?!” I asked as I handed her a drink, and she downed it in two gulps.“See that girl. She’s holding his hand and they’ve been talking since you left! Oh My God! What am I going to do?!” Her big blue eyes were glassy with tears.“Calm down! Look, she just walked away,” I said. There was only one girl left. Soon, she left, too.Jace looked across the lawn to Megan. He smiled and walked into the pack house after.“Okay, this is it.” Megan’s voice was shaky.She got up and walked to the pack house.“Okay, and good luck. Guess I’ll have another drink just in case,” I said, walking over to the bar and sitting down.“Large vodka straight.” I took two gulps of the burning liquid before Jace called me.Come to the office and hurry!I ran into the pack house and almost fell, damn heels, rounding the corner to the Alpha’s office. I burst into the room and saw Megan on the floor sobbing with her head on her knees. Jace was sitting next to her, looking shell-shocked. I ran to her and pulled her in my arms. I looked at Jace, and he shook his head. “We’re not mates.”Then he lowered his head.“What am I gonna do? I love her so much,” Jace said as I reached over to comfort him and jumped when I felt the sparks and tingle. Jace’s head snapped up, and we both said, “MATE.”Jason was pacing the room, and I just sat with my mouth hanging open in an O.This can’t be! Jace is my mate? But Megan loves him, and he is also to her.“Carrie, I know you are my mate, but I love Megan. I can’t reject you, or the pack will know. You will have to move away. When the bond has broken, I will mark and mate with Lisa. We will go back out and call everyone to announce the Mating. That will give you a chance to leave.”“T-the bond will not be broken if you’re not going to reject me, Jace,” I said, although my wolf has been fighting to take charge and claim our mate despite not wanting us. “If you’re going to banish me, I will become a rogue!”“No, Carrie. I don’t love you. I love Megan,” Jace said as he held Megan closer to him.“B-but we’re mates,” I said, almost whispering as my tears threatened to fall. “Y-you don’t want me!?”Megan moved closer and took my hand. She wiped the tears from my face that I didn’t even realize were falling.“I love you, Carrie. Please let Jace go. We love each other so much,” Megan pleaded.My voice would not work. I was standing there.“Please,” I looked at Jace. “We are true mates, Jace. A-are you choosing Megan over me?”Jace seemed to make up his mind because what followed were the most painful words I had ever expected to befall me.“I, Jace Seraphim, rejected you, Carrie Marie Mikaeli, as my mate,” he said.My wolf howled in sadness as I felt half my soul was ripped away from me.I got up and walked away. I couldn’t stand seeing my mate and best friend’s pity stare at me. My heart shattered. And my wolf howled in sadness.Our mate doesn’t want us!“Dad!” I cried and ran towards my father. He probably knew that I was rejected, seeing he was waiting for me outside our house and worries were all over his face. “Carrie,” my Dad met me with his reassuring hug. “I’m sorry,” he whispered. “Dad, it hurts! It hurts a lot,” I said in between my sobs. I broke away from his comforting hug and gripped his medical uniform. “Dad, please take away my pain. You’re a doctor, right? Please, please take it away. I don’t want this. It’s too painful. I might go crazy, Dad. Please, I’m begging you, Dad,” I begged my Dad. He was the best doctor in the world, and everyone knew him. He can cure anyone, even with serious diseases. Maybe he can cure me, too. He was Damien Mikaeli, after all. “Dad, please!” I begged. Dad didn’t utter a word. He was just standing there, tears in his eyes. I knew pain from broken bonds was something a professional doctor couldn’t do anything about. I collapsed and sat down on the floor as I continued crying. The pain w
I decided to have a hot bath since I wanted to sleep. Mom said she’ll be with his Mate on a business trip. She insisted that someone should look after me. I told her I didn’t need one, but Mom was worried, so I accepted it. I spent a good half hour soaking in a bathtub before getting out. I grabbed the towel and wiped myself up before wearing a bathrobe. This kind of routine has been present since I started to live with Mom’s pack. It was kind of relaxing, and it gave me peace of mind for a bit. As I exited the bathroom, I was greeted by a man sitting on the couch. He was probably playing on his phone since he was focused on his little device. The worst part was, I didn’t even know him!“Who are you? What the hell are you doing here!?”The man looked at me and smiled. He has this Alpha vibe, and I thought he must be Frank’s son. Mom told me Frank retired from Alpha duties last year and that his son, Derick, has taken over. I only saw him once; I was twelve years old. He was in Alph
I took a couple of deep breaths to steel myself when someone rang the doorbell. Of course, I knew who it was. It’s Alpha Diesel who doesn’t know how to leave me alone. I couldn’t wallow in pain or pity myself because he would always come and try to talk to me. He was a goofy kind of a man. He always acted silly, and sometimes he would tell some jokes. For three months, I had endured the pain of rejection, begging him to let me go home to my mate and ask him to take me again instead of Megan. I opened the door slowly. “Hi,” he greeted I held the door open for him. I was still a wreck. My eyes are probably red and swollen, with dark circles underneath. “We need to talk,” he said. He walked past me and into the living room. Empty tissue boxes and a trash can were overflowing with used Kleenex. I forgot to clean it! “Sit down!” Diesel’s voice was hard. I blinked. This was not the man I had come to know. Where was his carefree and annoying voice? I sat on the sofa, watching him pa
