Chapter 2: Rejection
REBECCA’S POV
"Brandon... what is happening here?" My voice came out as a broken whisper.
The shock finally broke through the heavy lust clouding his eyes. Brandon pulled out of Monica completely, and let me tell you, the wet, sickening sound of their separation is something that will haunt me forever.
He didn’t even look ashamed. You would think a man caught cheating would freeze, right? Not him. He casually pulled up his pants, adjusting his clothes right in front of me before crossing his arms over his chest.
"What does it look like, Rebecca?" he said. His voice was entirely cold, completely lacking any of the warmth he had used when whispering sweet promises to me in secret.
Tears spilled over my eyelids, burning my cheeks. "Brandon... I am your mate."
He let out a harsh, mocking laugh that cut right through my chest. "And so fucking what? Look at yourself, Rebecca. You are nothing. If I marry you, I won’t inherit the Beta throne. My father will disown me. But with Monica? I get the title, the power, and the respect. I get everything."
"Brandon, how could you?" I cried, my heart literally ripping apart in my chest.
Monica moved behind him, a smug smile on her face as she straightened her dress. She opened her mouth to speak, ready to throw another insult at me, but something inside me snapped. Have you ever felt a pain so sharp that it just turns into pure, blinding rage? That was me.
Before she could say a single word, I stepped forward and slapped her across the face with everything I had left. The loud sound of my palm hitting her cheek echoed through the library.
"This is between me and my mate!" I snapped, my voice shaking with fury.
But the moment the words left my mouth, Brandon’s hand flew out. He slapped me so hard my head spun, the force of his Beta power throwing me completely off balance. I hit the hard wooden floor, gasping for air, the left side of my face burning with a sharp, throbbing pain.
"Don’t you dare touch her," Brandon growled, standing in front of Monica to protect her. He looked down at me like I was a piece of trash beneath his boot. He took a deep breath, puffing out his chest as he used his Beta pressure to push me into the floor. "I, Brandon, future Beta of the Blood Moon Pack, reject you, Rebecca, as my fated mate." ƒгeewebnovёl.com
The moment the words left his mouth, a brutal, agonizing ache tore through my soul. If you’ve never experienced a mate rejection, count yourself lucky. Inside my head, my wolf let out a sad, high-pitched whine, curling up into a ball of pure misery as the magical bond between us began to break.
Monica looked down at me, holding her reddened cheek but smiling meanly. "Accept the rejection, bitch."
I looked at the monster standing before me. I didn’t want him anymore. Why would I want a coward who would throw away a sacred, fated bond just for a title? Pushing the pain down, I forced the words out.
"I, Rebecca, accept your rejection."
The second the acceptance left my lips, the bond violently snapped. Both Brandon and I screamed out at the same time, a deep cry of pure physical and mental pain echoing through the stone walls. Brandon stumbled back, gripping his chest as his face went pale from the sudden empty feeling of the broken bond. Monica immediately rushed to his side, wrapping her arms around him to comfort him, rubbing his back while glaring at me. freeweɓnovel.cøm
With shaking, weak legs, I forced myself to slide backward and push off the floor. Every muscle in my body screamed in pain, but I refused to stay on the ground in front of them. I managed to stand up, my eyes blurry with tears, and turned to try and leave the hidden section.
But before I could take two steps, Monica’s hand wrapped tightly around my wrist, stopping me completely.
I frowned, trying to pull away, but I was too weak. "Let go of me."
"Where do you think you’re going?" Monica sneered, her fingers digging deep into my skin. She looked up at Brandon with panicked eyes. "Brandon, if we let her leave right now, she will go tell everyone at the festival what we did. She’ll ruin the announcement."
Brandon didn’t hesitate. Before I could even defend myself, his fist flew forward, hitting me straight in the jaw.
I fell back onto the floor, the taste of copper and blood immediately filling my mouth. I was so weak, my mind spinning from the broken bond and the heavy hits. I tried to crawl away, but Brandon stepped up and kicked me again, his boot hitting my ribs hard. A gasp of pure pain escaped my throat as I curled into a tight ball.
"What the hell is happening here?"
A sharp, powerful female voice cut through the dark aisle, instantly stopping Brandon’s next kick.
Through my blurry, tear-filled eyes, I painfully turned my head toward the sound. Walking out from the shadows was a beautiful woman. She walked with grace, and she was dressed in rich, heavy royal clothes that dragged across the dusty floor. One of her hands was resting protectively over her big, pregnant stomach. She looked at Brandon and Monica with pure disgust and anger.
"Help..." I choked out weakly.
I tried to stay conscious, but the pain was too much. Darkness slowly swallowed my vision until everything faded into a cold, black void.
The first thing I felt was a rough, hard tap on my shoulder, shaking me awake.
My eyes flew open, a groan escaping my dry lips as my body throbbed with a deep, lasting ache. The library was no longer dark and quiet. Bright light flooded the room, and the heavy sound of many voices filled the air. I blinked fast, trying to clear my sight, completely confused by the crowd of high-ranking wolves standing around the rows of bookshelves.
Then, I looked down right beside me, and guys, my breath caught straight in my throat.
Resting just inches from my face was the royal woman. But something was horribly, terribly wrong. Her skin was ghostly pale. Her eyes were wide, blank, and completely lifeless as they stared at the ceiling. A heavy pool of blood was spreading out from under her fancy dress, soaking the wooden floor. She... she was dead.
Before my brain could even understand the horror of what I was looking at, a pair of incredibly strong, massive arms grabbed me by the collar of my dress.
With terrifying, brutal strength, I was lifted completely off the floor and slammed hard against the wooden bookshelf behind me. The wood shook under the impact, and the air was knocked straight out of my lungs.
Terrified, my heart pounding wildly, I forced my eyes upward to see who was holding me.
Standing right in front of me was a man.
Fuck. I have to be honest with you—he was easily the most handsome man I had ever seen in my life. He had sharp features, a strong jawline, and a presence that made the air in the room feel heavy. But I didn’t have a single second to care about his looks.
Because he was completely filled with rage.
His eyes were entirely black, his wolf fully at the surface, burning with a deadly fury that shook the very floor of the building. The air around him vibrated with a heavy, terrifying Alpha pressure that made it impossible to breathe.
Unexpectedly, his hand snapped out. His large fingers wrapped around my throat, his sharp claws sinking right into the sensitive skin of my neck.
"You fucking killed my wife!"