Diesel had been by my side since then. He had blown me away when he had first turned his attention to me. I mean when I first arrived here. I'd been twenty-two and rejected back then when I had finally been given a chance to find me and my wolf a mate. A second chance, mate, in fact. Moving on hadn't been that bad when a bulky guy was always by your side, trying to make you smile. "Everyone else who was single gradually found their other half and paired up, but as I got older, the wait had become harder and harder to take," Diesel said as we were having dinner at my place. Everyone knew in his pack that if he didn't find a mate by the time he hit your mid-twenties, it was unlikely that he ever would, and it got even more unlikely with each passing year. He said he wanted to give us a chance and that he wanted to be my mate. I'm not going to lie; he had been flattering me, and when he proposed a relationship since neither of us was likely to find his mates, I'd been tempted. I held
A little inhuman and unwolflike sound of surprise left my mouth at his words. Derick waited expectantly, his steady gaze on me. He was not kneeling, but only a fool would ever expect that sort of behavior from an alpha, and I just didn't care.Finally, I found my voice. "Yes. Yes, I will."He was up and caught me in his arms, his mouth on mine and the steel of his body against the softness of my own. I might have been crying for joy.My head was so wildly spinning with euphoria that I barely noticed when we left the restaurant and pulled up to a hotel. "I thought we could have a night completely to ourselves, away from pack and responsibilities. Just you and me," he said wickedly, revealing a small suitcase in the trunk that he must have packed before I could protest that I didn't have anything along with me.I gave up and did what he wanted, which was easy because I wanted to. He led me into the hotel and up to our room, and the moment the door closed behind us, the bags dropped to
Our arrangement was an open book in the pack. Even if Diesel hasn't marked me yet, everyone knows he will be soon, and they expect an heir from us. We've been together for years, and I was his chosen mate, and he was to me. But why now? Why was he cheating on me? Unless…Sweat started to form on my forehead. Oh no, I don't want to think about it. I'm too dependent on Diesel, and he's someone I would never let go. He was the one who helped me get through my first rejection, and I had already promised myself that if I ever picked someone as my second chance mate, it'd be him. But I knew that arrangement wasn't entirely sure, knowing Diesel had yet to find his mate, even if he had already passed the age of finding one. "Babe, are you okay now?" Diesel asked."Better, I guess."I realized he was already back. I watched him as he opened the bottle of wine. Then, I focused on the cell phone he had placed on the bedside table. Even without me going near it, I could tell it was in sile
I woke up feeling drained for two weeks now. I couldn't eat and relax since I discovered my mate's cheating. Diesel might have been doing what he really wanted to do wherever the damn country he was in right now. I immediately went to the bathroom and took a shower. I need to clear my mind and focus on the pack's work rather than thinking about Diesel's cheating issue. When everything was done, I left our house and went to my office. "Good morning, Luna. I'm sorry for barging in early in the morning," Thea, the pack Doctor, came in after knocking on my door. "Yes, what is it, Doc?" I ask her cheerfully, hiding the stress in me. "I would like to ask for more clinic beds. The number of she-wolves delivering pups has increased lately, and the beds won't accommodate them all. If you please, Luna." "Okay, I'll let the supplier deliver the beds you wanted, Thea," I replied as I tapped on the keys of my laptop. "Thank you, Luna," Thea replied, and she was about to stand up, but wo
"Who is she!?" I asked Mom after I arrived from Erix's pack. I thought I could stop thinking about Diesel's game, but it worsened. Flashes of unknown women flooded my mind, and even if Rain comforted me, I couldn't stop myself from thinking. So I made a drastic decision: I returned to the pack and confronted my mother. I wanted to end all this misery and let her speak, tell me the truth before I go insane."Mom!" I yelled inside their house. I don't care if the former Alpha was there. "Carrie? You're back so soon? I-""Tell me everything you know, Mom, before I lose my respect for you," I said, cutting her up. My mother bowed her head and couldn't meet me in the eyes. "Carrie sweet-""Do not sweet talk me, Mom! Tell me when did it start and if the whole pack knew about it!" I yelled, clenching my fist. My wolf has been fighting her way within me, wanting to shred our mother into pieces to keep us from what was actually happening. "I-It started after you got engaged with Diesel y